European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 12, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                An it St r i p e s july too 7 Page 29 ready a bulgarian woman prepares to Board a bus from the Black sea town of Varna to a know go Young bulgarians enjoy the summer warmth at a Fountain in the bulgarian capital of eur membership encourages Bulgaria to spread its wings As a modern european country by Regina Mccombs Star Tribune Minneapolis one Guidebook Calls the Well preserved town of Veliko a charming old City that was once the capital of Bulgaria and is now one of the coun try More popular tourist the next that got a laugh from the bulgarians i was travelling with i understand the the year when a Friend invited Nie to join her for a Media i admit that i had to look up Bulgaria on a we began with a few Days in the moved on to Rousse in the swung Back through the tourist town of As the locals refer to and returned to even though just a year had these like the whole Are in an energizing state of Bulgaria joined the european Union in becoming a More modern nation amid a wealth of the archaeological museum in Sofia houses hundreds of pre Christian Arti facts from the thracians and the statues and other re Mains of the roman Empire Are being dug up and restored or slowed under for new ottoman turks overran the country at the end of the 14th Century and held on until the Early then came the world wars and soviet ended in despite earlier domination by tur key and the soviet the Only heated talk i heard about either coun try concerned the Best places to Vaca Tion in i found it Odd that a Balkan country with such a history holds so few As we around the i asked a bul Garian Friend about he that he we Are think ing about the Rousse sits along the Danube River on Bulgaria Border with the City was once a roman fortress and later considered the cultural Center of the partly because of its close ties to the austrian hapsburg Empire influence is obvious in the with baroque curl cues and curious Stone change is the year an ornate building across the Street from my hotel had been crumbling and shrouded in scan this it was brilliantly with Pink and Blue lights showing off the gleaming White facade every in when a bulgarian journalist gave me a he was dismissive of the massive Marble and Granite soviet some of which struck me As quite As we wove around cars parked on cobbled he showed me where the Entrance to the presidency had been moved away from the Central a Symbol of communist he told me How the country had rid itself of such replacing a Lenin statue with one of Saint in spite of the Effort to shed the cent bulgarians do embrace their act the Beautiful Sveta Cedelya Church sits near the Center of ancient my modern hotel in Sofia was built around a circular fourth Century just outside the front Entrance sits a domed 19thcentury bulgarian orthodox and tucked inside the nearest subway underpass is a Small 14thcentury All Well and fairly newly we headed underground at the we passed the remains of a roman Street musicians were perched on one of its this we saw japanese tourists posing for pictures with a Little girl playing the another sign of growth a developing wine i toured a winery in Rousse housed in an old turkish a the vineyards now Are Market ing wines beyond their a month i spotted a bulgarian wine in a liquor store near my and still another sign ugly Sovi Estyle apartment blocks go on for but Many bulgarians now own their Flats and have the Means to Spruce them both translators at the conference ducked out to meet with workers who were remodelling their one Impact of soviet Rule a poster on the Wall of a hip bar in Rousse made in succinct what you could do with yourself if you supported the smoking ban the govern ment had it was confirmation of an observation id slowly made bulgarians dont much care for rules Are More like English teacher and translator Angela Spassova told during socialist so Many bad rules were imposed that people started deciding for them selves whether to follow oddly what came to define Bulgaria transition for me was not an ancient or a barroom Post but the restrooms or water As they Call them at a tiny Roadside i went to the pushed open the door and looked it want a Welcome sight a squat toilet a dirty Concrete Hole in the on another at a Wood angled restaurant in Rousse that served a Platter of meat called wolfs i went to the it was recently and had a porcelain squat i found it Bulgaria still one of the poorest countries in the european Only ahead of its Northern Roma Nia is not for the visitor who likes easy the unfamiliar cyrillic alphabet makes getting around a Chal tobacco smoke is a decorated window reflects the image of a woman walking past a Bank office in air pollution is Drivers Dis obey traffic most including Many dont speak in making even simple journeys an that i want the first per son to break that on the other the rewards of visiting can be the eur and Enesco Are pouring Money into renovating historic Sites that Are Crum bling under years of be one of them is the Fresco lined Ivanovo Rock Monas Tery perched High above flooded on our Way from Rousse to Veliko tur Riovo on a Rainy october we made a Detour to the Cut into sheer Stone we were the Only the View of the autumn leaves from the monastery stunning As we peered Down from the series where monks lived their isolated lives of the renovation at that Point largely consists of covering the Cave openings with Wood to prevent More Small openings let in enough Light to illuminate the labor of monks from1 centuries every Rock face of the Cave was covered with a biblical Story or a Patron the artwork was and i took lots of As we climbed out via a wooden i noticed a paper sign that had a camera in a red Circle with a slash through i stopped and then moved sure Veliko Durnovo Sofia Bulgaria Bulgaria is a bargain for the we had appetizers of White and yellow bulgarian cheese with three kinds of thinly sliced Tomato and Cucumber and then a steam ing pot of cheese and egg for about including a dry paprika spice mix is served with crusty bread for the fare reminded me of greek food with plenty of German sausages thrown portions tend to be and restaurants Are required by Law to list the weight of each course on the a traditional is often drunk with Good espresso is Avail Able every even the machines in the subway dispense a decent cup for about a try to talk the talk learn ing at least a Little of the Cyril Lic alphabet can help a even if its just to pick out words like restaurant Pec no one expects you to know and if you learn a few it is fun to watch How surprised and pleased people Dane Molya and Dobre sure go a Long Many bulgarians also use Merci for thank you and Ciao for Many people in the larger cities speak some use Cash Between our visit last year and the year there was one Small but important change for tourism More stores and restaurants accept credit the state department and guidebooks on the country warn of widespread that influenced by organized has made local shop keepers hesitant to accept credit judicial reforms seem to be slowly having an plan to use Cash at most getting around private bus lines run to most tourist areas of the country and they Are probably the most comfortable Way to get around and usually Are reason ably the state railway system is but not necessarily fast or in told you want to avoid the toilets inboard at All the web site is Click on in for an English lodging when looking for places to keep in mind that there May be a two tier pricing system one for the other for while technically several places where we stayed still used there is no centralized bed an breakfast or Hostel searching the web for resorts or rooms for rent in the individual towns May be your Best sources one of the Best travel resources is the insiders guide to Sofia and published by two women who run the Sofia an englishman Guage look for it once you get we picked up a copy at the hotel gift they publish a limited version on their web look for Sofia guide at the Bottom of the other useful Sites All Bulgaria virtual guide state department information on Bulgaria focus visit to Bulgaria bulgarian travel guide Star Tribune Minneapolis stars and stripes