Welcome to Bulgaria

Chris and I would like to officially say we have made it to Bulgaria! We have spent about five days here and its been a bit of a whirl wind. After a long plane ride we have battled some jet lag and have found some new friends. Some from Canada, some from the U.S. and some from Bulgaria. Some of these friends have traveled and taught abroad but others are just as fresh as us.

Wednesday and Thursday we traveled with our new group through the country to a city called Veliko Turnovo. This ancient city once served as the capital of Bulgaria. Its large hills, great river and strategic placement made this a perfect spot for a powerful city. Although it is a little more quaint in modern times, this city is still rather breath taking between its fascinating monuments to the adorable hotel that we stayed at. We definitely plan on making a trip back.

Our tour also brought us to the city of Plovdiv. This city is also a very old one also built on some large hills (there are some trends here). This city has some amazing Roman ruins that are actually being used.

The city truly serves as a crossroads of civilizations. The Roman, Byzantium, Ottoman and Soviet empire have all set up shop in the city, and all leaving their mark. It was interesting to see the contrast between the old and the new. Pretty much the whole city is under construction as Plovdiv has been selected as the European capital of culture for 2019. (For more information check out this!) Much is changing in the city and we are looking forward to visiting again.

It's been a long five days and we are only getting started. This next week we begin our work as teachers. We will also familiarize ourselves with the new home, Sofia. Stay tuned!