Beware Danger In Old Buildings!

This week has been eventful, to say the least. A friend of mine has a property that he is looking to sell and asked me to take a look, we arrived in this small village around 15 kilometres from VT.After entering the garden, I saw this lovely stone barn, it would make a fantastic development, too many ideas for it! However the floor level inside the barn is apporox. a metre lower that the ground level outside, so there are wooden stairs down, I proceeded to step down and the second step collapsed beneath me, I fell through the stairs and landed on my side on the stair string. I was and am still, in a lot of pain.
I (as a man) decided not to go to the hospital, it'll be alright I thought. Yesterday I was hurting so much I thought, best go to the hospital now then. The hospital looked like something left over from the second world war! old equipment, old buildings etc. but the staff were very helpful and I was een within minutes. The outcome? Well badly bruised, nothing broken, take it easy, as if I have a choice int he matter!
Moral of this story, do as we did, when you leave the UK, make sure you have good travel insurance for accidents, if your coming here to live bring your E111 cards.

Easter

Well we are having Easter this weekend in Bulgaria. Sally went into Veliko Tarnovo to visit our good friend Veselina, who sugested that Sally might like to help paint some eggs! This is a Bulgarian custom we came accross last year, you boil eggs and whilst they are still hot you paint them. They dry and look lovely. Over the Easter weekend you may get visitors, ie. your neighbours and friends, they also bring eggs, the idea is to hold yours above the visitors and bash them together, the one that is still whole is the winner, the other egg gets eaten!
You must watch out for the pratical jokers though, some of the eggs are wooden, or worse still, raw!
Sally has made 12 eggs, so keep an eye on my diary page to see if we get any visitors.

Bulgarian Builders

I had a question asked me today, could I recommend a builder? The simple answer is no! mainly because if I recommend someone and they mess up, the person comes back and says, well you said they were good.
I would say the way forward is to select a few builders and ask them to give you a quote, ask to see some of thier work at other properties, speak to the owners to see if they were satisfied. Get a contract signed between you and the builder and have it checked and signed by a notary.
Do what you would have done in the UK. Look around and check, ask other people who you know, maybe they have heard about the company you are considering.
Be aware, some companies say they are English builders, then employ Bulgarian labour! I am not saying Bulgarian builders are bad, but they do not know the kind of standards we are used to.
Be very watchful of your chosen builders, if your not here in Bulgaria, get a project manager to keep them on track.
I hope this saves some other people the heartache we and others like us have suffered.

Renovated Properties

Here in Bulgaria, many estate agents offer thier properties as "renovated", please be aware that this often means that it has been emptied and painted white inside and out. If you purchase this kind of house, you will still need to install kitchen units, a bathroom suite, new windows and maybe internal stairs.
Read the details very carefully as often downstairs rooms are often described as bedrooms, when we from the UK, would use the downstairs rooms as a lounge and maybe a dining room. Unless the details state there is a particular item there, assume that there is not. Always ask before you go to visit.
Traditionally Bulgarians use an outside kitchen during the summer, long hot days and evenings encourage you to eat outside, maybe under your own grape vines, and only sleep inside at night. During the cold winter months, it is common that only one room would be used for cooking, eating, watching TV, and sleeping. This is because it is expensive for the people to heat the whole house.
If the details say three rooms upstairs, there is usually enough room to put a set of internal stairs up into the hallway. The rooms will be two bedrooms and a small one suitable for a shower room, it may be possible to have a bath.
Most British people have a wood burner installed, attached to radiators around the house, so you burn wood which costs 40 Leva per cubic metre, the avarage usage for a winter is about 12 - 15 cubic metres. Also coal brickettes are good to burn, they cost 5 Leva per 20 kilo bags. We use this method as the electric is more expensive in the winter months. It is nice to see a living flame.
However, with the summer approaching fast now, we are looking forward to sitting outside in the evenings and having some BBQ's.

Think:- What could Bulgaria offer you?

Could you be interested in a holiday home in the country or a seaside apartment which could be rented out for an income, when your not using it. How about a ski resort location? Did you know that Bansko in Bulgaria is the only Eastern European resort offering to guarantee snow for five months of the year, can you imagine, knowing when you book your winter holiday that there will be snow, no need to keep checking the local weather conditions.

Now is the time to invest, last year (2007) according to the Frank Knight report, Bulgaria had the highest growth rate in the world at 30.6% and set to do around 20% this year (2008). With prices in many other countries including the UK stabilising or worse, you should take a careful look at Bulgaria. So many investors and new companies opening their doors here, don’t be left behind.
Millions of Euros are being pumped in Bulgaria from the EU, new road improvements, new airports opening. Low cost airlines already operating regularly from the UK, it makes a weekend away very achievable. Another airport at Gorna Oriahovitsa only 20 kms from Veliko Tarnovo opening soon and a new link road connecting Varna and Sofia, this area in particular is set to rocket in value.
Do not put off the decision any longer. E-mail me your requirements or questions, change your life forever.

Veliko Tarnovo, the old capital.

Veliko Tarnovo is one of the most ancient Bulgarian towns. The picturesque situation and panoramic view of the town, its rich cultural and historical heritage wins Veliko Tarnovo the recognition as a historical, cultural and tourist centre of contemporary Bulgaria. The town was founder of the foot of the Northern Fore - Balkan Range. Historians date it back to the 4th millennium B. C. The town of Veliko Tarnovo had inherited centuries-old Prehistoric, Thracian and Antique culture and in 1185 it became a centre of the Bulgarian Uprising against Byzantine domination and the capital of the restored Bulgarian state. The medieval town of Tarnovo was rapidly expanding and developed into the strongest Bulgarian fortress during the 12-14th centuries. It becomes the most significant political, economic, cultural and religious centre of Bulgaria. The Tarnovo Schools of Literature and Arts were established and developed here. Remarkable architectural monuments were created; miniature and monumental painting, literature; plastic arts and crafts achieved high artistic level.



During the 15th-19th centuries period Tarnovo was a symbol of the former Bulgarian state system and a stronghold of the Bulgarian national spirit, a leading centre of the struggle for cultural independence. During the Bulgarian National Revival period in the second half of the 18th and the 19th centuries the town was an important administrative, trade and industrial centre. The rapid economic boom was set as a favourable premise for a dynamic cultural and educational process. Unique monuments of the material and spiritual culture were created.

After the Liberation from Ottoman domination in 1877 until the wars in 1912 -1913and in 1915 - 1918 as a historical capital Tarnovo played a significant role in the political, administrative and cultural formation of independent Bulgaria. In 1879 Bulgaria was restored for the second time. Then the Constituent Assembly drafted the supreme fundamental laws of the nation - the Tarnovska Constitution in the hall of the former Turkish konak (municipality building). The 1st, the 3rd, the 4th and The 5th Grand National Assemblies (in 1879, 1887, 1893 and 1911) were held in Veliko Tarnovo.


In 1990 The 7th Grand National Assembly was established in same Town Hall where the Constituent Assembly was in session in 1879. The 7th Grand National Assembly drafted the new Constitution of Bulgaria - the nation’s fundamental laws for modern democratic changes.

Modern Veliko Tarnovo is a town - museum rich in many cultural museums and monuments and architectural preserves. Every year the town is visited by thousands of tourists from Bulgaria and from abroad. It is a prime concern of the whole nation to study and preserve the numerous historical and architectural monuments, the rich museums and the museum stock.

Food in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's cuisine is influenced by the neighbouring Balkan countries of Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and northern Turkey.

Traditional food includes bread, pickled vegetables, salads, soups, stews, casseroles, stuffed vegetables, kebabs, spicy sausages and cheese dishes. Yoghurt is very popular and eaten most days. In fact, Bulgaria is said to be the home of yoghurt and Bulgarian yoghurt is thought to have curative properties.

Pork, lamb, beef, chicken, fish and vegetarian dishes are served with staples such as rice and bulgar wheat. Vegetables include aubergines, beans, cabbage, carrots, corn, courgettes, cucumbers, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and olives.

Favourite desserts are pancakes, baklava, baked apples and fresh fruit: apricots, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, grapes, melons, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, pears, plums and quinces.

Traditional alcoholic drinks are rakiya (a fruit brandy, often plum), wine and boza (a type of beer made with grain, usually millet). Non-alcoholic drinks include coffee, tea, juices, buttermilk and mineral water.