Bulgaria Today

Twenty years ago I visited Bulgaria for the first time. I regularly show pictures on this blog for more than nine years. Today Bulgaria looks like this. Enjoy watching. Dolf Pauw 
LINK first impression 2006 (on this Blog)

The Other Side

@ Noorderlicht 

With: Vincent Mentzel | Bertien van Manen | Bert Verhoeff | Hans van der Meer | Piet den Blanken | Sabine Joosten | Ad van Denderen | Hans van den Bogaard | Bert Spiertz | Ton Broekhuis | Leo Erken | Ad Nuis

On the 9th of November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell down, a dramatic symbol of the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe into two blocks for nearly forty years. Now, twenty-five years later, twelve Dutch photographers look back on the work they made in Central and Eastern Europe between 1979 and 1989. In his famous Fulton speech of 1946, Winston Churchill introduced the notion of the Iron Curtain as an imaginary borderline between the Communist Eastern Bloc and the Capitalist West: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”  After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Communist system in Europe quickly came to an end; and the differences between both worlds gradually blurred. The Other Side, now twenty-five years on, brings together twelve prominent Dutch photographers, all of whom documented the period prior to and during various revolutions in the former Eastern Bloc countries… 
(via Vincent Mentzel)  LINK Noorderlicht

German (Bulgarian Герман)

Visiting Paneto

German (Bulgarian: Герман) is a village in central western Bulgaria, part of the Capital Municipality of Sofia City Province, and is regarded as a suburban neighbourhood of Sofia. It lies at the foot of the Lozen Mountains, at 42°37′N 23°25′E, 639 metres above sea level. As of 2007, it has a population of 2,197 and the mayor is Todor Vukov. German is the site of the German Monastery of Saint John of Rila, allegedly founded in the 10th century and then abandoned and reconstructed several times. It features a church from 1885 with frescoes from 1886 by Samokov masters. Since 1928, it is property of the Bulgarian Zograf Monastery on Mount Athos. The name of the town comes from "German" of Slavic mythology or Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople, not the country or people of Germany. 
LINK map German  LINK Paneto

Post Bulgaria: Sofia

Streetlife

Sofia (Bulgarian: София), is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. Sofia is located at the foot of Mount Vitosha in the western part of the country. It occupies a strategic position at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula. Sofia's history spans 2,400 years. Its ancient name Serdica derives from the local Celtic tribe of the Serdi who established the town in the 5th century BC. It remained a relatively small settlement until 1879, when it was declared the capital of Bulgaria. LINK Bulgarian travel

Post Bulgaria: Baba

Baba (93), Plovdiv 
Photo dolf pauw

LINK Plovdiv

Post Bulgaria

The taste of Plovdiv

The independent selection panel responsible for assessing the Bulgarian cities competing to be European Capital of Culture in 2019 has recommended that Plovdiv should be awarded the title. The other three cities short-listed after the initial selection round in December 2013 were Sofia, Varna and Veliko Turnovo. The formal nomination of Plovdiv by the EU's Council of Ministers is expected to take place in May 2015. LINK Plovdiv

Post Sofia

Saint Sofia Church (църква „Света София“)

Saint Sofia Church is a venerable red brick building in the center of Sofia, very near the bigger Alexander Nevski church and the small Russian church. If you don't have much time, you can visit the three of them in one afternoon. This church is very old, built on the foundations of older temples, it gave its name to the city in the 14th century. During the Ottoman rule it was converted to a mosque but it was abandoned in the 19th century when two earthquakes destroyed the minaret. Restoration of the church started at the beginning of the 20th century and the church is now magnificent, one of most beautiful example of early Christian architecture. At the side of the church is the monument of the unknown soldier, guarded by a beautiful stone lion, with a flame always burning and wreaths of fresh flowers. It is traditional for newly married couples to have their photo taken there. This ancient church is not a museum but a very busy church where people go all the time to pray, light candles and where there are weddings and funerals taking place. LINK wikipedia