We all love the Summer – a couple of months that are just constant relaxation and no responsibilities – everybody’s dream! But what happens when you keep doing the same stuff and going to the same places every day? That’s why a friend of mine, Tsveti, decided to invite us to her grandparent’s house up in the mountains. What better way to escape the summer heat than the quite and cooling forest of the Balkan? So we set a date and went for it with no hesitation!
The gorgeous mountain resort, Atoluka, was an hour or two drive and about 150km away from Sofia, Bulgaria – where we all lived at the time. The trip was so nice – having to catch up with our friend Neda, that was away for month or so. We talked, laughed, sang, everything needed to have a great time. On our the way to the resort we went through another lovely destination – Pazardjik – the town, where her grandparents were actually living. So couldn’t miss visiting it and decided that travelling back to Sofia, we will come back to Pazardjik and at least have a walk in the city.
It wasn’t long until we came to my friend’s villa,
that was the cutest thing in the world – surrounded by the forest, carefully taken care of the plants and flowers, freshly mowed grass, patriotic placed Bulgarian flag.. just perfect!
Arriving there we found out, that her Grandma and grandpa were actually going to stay with us too. The two of them were the nicest people I’ve ever seen. They treated us like their own grandchildren and even better. They showed us where we were going to sleep and left us to unpack. But a moment later her lovely grandma knocked on the door to invite us to lunch.. that was the moment we all realised that her grandma was in possession of all the typical grandma characteristics – making sure we ate so much that we weren’t able to walk afterwards. I am sure we all came back at least 2-3kg heavier.
After the feasting was over, Tsveti offered us to take a walk in the Balkan and show us all the places she goes, when she visits her grandparents in the summer. Known for her lack of orientation, she lost us a couple of times in the woods until she called her grandma to give us some directions. Sadly we didn’t reach the place, where she had to take us because the weather was getting colder and windier with every second passing. Nevertheless, we did have some astonishing views over the mountains.
But fearing a storm was coming – we decided to go back to her villa and spent the rest of the day just resting and talking to each other. I really miss the calm, quiet atmosphere that the mountains offer. After another oversized full 3 dishes meal by her grandma, we went out again and spend some time with Tsveti’s friends, who were also visiting their grandparents the same day. Funny to think about it now, but that night one of her friends talked us into teaching how to shoot with his rifle. Strangely, we all got it pretty fast and started competing, who will shoot down the target more times. Childish things. Haha, but it was definitely fun to try!
The weather the next day was awful and we didn’t do much – talking, playing cards and of course – eating… A LOT! At one point we went out for a walk again, but it started raining so we didn’t have much of a choice but to go back in. The night we spent in the centre of the resort, making new contacts with the rest of Tsveti’s friends there. Pro tip – don’t let your friends drink if they haven’s eaten the whole day. Luckily all that we were doing that day was eating – so we didn’t have any problems that night. Hahaha.
Waking up, the breakfast was already served and waiting for us. That woman just wanted us to get chubbier and chubbier, I’m sure of it. Finishing the following feast, we packed and headed up to Pazardjik. The distance wasn’t big – just 40km, and shortly we arrived – ready to explore some more before we go back to Sofia.
The city centre was so beautiful, big fountains, many old buildings, a clock tower and a lot of parks. After some time spent there, we didn’t want to leave and started searching for more places to visit in Pazardjik. That’s how we discovered there was a zoo on a strangely formed “island” in the river Marica. How could we miss an opportunity like that?
But the lack of time limited us and we had to go fast trough the park, which led to almost no photos taken. The hurry didn’t stop me from treating myself with an ice cream from those old, vintage ice-cream machines that you can see nowadays only at carnivals or circus event. So I took the pleasure of a well-deserved refresher in the mad heat just before we got back into the car.
Sadly our trip was bound to an end, but it definitely left some sweet memories with my friends!
If you want to find more about Pazardjik – click here
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