Holiday – Page 2 – Pamper Stamper

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November 25, 2014December 4, 2014

Mount Pilatus – One of my most memorable places to visit.

How would I describe my trip to Mount Pilatus?

Scary – thrilling – exciting – adrenalin pumping – wondrous – magnificent – spectacular – fabulous – great – cold.

Actually no matter how much I try to describe our trip to Mt Pilatus, I will never be able to help you understand just how marvelous the experience of going there really is. It is a place that you have to go and experience it for yourself to fully understand what it is like.

Now if you don’t know anything about Mt Pilatus, the first thing you need to know is that in order to get to the top of the mountain, you can either walk one of the tracks which will take approximately four hours (if you are fit and healthy), or by the cogwheel railway. In fact the cog railway track up the mountain is the steepest in the world with 48 degrees at the steepest part! The way down is by the same railway or by gondola. The Goldola was being refurbished at the time of our visit so we did the trip up and down via the cog railway.

The highest point of the mountain is 2128 meters and the next highest point is 2119 meters. Between these two points is the landing point for the cog railway system, two restaurants and a hotel!

Now I am going to add some photos, they are great, but still not good enough to show the reality of the experience. I’ll just number the photos rather than describe each one 🙂

The base of the mountain and station for the cogwheel railway

The crane is there for doing repairs to the Gondola station

The cogwheel railway coming up the track

Can you see the little church on the top of the ridge?

The views are spectacular! the zig zag pattern you can see in some of the photos are the paths that the trampers use to climb up and down. There is another walk along the peak of the mountain that is very dangerous to walk, but is used by many and it leads to a place that can be reached by road. But it is only walked by expert mountain climbers. We wanted to go up the path on the other side of the restaurant/cog railway station but it was closed because of the snow. We walked up to the highest point on the opposite peak and while we were taking photos it started to snow! It was such a special experience to be there and have it snow as well. Just amazing!

And here is a short video of the view at the top…

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November 25, 2014

Amazing Lucerne, Switzerland.

Having just spent a day wandering through Zurich, I didn’t think I could find another city in Switzerland that would thrill me more! But honestly Lucerne is wonderful, especially the ‘Old town’.

On Saturday we had booked in for a bus tour which included a trip to Lucerne and also Mount Pilatus. The tour company picked us up from our hotel at 8.30 am. We met up with the rest of the other tourists, and by 9.30 we had left Zurich and were on our way to Lucerne. The views of Zurich as we climbed the hills were amazing, and the countryside was very typical of the Switzerland I had seen in movies and on television as I was growing up.

Switzerland countryside. Looks lush and green :-) — Switzerland countryside. Looks lush and green 🙂

Typical housing in a village as we pass through

A country Inn dressed up for the Christmas season

Mt Pilatus in the distance :-) — Mt Pilatus in the distance 🙂

We arrive in Lucerne and the first place to visit was the Lion Monument. This sculpture was made in 1820-21, and was made in honour of the nearly 700 Swiss Guard who died while defending the King in 1792 during the French revolution. The dying lion is portrayed impaled by a spear, covering a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland. The inscription below the sculpture lists the names of the officers and gives the approximate numbers of soldiers who died.

Me and judy in front of the monument — Me and Judy in front of the monument. Not sure why we are holding hands hehe!

From there we were all taken to the Lakeside and given and hour and a half to wander around and have a snack to eat. Lucerne has two wooden bridges that you can walk over that take you from the New Town over to the Old Town, although a lot of the New town is really old as well. The whole place is just a delight to walk around. I took hundreds of photos (well not quite, but nearly). Here is a sample for you to look at and to entice you to visit Lucerne yourself one day 🙂

I’ll start with photos of the buildings…

And now some photos of the bridges…

Looking back to the smaller wooden bridge

The bridge that all tourists come to see

Other photos from and on the bridges…

That is the new town side but lots of old buildings

Looking up from the smaller wooden bridge

Can you see why we loved Lucerne? A most picturesque town! We both felt like we were in a dream wandering through the place. The thing that brings you back to reality is the fact that hundreds of other tourists are there as well. As many tourists as the number of people that actually live there… almost daily! It’s still worth it, we loved our visit 🙂

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November 25, 2014November 25, 2014

A Weekend in Switzerland!

I cannot believe how simply spoilt I am! I have had a wonderful tour of the Balkans from August to September, and then flew to London to look after my grand daughter, and then while in London I manage to get a fabulous weekend away in Switzerland. I know! So super spoilt and so extremely blessed!

My sister Judy came from New Zealand for three weeks to accompany me in London, and as air fares are very reasonable to Europe from England, we decided to spend the middle weekend in Zurich. Actually we had a variety of places on offer, but Zurich won out. Judy had visited Lucerne and Mount Pilatus a few years ago and she knew I would love to visit them both as well. So a trip to Zurich was booked with a day trip on the Saturday to Lucerne and Pilatus 🙂

So with great excitement and a huge lack of sleep (my mind was buzzing with plans) we got up at 4am to catch our very early flight to Zurich. What a lot of fun. I felt like a teenager doing a big ‘OE’.

Can you see the excitement on our faces? We have landed and we are on the train to Zurich city from the airport.

Our hotel was about 2.5kms from the main train station and the best way to get to it was by tram. Zurich has trams and buses that cover the whole city and are very easy to use. So once we booked into the hotel, it was off to do our own ‘Discover Zurich’ tour. We weren’t disappointed! What a wonderful city to see, especially the ‘Old Town’. Have a look at these photos and I am sure you will agree with me 🙂

One of the many wonderful views along the river walk

I loved this photo of the river, bridge and buildings

The boats on the river and buildigs beyond — The boats on the river and buildings beyond

Another lovely photo of the Autumn leaves

Christmas lights were strung between the buildings but not turned on until the week after we visited

These church windows are by a famous artist?

While wandering around we found out that we could climb up the stairs into one of the church towers. The steps started as a concrete spiral staircase and then changed to wooden steps that looked very old, and you could easily see through the steps and how high you are! I think we were very brave to keep climbing up to the top 🙂

The church steeple that we climbed the stairs inside to the viewing platform

I loved this sight. Especially looking down into the square of the building below

See how tiny the people are below :-) — See how tiny the people are below 🙂

The city of Zurich from the church steeple

The best views from up high :-) — The best views from up high 🙂

So Zurich was a super town to stay for the weekend. Actually we could have stayed longer and seen much more of the place, but we had plans! Saturday was allocated to seeing Lucerne and Mount Pilatus. We went to sleep Friday night feeling satisfied with all the sights we had seen in Zurich. Little did I know that Saturdays sights would amaze me even more. I’ll share those photos with you in my next blog post 🙂

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November 4, 2014November 4, 2014

Bucharest – and our tour ends!

The final part of our journey, the wonderful ‘Tour of the Balkans’, and we arrive in Bucharest, the capital and largest city of Romania. We spend some time wandering around the places of interest within walking distance of the Hotel, followed by a trip by bus to the extremely large Government buildings! My job was to do the videoing on this day and Robin was the photographer. Judy took lots of photos as well. As the next morning was our last day in Romania, actually the last day in Europe, we had other things on our mind other than to load up all the days photos onto my computer. I was leaving early to start my new adventure in London, and the others were catching the plane in the afternoon to start their journey back to New Zealand! So today is the first day that I only have a very few photos.

Following our local Tour guide around the streets of Bucharest

Me posing in front of a horse statue :-) — Me posing in front of a horse statue 🙂

This is a new modern building built inside the shell of an old building. It is actually the headquarters of the Union of Romanian Architects.

Great building! A concert Hall built in 1865.

Passing by on the bus... — Passing by on the bus…

I don’t think anyone can go to Bucharest and not visit the Palace of Parliament. Going into this place was like going through customs at the airport only even more official. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside but it was okay while we were outside on the Balcony.

A better photo of the view from the Balcony

You have no idea how huge this parliament building is! It was massive! The details…

Palace of Parliament is 270m by 240 m, 86 m high, 92 m underground, 1,100 rooms, 12 stories tall, with four additional underground levels currently available and in use. The floor area is 340,000 m2. The Architect was 28 year old Anca Petrescu (a woman) who also led a group of 700 other architects. It took 25,000 people, 3 shifts, 24 hours day to construct it. Building started in 1984, it cost €3-billion and was completed in 1997.

The Palace of Parliament. Photo from 'Wikipedia' — The Palace of Parliament. Photo from ‘Wikipedia’

According to the World Records Academy, the Palace is the world’s largest civilian building with an administrative function, and it is the heaviest building! We were shown through a very small portion, but were still amazed by the number of enormous rooms inside. Most were available to be rented for Weddings or other occasions where Ballrooms were needed. Hugely extravagant and so very expensive to have built and no doubt to maintain!

So all the other photos of Bucharest are at home in New Zealand, but I guess you have seen and heard enough about this tour of the Balkans already. I know I have found it hard to stay enthusiastic to get this STORY completed, so can imagine it has been a bit of a trial for you, the reader, to see it through as well. Life has moved on and I have so many new events happening that I want to ‘tell’ you about… Hehe… aren’t you lucky 🙂 But I have loved the Balkans and will treasure the memories forever!

We finished the tour with a celebration dinner together. It didn’t feel like a celebration as we knew the next day we would be saying our goodbyes to our travel buddies. I am pleased that I can stay connected to the ones that have facebook accounts, and I can see what is going on in their lives even today (well a little portion anyway). They see a lot of me! I still have contact with friends from our last tour through facebook and it is really nice. You never know we may just meet again one day 🙂

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November 3, 2014November 3, 2014

Bran Castle – Romania

Officially called Bran Castle, and definitely not Draculas Castle.

Bram Stoker’s character, Dracula, is a Transylvanian Count with a castle located high above a valley perched on a rock with a flowing river below in the Principality of Transylvania. This character is often confused with Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), sometimes known as Vlad Dracul, who was a Walachian Prince with a castle, now in ruins, located in the Principality of Wallachia. Because Bran Castle is the only castle in all of Transylvania that actually fits Bram Stoker’s description of Dracula’s Castle, it is known throughout the world as Dracula’s Castle. In fact Bram Stoker never visited Romania. He depicted the imaginary Dracula’s castle based upon a description of Bran Castle that was available to him in turn-of-the-century Britain.

Have a look at their website! They have a wonderful movie of the castle to show you where it is situated and how big it is. And the above information is from that website!

Bran Castle

If you read the info from the first photo you will get the history of the castle. It was built in the 13th century!

Our tour group and some extras going up the stairs into the Castle

Judy going up the steps! It is actually quite high!

Inside the Castle in one of the many rooms

The roof from the balcony with me posing :-) — The roof from the balcony with me posing 🙂

Look how far away the road is! Shows how high the Castle is :-) — Look how far away the road is! Shows how high the Castle is 🙂

Walking along the balconies in the inner courtyard area

Some of the tour group down in the inner courtyard

It was surprising just how many people were actually visiting the Castle. I think there was probably about four tour groups, plus individuals visiting. We all meandered through the little passages inside the Castle, and had a look inside each room. Then it was out onto the balcony and walking around to the stairs to the inner courtyard and then out again. The pressure was on to get through as fast as possible! I was kind of disappointed. I guess I had imagined the Castle would be a lot more spooky and maybe with cobwebs and bats everywhere. I also thought I would see people dressed up as Dracula running around the place. It was actually quite normal! Nothing like the movies giving me a false impression huh! There were some markets in the area at the bottom of the castle and they did have Dracula paraphernalia for sale, amongst some other touristy stuff.

This man was walking around the market with a couple of animals used for entertainment!

So for those of you who are planning a trip to Romania, especially to visit Draculas Castle, and have thoughts that it’s going to be a real Dracula experience, it won’t be! But it is a very interesting Castle and well worth a look through 🙂

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November 3, 2014November 4, 2014

Brasov – Romania

And we arrive in Brasov to a Hotel full of young people. The foyer even though huge, was full of them. We immediately knew that there must have been some big event happening in this Romanian city 103 miles North of Bucharest. (Yes we have passed our final city of our tour, but heading back after two nights stay). After getting our Hotel room numbers and passing heaps of young adults in the corridors as we locate our room, I decided to ask at the front desk why so many people were staying at the Hotel. Not only one but two big events! The Romanian Music Awards for 2014 were being held in the old town square this very night (our first night) and up the road a little further was a huge tent set up for Octoberfest. The town was buzzing and so were all the young people that had come here to attend either or both of the festivals. We were left wondering just how much sleep we were going to get? The town square was just behind the hotel!

The huge tent for Octoberfest — The huge tent for Oktoberfest

The water fountain in the town square with the Stage behind it

Look at those speakers! Facing in the direction of our Hotel :-) — Look at those speakers! Facing in the direction of our Hotel 🙂

And we did hear the music but it was actually okay. Apparently the top bands of all of Romania were at our hotel, and we saw them wander through the foyer when their turn to sing was getting closer. The girls were dressed up like it was not only the music awards but the fashion awards as well. We even had fans sitting in the foyer trying to get as many signatures as they possibly could. Later on in the evening as we were going up to bed we met one band member wandering from his room to another room in his boxers. I did get a little worried that the entertainment in the rooms late at night might be louder than the actual singing, but by 1.30am all seemed very quiet and we had a great sleep.

The next morning it was an early start to discover Brasov with our local guide. The whole town was sleeping except for the street cleaners. It was quite eerie, but we got some good photos of the old town without all the usual tourists.

Usually it would be so hard to get such an empty street

Another empty street with fabulous buildings each side

Our tour group wandering through the old town square after the local guide

I love taking photos of these fabulous buildings

I think Brasov has seen too many Hollywood movies. They have their own sign way up on the hillside

After our wander through the town, we all boarded the bus and went out to visit Bran Castle. I will do a separate post for the Castle as there are so many photos to share 🙂

The optional tour for the afternoon was to a place called Sighisoara. We had heard that the trip was worth it as the place was known as an enchanting medieval gem of a town. We looked up photos on the internet and although it did look a lovely place to see, we were bused out, and it was a three hour round trip. Our afternoon was spent by having a lovely leisurely lunch first…

Enjoyiny the lovely sunny day while we wait for our lunch — Enjoying the lovely sunny day while we wait for our lunch

And then we decided to walk to the Gondola and go to the top of the hill. We wanted to get to the Brasov sign!

Yes... We walked up that steep hill... and more! — Yes… We walked up that steep hill… and more!

Looking down on the city from the Gondola

It was worth the walk both up to the Gondola and then from the Gondola station around to the sign.

That evening we all went to visit a traditional Transylvanian restaurant for an evening of delicious Romanian delicacies with music, dancing and wine. Our second to last evening together as a tour group.

Inside now and gathering in the courtyard :-) — Inside now and gathering in the courtyard 🙂

Seated and enjoying our entertainment, meal and time together relaxing

A fun photo of Judy and me :-) — A fun photo of Judy and me 🙂

Altogether another lovely day filled with wonderful memories! I love holidays 🙂

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October 28, 2014

And we cross the Border to Romania!

The border is actually at the Danube River. One side is Bulgaria and the other Romania. At each border, either our Tour director gathers all our 40 passports and takes them to the border control, or a border control officer comes onto the bus and gathers passports each one of us. The officers that came onto the bus take their job very seriously! I was always worried that there was going to be some sort of problem and that they would actually find something to stop us crossing the border! I can’t remember which country it was that we went into, but they held onto the South Africans passports for ages! David (our tour director) wasn’t sure if they would be allowed in at all. That had happened on a previous tour! But luckily we eventually were all accepted into each new country.

The Bulgarian toll charges for crossing the Danube River

With our passports, waiting for collection :-) — With our passports, waiting for collection 🙂

Our final destination for the day was to get to Brasov, but part of our tour was to visit the town of Sinai and also the Peles Castle. This castle cost approx US$120 million to build finishing in 1883. Although major improvements were made until 1914. The Castle was built for Monarchy, and owned by the crown. Now it is a heritage site and opened to the public, with an entry fee! To be able to take photos inside there is another cost and a label must be worn to prove that you have paid the fee. We all decided that I would buy a ticket and use my camera as it always takes fabulous indoor photos without need of a flash, and as you weren’t allowed to use the flash, it was perfect. Now I always take photos on fully automatic and people are always commenting on my great photos. So now you know my secret! It’s not because of my skill at all that I take good photos. It’s the fabulous camera that I have. A Canon EOS M. Have a look at the specs! It really is an excellent camera to use. Just copy and paste the link below in your internet browser 🙂

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_SLR/EOS_M/

This isn't actually the castle but the souvenier shop and facilities. Still looks pretty good though — This isn’t actually the castle but the souvenier shop and facilities. Still looks pretty good though

Closer up to the Castle and you can see the different shaped windows and outside materials

I loved this view of the roof and little turrets

The inner courtyard and the amazing Frescos

One of the Frescos in the inner courtyard

I love these iron decorations or scrolls. I have so many photos of them.

So after having a good look at the outside of the Castle and admiring all the Frescos in the courtyard, David finally got our tickets to enter the Castle. I was so happy to have a pass to take as many photos as I wanted!

The stairs we walked up into the first room that we looked at

The room had so much woodwork it was hard to take it all in!

Even the furniture was elegantly designed

The ceiling was high and the wood carved all the way up

And look at this amazing spiral staircase. Judy saw a photo of this on Facebook and asked if we saw it on our travels. This is it Judy :-) — And look at this amazing spiral staircase. Judy saw a photo of this on Facebook and asked if we saw it on our travels. This is it Judy 🙂

A similar photo to a previous one, but it all is so very amazing!

It was full of spears and armour and weapons

And there was even a full sized Horse with rider, both with armour on!

Our guide told us about every room, but there were actually so many and they were all very elaborate

Now I have put up a lot of photos, but believe me I could have put up heaps more! Sadly I have to confess that for the first time I touched something on my camera and changed the settings from automatic to manual. Now if I had time I would have fiddled around and managed to change the setting back but the tour guide kept moving on from room to room, and I was already at the end of the group, and panicking about keeping up, and trying to see everything and also trying to get the best photos I could get with minimal light and no idea how to focus the camera in these conditions! It was awful! I was angry with myself and sad that I wasn’t getting the best photos that I could get. And I nearly got lost! The group had moved out from the last room and I had no idea which way they went! The Castle was so big and had rooms going off in all directions. Luckily there were a couple of others from our tour still with me and taking photos, and we managed to get advise from another group leader! Phew!

So we wandered on back to the bus with me still being mad at myself for messing up the camera. One day I AM going to learn all about how to really use a camera on manual settings! One day I will!

Wandering through the street stalls on our way back to the bus :-) — Wandering through the street stalls on our way back to the bus 🙂

Peles Castle was certainly a wonder to see. It was great to get the extra photos inside and well worth the seven Euros fifty for that pleasure! But we still had more to do and that was to travel on to Brasov. So once again we load onto the bus and think about what we will see next. Our minds are already full of wonderful memories of this Balkans Tour. Just as well we are nearing the end as I am thinking that I am getting quite overwhelmed with all the information I have heard and the wonderful sights that I have seen.

We do live in a wonderful world and I am feeling very thankful. What an amazing experience 🙂

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October 27, 2014

Veliko Tarnovo – Bulgaria

The windy roads continue as we travel to the former medieval capital of Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo. A trip of approximately three hours from Sofia. We left Sofia after breakfast and arrived at Veliko Tarnovo with plenty of time to do some sightseeing. Our local guide Yama directed our Tour bus driver through the town and pointed out many historical monuments, and then directed him seven kilometers out of town to a place called Arbanasi.

Arbanasi has a population of around 300 people. It was very old, dating back to the 17th -18th century, and is known for it’s rich history and some very old buildings. We wandered the narrow streets stopping firstly at 17th century merchants house.

Just off the bus and venturing the streets of Arbanasi to see the different houses

There was a lot of overgrown grass and plants, and narrow streets with stone walls

One of the rooms, possibly for entertaining — One of the rooms, possibly for the whole family to sleep

The mothers room and bed for the new baby. — The mothers birthing room and bed for the new baby.

These stairs are the exit at the back of the house

We then wandered on to the Church of the Holy Nativity, dated 1632. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the church, but it was highly decorated on every wall with biblical scenes. It is also well known for it’s enchanting acoustics.

We are all waiting to go into the church. It is quite small but has about four separate rooms. Another tour was already inside and we needed to wait until they had left before we could go in.

And even though Arbanasi was only a small village type of town, there were about four restaurants on the main street and we all dispersed to have lunch before heading back to Veliko Tarnovo.

Waiting for our lunch to arrive :-) — Waiting for our lunch to arrive 🙂

Veliko Tarnovo was known to be one of the strongest Bulgarian fortification between the 12th and 14th centuries. The whole place is surrounded by walls as you will see in the photos.

The most popular landmark is the historic hill Tsarevets which Robin and Len went and visited and took several photos for us.

Some of our tour party following the guide to the fortress

Walking in with a view of the wall to the left side

The guide is explaining the area from the map

Robin wandering the fortress with some others from our tour

Time to go! Back to the Hotel :-) — Time to go! Back to the Hotel 🙂

Zoomed in to the river and bridge. Look at the houses!

Judy, Teresa and I went and had a look at the shops. It was very hot and we were actually feeling a little weary from the bus ride again. It was nice to just have some free time and wander around. We ended up sitting at a local cafe and just enjoyed doing nothing in particular.

Judy at the shopping street near our Hotel

Yes.... it's a selfie! — Yes…. it’s a selfie!

Our Hotel was really quite nice and after a very hot day I went down the three floors to the swimming pool and had a half hour swim before tea.

We had a lovely meal at the Hotel with the rest of our tour group and ended up having a sing along and dance. A super ending to another lovely day of ‘Touring the Balkans’ 🙂

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October 21, 2014October 21, 2014

The Amazing Rila Monastery in Bulgaria

So we are now in Bulgaria, staying at the capital city of Sofia. The first morning we did a walking tour of Sophia and in the afternoon we chose to take the extra tour to The Rila Monastery. None of us had even heard of The Monastery or even seen any photos of it, so we were in for a surprise. The Monastery was only a nearly two hour drive, but the day before we had traveled from Ohrid to Sofia, and it ended up an all day trip. The roads were kind of windy (curvy) and some of us felt like we had a little motion sickness going on in our heads. Not the kind that makes you feel sick but the kind that gives you a woozy head, even on land. Now the trip to The Monastery, as I said, is nearly two hours, but we have to come back to Sofia and that totals another big day of traveling… on a bus… and including windy roads! We were thinking that this Rila Monastery better be worth the trip!

Tour of the Balkans - Sofia to The Rila Monastery — Tour of the Balkans – Sofia to The Rila Monastery

On the bus again but we have the back row to ourselves!

The drive to the Monastery was broken up with a stop at Kocherinovo to see the nesting Storks.

These Storks obviously aren't real but they have become a bit of an icon for the town, so advertising them is very useful for the tourist trade :-) — These Storks obviously aren’t real but they have become a bit of an icon for the town, so advertising them is very useful for the tourist trade 🙂

See the Stork nest on top of the building?

We also stopped for lunch. A lovely meal of fried trout, tomatoes, shredded cabbage and potatoes… yum! And the view was so relaxing.

The restaurant was by a mountain stream with a path leading down to it

Happy at lunch with an amazing view behind us

So that good break in the traveling was such an great idea! Next stop was the Monastery. Reader prepare to be amazed when you look at the photos! It’s a wonderful place to see!

Going in to the Monastery — Going into the Monastery

As we enter, we were all just speechless! The view was outstanding!

These porches look amazing... all three stories — These porches look amazing… all three stories

And here we have Judy in front of one of the monks!

Judy posing at a door that is a side entrance to the church

Robin sitting under the porch at the church

And sitting on the monks chairs with beautiful mosaics behind

the mosaics were on all walls of the porch in front of the church

Mamluk influence with the striped painting and the domes

Fabulous Mosaics. We couldn't believe our eyes! — Fabulous Mosaics. We couldn’t believe our eyes!

Mosiacs in the church porch — Mosiacs and a fountain in the church porch

A fountain in the porchway – looking out

Outside the monastery but still part of the grounds

Now for all the details about the monastery. I’m going to let Wikipedia tell you all about it….

The Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria and occupies an area of 8,800 m². It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m above sea level. The rectangular monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 – 946 AD). It is regarded as one of Bulgaria’s most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southern Europe. In 2008 alone, it attracted 900,000 visitors. It was destroyed by fire in 1833 and then reconstructed between 1834 and 1862 with the help of wealthy Bulgarians from the whole country.

The main church of the monastery has five domes, three altars and two side chapels, while one of the most precious items inside is the gold-plated wall of icons and religious paintings. The church is also home to many valuable icons, dating from the 14th to the 19th century. Porches in the courtyard have Mamluk influence with the striped painting and the domes, which became more popular in the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Egypt. It is truly a remarkable sight to see.

The four-storey (not counting the basement) residential part of the complex consists of 300 chambers, four chapels, an abbot’s room, a kitchen (noted for its uncommonly large vessels), a library housing 250 manuscripts and 9,000 old printed matters, and a donor’s room. The exterior of the complex, with its high walls of stone and little windows, resembles a fortress more than a monastery.

Yes we traveled nearly an extra four hours, two hours there and back. Was it worth it? definitely. I am very happy to say that we have been there. That I have seen that wonderful place with my own eyes. Ahhhhhh! What a pleasure it was! Looking at the photos do you agree? Let me know by adding your comments 🙂

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October 21, 2014

Sofia – Bulgaria

After our three and a half hour drive we arrive at Sofia, and we cross another border as well. We are now in Bulgaria!

Our Hotel is fabulous and right in the middle of the city!

One of our other tour party (Claudia) wrote about our Hotel…

Our hotel Sofia Grand Hotel, sits on one of the most beautiful squares. The hotel is luxurious, glowingly paneled in fine woods in hallways, and dripping with green marble bathroom surfaces, huge and comfortable.

The day ahead was full, so it was an early start. We began with a two hour walking tour, starting and ending from the hotel. Naturally we took plenty of photos to share.

The Largo, an example of Stalinist Architecture

This church has lovely gardens. They are doing repair work on the church roof

Looking in from the door of the cathedral. We weren't allowed to photograph inside — Looking in from the door of the cathedral. We weren’t allowed to photograph inside

Some old grave stones at one of the churches — Some old stones at one of the churches. They look Greek! Sofia means ‘Wisdom’ in ancient Greek!

The afternoon was filled with an add on tour to the Rila Monestry but I will do a separate post for that visit. I took soooooo many photos!

For our dinner we chose another add on tour and it was a great experience!

SOFO2 BULGARIAN FOLKLORE SHOW WITH DINNER
Take your seats for a fun-filled evening of wine, traditional
entertainment and hearty Bulgarian cuisine. Expect
delicious dishes prepared according to age-old recipes, an
authentic atmosphere and colourful folklore show featuring
traditional dancers, musicians and songs.

We were divided into two groups and sat at a table each. There's Robin at the end of the table — We were divided into two groups and sat at a table each. There’s Robin at the end of the table

That's our table from the other end. Look at the delicious food! — That’s our table from the other end. Look at the delicious food!

And this is the other half of our tour group. Well those who chose to go to the dinner :-) — And this is the other half of our tour group. Well those who chose to go to the dinner 🙂

Our folklore show featuring traditional dancers and musicians

And our tour director David and some of our tour group up dancing

The restaurant was up Vitocha hill so we had a little trip back to our hotel on the bus after dinner. Everyone was in good spirits so we continued the great evening by singing ‘Abba” songs all the way back. Such a fun time 🙂