The main attraction of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria is Tsarevets Fortress. I had specifically picked my hotel for the balcony view overlooking it.
I saved visiting the fortress until my last day, when I had several hours to kill before heading to Istanbul.
I checked out of my hotel. The woman working tried to hand me a pre-packaged sandwich. I shook my head “no,” forgetting again that Bulgarians shake their heads left to right to mean “yes” and up and down to say “no.” It took a few tries of rejecting her offer before it finally took.
Today is a hot day, as it has been for most of my trip. It is also very sunny. I have on so much sunblock and I just know I am going to be burned anyway. I am honestly considering a Kentucky Derby style hat for my Asia adventure in May/June.
Entrance:
This sign freaked me out. First you prey on my fear of twisting my ankle and falling to my death, then you cleverly work in that I may have the shit scared out of me by random reptiles.
Making my way up:
Such a pretty view:
Up near the top is a nice, shady place to take a break:
Then of course, there is this still looming up top:
Do you want to know what is up there? I did. So I kept going. Look how high I am now!
When you reach what appears to be the very top, you may miss that there is an elevator, unless you know to look for it. It is up a very scary (to me) staircase, behind a metal door. I thought I had a picture, but I do not. i found amusement in that there is an elevator to take you up the tiniest last bit of way, after you just hiked up this high.
Once you take the elevator up (it costs $2 BGN if I remember correctly) you are at the back of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God.
You can sign in upon entering. Here is a very blurry picture of my sign in. I wrote the date, “Jennifer from Brooklyn, NY” and my blog name. I love that the lyrics of my favorite band, used for my blog name, now reside in a sign in book of a cathedral on top of the world.
Inside:
On my way down, completely burned and soaked in sweat, NOW the clouds come and the sun goes away. Sigh.
