A walk and a talk in Veliko Tornavo

I was peacefully making my way though the Bulgarian countryside when, all of a sudden, there it was, the hills, the ruins and everything: Veliko Tornavo, the city of the Tsars !

It's also a nice dynamic city with nice young people. I actually managed to force three elements of said group to part-take in the Veliko Tornavo Podcast ! A Big thanks to Plamena, Simeon and the count of Monte Hristo and his house of coulours for making this so fun to record !

Learn about Bulgarian food, words, facial hair styles and history, in chit chat and in song in just 26 minutes in this Epidode Two !

First stop - Koprish.. vits...stsa... Koprivshtitsa !!

I still can't pronounce it right, but it's to this sweet little "museum-city" that I have first made my way ! (Ko - priv - shti - tsa ... not that easy eh?)

And to visit Korpsh... this little touristy town, I picked my timing perfectly. A Monday afternoon, off-season. Needless to say I was fairly undisturbed strolling about with my ukuleles. A still and mysteriously empty afternoon it was.

This song came to me while sitting on a bench, the water from the melting snow falling on my jeans and making me look slightly incontinent. It's about taking a deep breath, and enjoying the stillness. Or something like that. And it's called Koprtshi... stist... well, just like the city actually.

In all fairness to this nice little place, it is more of a week-end and holiday destination. Apparently, during the National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore every 5 years, it is so crowded, you can barely walk ! A city of two atmospheres it would seem. 

Podcast Number One - from Sofia, Bulgaria !

It's the capital would you know !

And that's just one of the (super) interesting things you will learn in Episode One from the travelling microphone of ukulele road trips. Other topics include yogurt, a bright little Tsar and a super interesting documentary about growing up in a country in transition.

Click HERE to check the podcast out ! It's got songs and everything !

Just above are a few pictures taken in Sofia. In order of subjective prettiness: the NDK (National Palace of Culture, A communist/arty take on the history of cinema, a Martinetsa (мартеница - listen to the blog to find out more), and, a lady with colourful balloons.