Today we were out for a long day. Most excursions we do are planned for only about 3 hours, but today we were headed for an 8-9 hour adventure. I had my concerns, but spoiler … it all worked out ok. The day started with the usual breakfast on the boat, and again as usual, we joined up the the tour bus for our excursion at about 8:30.
A large reason why our excursion was 8 hours was the travel time. The beginning of our outing today was a roughly 2 hour bus ride, away from the port city of Ruse along the Danube river and the Bulgaria-Romania border, south towards a more central area of the country, specifically the large town/small city of Veliko Tarnovo. The bus ride itself was again pretty, but offered little new narrative for our trip. We once again saw nesting storks, seemingly endless fields of sunflowers, narratives about the rose-bud crops, and general history of the area.
After two hours of driving we arrived at the outskirts of Veliko Ternovo. Our first stop was a little bit of a silly one; it was a modern building made in the likeness of a castle, but in actuality it was an event venue - seemed great for weddings. This stop was to provide folks on the excursion a chance to have a snack, some coffee, etc before we got to the “main attractions.”
From there we headed straight to the Church of Nativity. For being a relatively unimpressive building at first glace, this turned out to be one of the most interesting churches I’ve ever visit. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed, so any images provided I’ve simply found online and take no credit for. The church was three rooms, dark lighting, low ceilings. It had no towers or chapels, and new long pews for sitting. It had no chandeliers or statures, no stone or columns. However, every room from floor to ceiling was painted in elaborate murals.
The inner-most room was the chamber for the men who were observing service. Apparently, at the time men and women could not be in the same venue for their religious practices. This room had rows and rows of different styles of mural, rising to the main images on the ceiling. There were a series of frescos showing angels, saints, and apostles. Another set above them depicting the life of Jesus. The wall at the front of the room included some of the most significant images; and one of the most unusual aspects for me were the two carved dragons atop the wall as a demonstration for the struggle between good and evil. Of greatest note in this room however was a mural in the center of the ceiling depicting the holy trinity in a vertical line, rather than a triangle (apparently that is the more normal thing).
The room just outside the main chamber was where the women would meet. The room was a little more humble but the paintings were no less inspiring. The front wall included a depiction of the judgement day, showing the sinners being taken by a river of flame to a great serpent, angels weighing souls and demons messing with the scales. On the other side we saw people gathering outside the gates of heaven. But my two favorite paintings - perhaps because I have no memory of seeing the likes before - were a complete family tree for Jesus Christ as well as a depiction of 12 haloed characters below them. They were not the apostles as I first assumed, but rather Greek philosophers, being credited for the knowledge that they’d brought into the modern world.
The final room was the last to be build and was where men and women could mingle together after the services. Once more, the paintings spanned from floor to ceiling, but again of their own themes. There were still some frescos depicting holy imagery, but also the months and the days of those months were painted throughout the hall; that was super cool and very unique! But, the most prominent piece here was a painting depicting the circle of life as the steering wheel of a ship. The wheel itself had rings, the inner most being the sun, followed by the four elements of nature, then the twelve Zodiak symbols, and finally the 12 months. Next to the wheel, on either side, was an angle of light and another of darkness. A man traveled around the wheel - gaining everything he wanted at the top, but then falling back down on the other side to age and returning to the earth.
I left the church just reflecting on how different and interesting this building was, and I would highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to see it.
Afterwards we headed to a local bar-like restaurant for lunch. Apparently the owners love animals, and that was clear as we approached. The grounds had many animals in pens, including a goat, many rabbits, lots of birds, and more. Of greatest note though were the various peacocks, and one was really showing off its feathers as we arrived! Lunch itself was great. It began with a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers topped with sirene (a Feta-like cheese). Several folks noted that these were some of the most flavorful tomatoes they’d had in a long time! Next was a small vegetable soup and then we had the main course: a chicken stew-like dish and it too was delicious. As our meal neared its end, we were served a sweet honey-yoghurt dessert, and just as we began a local music and dance group came in! Over the next 10 minutes or so they performed three songs and corresponding dances - pulling in some people from our excursion for the final one. It was a lot of fun.
After lunch we made a few small stops. First we visit a historical house, once home to a wealthy merchant family. It was amazing that it could look both like such a fancy house, and also like it was a shock that folks could live here as they did. The house was only of about 5 rooms (living, dining, sleeping, cooking, and a prepping room for the women). But, the home housed approximately 20 people! Families had upwards of 10 children and several generations of the families would live together, often all sleeping in the same room - if not the same bed! It was both impressive and hard to imagine. We then stopped into a local souvenir shop - but with the specific intention of sampling some rose-based foods. We tried a rose Turkish Delight candy, as well as a rose liquor and a rose brandy. The prior was very sweet and the latter tasted mostly of … alcohol. Finally, we headed towards Veliko Tarnovo “propper” and made a short stop at an outlook for some views of the city and the older parts of it. We saw long castle walls spanning the hills of the town in a classically “castle-like” manner.
Our last stop was more into the actual part of the city, specifically as a series of streets dedicated to local stores and vendors, many of whom preformed their crafts by hand. This was a really cool area and it was fun to walk up and down the cobblestone roads to see what was around. We saw leatherwork stores and ceramics stores, silver workers and copper workers. The crafts they made were all unique and cool, artistic and colorful. We found a few select things to purchase for ourselves, but if we weren’t traveling it would be tempting to come here all the time!
At last, it was time to conclude our excursion, which unfortunately meant another 2 hour bus ride. But, the ride was both uneventful (as you often hope trips like this to be) while also continuing to give us lovely views of the countryside. The evening was queued up to be mostly like many, dinner etc. But we will be having a toast with the captain as it is our last night on ship, from there we will prep for our final day of adventure!
Nautical Term of the Day: Fly-By-Night
“This large sail, used only for sailing downwind, required little attention.”
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