Who'll Stop the Rain?

I've obviously fallen well behind in keeping these blog posts up to date. I'll do my best to get them up-to-date over the next few days.

School ended on the 16th of December and after a day of relaxation, we were off on on Christmas break-- first to Venice. Our flight out of Sofia was a little eventful, as some strange noises and turbulence made our climb to cruising altitude a little more exciting than usual. But before long we landed in Venice, took the bus to the edge of the Grand Canal and began our walk through Venice to the hotel.

We found the hotel pretty quickly (at least by the finding-things-in-Venice standard) and settled in briefly before heading out to explore. While Jaime and I have both been to Venice, it was the first time in Venice for the kids. Sadly, either the cold (it was hovering in the high 30s) or the lack of recognizable landmarks ("There no Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame!") meant that the kids were less than enamored with Venice. I guess 9 & 11 year olds don't appreciate the magical, gently decaying feel that Venice has for us older folks.

We did get to enjoy some delicious Italian pizza at a small hole in the wall the we discovered our first day-- a location that was visited several more times over the coming days. However, our stay in Venice was interrupted by a little bug that Cameron caught-- which meant half of the family was on hotel patrol. Brady and I did manage to do a little sightseeing and visit a Leonardo da Vinci musuem-- which may have been one of the highlights of the trip for him.

More to come...

In Bruges

A couple of months ago I was perusing several discount airlines websites, looking for cheap flights from Sofia to anywhere during our Thanksgiving break. After several searches, I located tickets at a decent price (about $50 roundtrip per person) to Brussels. Hmm......Brussels? Boring? Bureaucratic? (It is the capital of the European Union) Bland? Well-- that's OK, we could always drive to Bruges or Ghent-- towns that retain some semblance of a Medieval atmosphere. I purchased the tickets are largely forgot about it until the past week or so. During that time I located hotels, arranged for a rental car and "planned" our trip-- basically I figured out what cities to visit. For us that would be Ghent, Bruges and finally Brussels on our whirlwind trip (which would be about 48 hours long to take maximum advantage for cheapairline tickets).

On Thursday morning, shortly after 4am we set off for the airport, where we parked our car and checked in for our flight-- noticing several other students and staff from our school who were off for holidays of their own. Three hours later we were in Charleroi-- a hub of discount airlines not far from Brussels. We picked up our rental car and sped off-- stopping only for refreshments-- and pan au chocolat, of course.

We drove along the Belgian freeway system-- amazed by the beautiful, pot hole-free roads and lack of roadside garbage. Have we been in Bulgaria too long? Before log, reality hit as we encountered morning rush-hour traffic as we neared Brussels. I decided, with map in hand, to take to the side roads. No problem. We drove along through the

beautiful Belgian countryside, complete with well-maintained brick homes, narrow roads passing through quaint villages and manicured field--

and even a dusting of new snow. Soon we picked up the freeway, having bypassed the traffic of the Brussels morning commute and were again speeding toward Ghent, where we planned on spending a couple of hours before arriving in Bruges mid-day.

After pulling off the highway we surprising quickly found a parking spot in Ghent along one of its main canals-- the former lifeblood of the trading city. From there we began our stroll past medieval guildhalls and a couple of soaring towers.

After a light lunch-- which included that Belgian invention often attributed to the French-- french fries, we wandered around some more before heading off for Bruges-- which we

were eager to see. Less

than an hour later we

were there. (After all, Belgium is small-- about the size of Maryland, or about 2.5 times the size of Lane County for those of you back in Oregon)

We checked into our modest hostel in Bruges and the

promptly began our explorations, which were dampened (pun intended) by the freezing temperatures and rain/snow mix. Even prepared with our winter jackets, gloves, hats and scarves it was definitely blustery.

In between our wandering we did drop into a small pub for a Thanksgiving afternoon round of hot drinks for the wife and kids (hot chocolate) and a Belgian brew for pops. Delicious! After our opportunity to warm up we headed back out into the cold to wander s'more. By then the weather had partially clear and it was a little easier to enjoy beautiful Bruges. Although, as night began to fall we were disappointed that we didn't have a chance to spend more time in the town. We all wondered, despite the appeal of Ghent-- why didn't we drive right to Bruges? Another lesson learned.

That night we searched out an expensive location to eat-- after all the euro is still a fortune compared to the dollar-- or worse yet the Bulgarian lev. We found a little Middl Eastern restaurant where we enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal of falafels and french (Belgian) fries. After dinner it was off to bed to rest up for the next day's journey to Brussels-- the exciting capital of the European Union!

Now I gotta admit, I did not expect much from Brussels. I did plan on visiting the Belgian Comic Strip Museum-- which Brady, who is a big fan of Belgian comic-strip character Tin-Tin, was anxious to see. Other than that, I figured we would just wander around a bit and maybe find an interesting church of two. Well, I will gladly go on record now and say that Brussels is under-rated. While it is no Paris, Rome or Barcelona it is no slouch.

We drove into the city and managed to find a parking spot along a small park that could have easily been in a Parisian neighborhood. From there we set off before coming across an empty 17th century Baroque church, where Brady promptly pulled out his sketchbook and went to town.

Soon, we wondered across town, stopping for our favorite snack in the francophone world: pan au chocolat. Before too long our walk brought us to our first destination: the Belgian Comic Strip Museum. Housed in a fantastic Art Nouveau building, the kids were thrilled to explore the world of Tin-Tin and other Belgian favorites. While mom and the kids explored the museum I set off on foot to explore some of downtown so that we had a good idea of where to go after the museum.

After returning to the musuem (which the kids loved) we dropped by a small sandwich shop for lunch before walking a few blocks to the center of Brussels, the Grand Place. It was a surprisingly beautiful square, surrounded by Baroque facades and a Gothic Hotel de Ville (town hall). Radiating off the Grand Place were a network of medieval lanes-- where we sat to enjoy a hot chocolate(for me), a waffle(for Cameron & Mom) and ice cream(for Brayden), despite the temperatures which hovered around the freezing mark. But hey, at least he didn't have to worry about his cone melting!

While our time in Belgium was short (only two days) he definitely left us with the desire to return to this picturesque and underrated country again soon.

Working For The Weekend

Weekends are great. But, what should one do with this freedom?

Relax at home? Take a hike? Catch a movie?

Nope.

We decided to take a Sunday drive to Edirne, Turkey-- the city once known as Hadrianapolis and Adrianople-- named after Roman Emperor Hadrian. We didn't manage to hit the road until 9am. It took us a little under 4 hours to reach the Turkish border.

After passing a 10km line of lorries (semitrucks to we Americans) and a 40 mi

nute wait we cleared the multiple steps necessary to cross the border and were off to Edirne-- which is just a few kilometers into Turkey. The approach to the city was fairly mundane until we crossed the river and made our way toward the center, where it quickly became obvious that we hadn't just crossed a border into a another country, but we had entered an entirely different culture. Up ahead, through the haze

, we saw half a dozen minarets-- heralding our arrival in Muslim Turkey.

We started our visit in Edirne with some chai in an outdoor cafe just outside a beautiful Mosque.

Given that it was November, the weather was amazing-- sunny and around 70 degrees. You couldn't ask for a better sight-seeing temperature. Once we finished our chai we visited another Mosque-- which was completely free of tourists, much unlike Istanbul. This made it significantly easier to enjoy.

After the Mosque we took some time to explore Roman ruins and a Byzantine tower from the old city defenses that were just around the block. We made our way to a couple of other mosques, including one designed by the same architect that built the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The kids enjoyed visiting the mosques and working on their drawing skills and after several drawings and some more wandering it was off to find some dinner before our drive home.

After a brief search we found on outdoor cafe on a pedestrian street in the center of Edirne where we enjoyed our dinner in the last hour or so of the autumn sun. After that it was off to the car and back to Bulgaria. Although it was a long day, it was well worth the effort.

Let It Snow

Well, we have received our first official Bulgarian snowfall. Before Halloween!

Just over a week ago, I awoke and started off for school in the pre-dawn hours. As I walked our the front door, I noticed that it appeared to be snowing! Sure enough, the snow was gently falling and beginning to stick.

As I headed downhill toward the Ring Road on my way to school, the snow stopped and changed to a light drizzle. However, as the day worn on, an occasional flurry could be spotted outside at school-- and by the time I arrived home that evening, we had about 2-3 inches at our house. This, despite the fact that a couple blocks below our house there was no sight on the fluffy white stuff.

This whole snow thing I going to take some getting used to.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople)

Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks...

We had a four day weekend on our school schedule, so several weeks ago we started tossing around ideas of where to go...Greece? Spain? Italy? Hmmm......they all sound good...but how 'bout Turkey? Yup, that'll work.

Added bonus is that we could go by either car (6 hour drive) or train (12 hour ride*). We decided that it might be a little more convenient to take the train. Instead of driving in the evening , finding a hotel and then driving more the next day, why not take the train in the evening and arrive refreshed and ready to see the sights?

So, on Wednesday evening it was off to the train station. We arrived at 7:15...plenty of time ahead of the 7:50 departure. We looked over the departure board and struggled to find the information for the train to Istanbul. Then I spotted it, track 6 at 7:16. Oh s*%$!

We raced for the platform, hoping that the Bulgarian-run train would not depart on time. We fended off a man who offered to help us...obviously seek to make some leva off of us. We arrived at the platform to find two well-worn trains, neither of which looked like it was departing anytime soon. Did we miss it?

A couple of men in the blue jackets and pants asked us if we were heading for Istanbul. We said yes and they smiled and said no problem as they asked for our tickets. They then escorted us to our train (the shorter, decrepit-looking one) and on to our cabins. Within a couple of moments they two "gentlemen" how assisted us to our cabins were requesting their tip. Hmmmm....this is a little direct I thought, but the last thing I need is to be on the bad-side of the employees that will be accompanying us to Istanbul. I reluctantly handed over some leva & euros and then they were off. Uhhhh....did I just get scammed for the first time? Yes sir, you are indeed correct. But things we surely get better.

We checked in with the Martins, who were traveling with us to Istanbul, and had also successfully made it to their cabin. Ok... we were ready to go. But the train wasn't. After nearly two hours, the cars from Belgrade arrived and shortly after that we were underway, slowly.

Getting to sleep (at least for me) wasn't to much of a problem, but we did need to wake up at 3 or 4am and leave the train to pass through passport control at the Turkish border.

That went fairly quickly for us (the Turkish border guards escorted us to the front of line because we were traveling with 4 small kids), but we still lingered on the tracks in Edirne for a couple of hours before we were underway again.

That morning our train lumbered across the Turkish countryside as it dawned on us (no pun intended) that this was not going to be a 12 hour train ride (hence my earlier *). Finally, shortly after midday we pulled into Istanbul's Sirkeci Station, the final stop of the old Orient Express.

We were ready for our adventure.

After we checked into our hostel we began walking around the old city (Sultanahmet) in search for a bite to eat. Before long we found a small outdoor cafe we were ate pide (Turkish pizza) and drank some tea. After that we did some more sightseeing and enjoyed the beautiful weather-- which was ideal-- in the low 70s. Our visits included the Blue Mosque,

where Cameron was a little apprehensive about putting on her headscarf (but she did look really cute in it), and a

walk across the Golden Horn on the Galata Bridge. That night we returned to the same place we dined earlier in the day for a repeat of salad and pide. Our efforts in searching out a vegetarian-friendly restaurant weren't exactly successful. Although that wasn't for a lack of trying from restaurant hosts-- who may be the most persistent in the world.

Over the next couple of days we visited many of the sights that make Istanbul such an impressive city: the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and the Tokapi Palace. While we didn't enter every single one of those sights (hey, you gotta save some for next time!) we certainly enjoyed the city. In fact, I'm putting it up there with Paris & Rome. On our last full day, we took the ferry across the Bosporus to the Asian side of the city, where we found a great tourist-free pedestrian area full of restaurants, markets and small shops selling just about anything you can imagine.

That evening, it was dinner and then on to the train station for the long train journey back to Bulgaria. The 10pm departure (on time!) lead us to christen the train as the Midnight Express. Ironically, the real name is the Balkan Express-- this, on a train that takes 15 hours to cover 360 miles-- yes-- that's right, an average of 24 MPH. Ouch.

Life Is A Highway

We make great victory! We now make driving of car that to us belongs!

After a month and a half of taxis and rental cars, we've finally become automobile owners. What a relief-- we can now have exciting adventures like going to the grocery store whenever we want. Seriouslythough-- that is a big deal. No sooner than we received our keys to our not-exactly-new Volkswagen Golf station wagon we set off for a small adventure.

Jaime and I perused the guidebook and our map of Bulgaria and decided to set off on the highway (and I use that term very loosely) to Koprivshtitsa. The town is about 100km (60 miles) from Sofia. On Bulgarian roads, that is nearly a two hour drive. Now, if you are a math aficionado, you may say "Excuse me sir, but does that mean you would be driving approximately 3o mph?". I would reply "You are correct good man!"

The road to Koprivshtitsa started off very promising-- smooth and fast. Before long though, the potholes or dupkas appeared. The road (not a

highway by this point) began to climb into the Stara Planina, or Balkan Range (which looks a lot like Southern Oregon). The higher and deeper the road climbed into the mountains the quicker the quality of the road deteriorated. For much of the ride through the mountains the road looked a lot like a deserted and poorly paved Forest Service road (that's a reference that might relate to my fellow Oregonians). Just as I began to wonder if I was on the right route, we began to descend through a series of small villages.

There we came across several overload horse-drawn carts

carrying everything from hay to potatoes and large families. Before too long though we arrived in Koprivshtitsa.

The town itself is basically a musuem town that is highly typical of 19th century Bulgarian National Revival architecture. It is also famed as the place where the first shots of the Bulgarian resistance to the Ottoman Turks was fired. It's kind of like the Concord and Lexington of Bulgaria. Once in town we dined at a very delicious and colorful Bulgarian restaurant and then set out to explore.

The town was beautiful and rich in National Revival architecture-- which was rich in color and detail. After exploring several house museum and some craft shops we ate dinner and then took the trek back to Sofia (making sure to leave in enough time to complete the drive before nightfall).

It was a day well spent.

August and Everything After

It's been a long while since I last updated the blog. Let's just say that it has been a busy month or so.

Shortly afterarriving, before we had even settled into our new country, home or school we have the travel bug bite again. After some debate over what our destination would be-- the Greek Coast or the Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast we decided to make the journey east

to the Black Sea. While the lure of Greece was strong, it would mean extra paper work (to take a rental car out of the country) and extra expenses. So the Black Sea Coast it would be.

In the days beforeour mid-August departure I telephoned numerous hotels in several towns on the coast looking for available hotel rooms. I had very little luck. Nevertheless, with another family that it embarking on the same international journey as us, we rented a large Renault van and set out. While the journey does not appear too daunting on the map, we quickly learned that Bulgarian road-trips are a different animal from their American counterparts. Our freeway to the coast eventually turned

into a poorly marked series of twisting, pot-h

oled, two-laned roads. (Well, their are supposed to be two lanes, but you have to use your imagination-- for their are no painted lines)

Six short hours later we were at the sea. Our first stop, in Sozopol revealed a cute little town, but a crowded beach. Coming from Oregon, it is a little hard to make the adjustment to wall-to-wall-people-beach. We wanted our own mile-long stretch-- Oregon style. After a short swim we headed off to the south past stretches of semi-deserted beaches that appeared along the craggy coastline.

We eventually stumbled into Tsarevo, a small town fairly free of the international tourists that are so common in

the other towns of the Black Sea Coast. We stopped at several hotels before we found a small one. The cost? About $24 per night. I love Bulgaria!

We ended up using the Tsarevo as a base to explore other beaches in the area. We discovered a couple of great beaches several kilometers to the south, where we spent most of our time. It was a quite a find-- the inexpensive hotel, great beaches, and terrific cheap food ($20 dinners and .50 pastries for breakfast). I can get use to this lifestyle.

After a couple of days it was back to Sofia to prepare for my orientation and first day of work.

After returning it was time to check out the new school. I knew that the building itself was new, but I wasn't

quite prepared for how amazing the facilities were. The kids, who were able to tag along, were

totally blown away--they couldn't wipethe smiles off their faces. I knew immediately that any concerns the kids had about moving or attending a new school were quickly evaporating.

The start of school itself went very smoothly, both for me and the kids-- who adjusted surprisingly quick. (They've already had several playdates and sleepovers) My schedule is fantastic, although a challenge sometimes with four different classes. The students are an amazing and diverse bunch-- which has been an incredible asset in the classroom.

Within the first week or two, the rest of the upper school teachers and myself traveled with our students on a team-building camping and hiking trip in Rila National Park. It was great to get to know the kids a bit better outside of the classroom (how great would it be if they could pull this off in American public schools?). We had the opportunity to hike in relatively open country (up to elevations of 7500 ft.), which made for sublime vistas in nearly all directions. Our hike, which took us up to the peak of one of Bulgaria's tallest mountains, also brought us pass a shepherd tending his flock (you may be able to make out the sheep in one of the photos). The sheep were complete with the large, clanging bells that one associates with the 19th century. The shepherd? Complete with wool hat and wooden staff.

After reaching the peak, we descended to a lake-side mountain refuge where we enjoyed our lunches before making the slog back to set up our campsite. The fantastically clear conditions of the day ended up making for a very chilly evening, as the thermometer plunged toward zero (that's celsius-- sounds a lot colder that 32 fahrenheit). We were treated with one of the most impressive night skies that I have ever seen. I could clearly make out the band of the milky way and saw several shooting stars-- including one that I would describe as a fireball. So cool! After a night on the mountain (and waking up to an ice-encrusted tent) it was back to Sofia.