Top Of The World Ma, Top Of The World

Thinking back to round about September/October time last year and there were reports about how harsh this winter was going to be. I think that we can safely say that they managed to get that wrong. So we have had a few evenings where the temperature has dropped to about -15C, but that has been nothing compared to other years. It is also true that we have had part of the Cresta Run going outside our house. That has been largely thanks to the village children and their bits of board. We have been able to get out and about this winter, so to my mind that indicates that it has been a lot milder than normal. I have only caught the bus into town once, so that in itself has been an added bonus. So here we are not quite the end of January and it is snowing again. Will it be the final flurries of winter? That remains to be seen.

This last week has found us in town meeting up with friends, which even in itself is nice for this time of year. Even the temperature was hitting round about 18C and it felt like a late Spring early Summer's day. After having something to eat we decided that the weather was too good to be wasted, and we all agreed that a walk would be a good idea. Now for those who know Gorna Oriahovitsa you will have noticed the big stone cliff face that overlooks the town. To the locals it is simply known as 'The Stone'. It is a popular walk with the locals but not something that we have really done, but even though we weren't really dressed for it we decided to give it a go.

I was surprised to see just how many others were doing the walk too as it was midweek, but there were the elderly, family groups and dog walkers all enjoying the unusually warm weather. They all seemed to be heading for the hut/cafe at the top and then turning round and going back to the bottom. The road and paths wend their way through woodland and even in the summer it would be quite a pleasant walk. Where everyone else continued straight on we headed in the direction of a sign saying 'Panorama'. This put us on the Ecotrail for The Stone, we decided that we might as well try it seeing as how we were there. The first bit of the trail was easy enough to follow as it had been marked with red and yellow paint, although this did seem to peter out and we were left to our own devices. Following a slight detour we found ourselves at the base of the Stone, so we back tracked slightly and found a way up. Others had been there before us as there was evidence that wine connoisseurs had been having one of their meetings there. That to me is one of the main disappointments, this is such a scenic country but rubbish just gets dumped or left.

We scrabbled over mossy rocks and slowly made our way to the summit. We even managed to find the paint marks again so we knew that we were back on the right track. On getting to the top the whole of Gorna Oriahovitsa was spread out at our feet. Wow, what a view! Sod's Law of course dictated that between the four of us none of us had a camera with us. We were able to spot various villages and landmarks as we stood up there , we even spotted another couple of potential walks. If anyone had told me back in the autumn that in the middle of January I would be stood up on top of the Stone looking over Gorna Oriahovitsa I would have thought that they had gone mad. We have all decided that we are going to do the walk again and next time we are going to take cameras with us. So maybe our walking season has arrived a wee bit early but we don't mind.

January Traditions

Well hello everyone and welcome to 2013, and our first Blog of the year. Luckily it seems as though the Mayans prediction that the world would end last month has failed to materialise. Or maybe it has, and we remain blissfully unaware. It might only be the 6th of January but there have already been a couple of important traditions enacted across Bulgaria.

The first took place on the 1st of January and is known as Sourvakane. I have covered this in a previous Blog so I shall not dwell on this too long. This is the ritual where young children go from door to door with their decorated Cornel twigs. In towns it is possible to get mass produced commercial versions, but in the villages it still tends to be more traditional. Our first ones started ringing the doorbell at daft o'clock, evn the streetlight was still lit. I thought it safer for the children for me to try and ignore them, after all I hadn't even had a cup of coffee by then. Even the dogs and cats were very reluctant to stir. I was safe in the knowledge that they would be back, and sure enough they were but at a more sensible time. When you answer the door to them you are meant to turn round so that they can pat you on the back with their decorated cornel twigs or wands as they say a rhyme or blessing.

“Sourva, sourva, the year, merry and prosperous year!
Lots of wheat in the field, red apples in the orchard,
Gold coin in the cupboard, large grapes on the vine,
Hives full of honey, young chickens everywhere!
May you be alive and healthy this year and forever!"

We had about a dozen children who visited us this year, which was more than normal so there were some who were probably visiting family. Hopefully this will mean that we are in for a healthy year.

The next main tradition happened today, and goes by various names, Bogoyavlenie, Yordanovden, Voditsi, Vodokrushti or Men's Water Day. All of the names revolve around water, according to the Eastern Orthodox teachings it was on this day that Christ was baptised in the River Jordan. I can remember when I was growing up and there were items on the news about people swimming in the Serpentine, or the sea, on New Year's Day. Even at such an early age I can remember thinking 'Sod That'. Over here in Bulgaria winter has a tendency to be a bit colder but on this day it doesn'tseem to matter. The day starts with the church bells ringing and the priest saying a mass. From there people head for the nearest river or lake. Once again the priest says a small mass and casts his cross into the waters. The young men attempt to catch the cross, or at least retrieve it from the water. I think that it is just a thing that men get involved with, but this celebration doesn't seem to happen in our village beyond the ringing of the bells.

Whoever retrieves the cross returns it to the priest, in exchange for a small gift and a blessing. This person is thought to be guaranteed health and happiness throughout the coming year. Presumably that is if he doesn't succumb to pneumonia after his dip. There are slight similarities to doing Arctic Survival Training (AST), water is bloody cold at this time of year. Thankfully I have not been roped into this, or even volunteered. In most of the country it is a big celebration as is also used as a portent to how the harvest will be the forth coming year. If ice forms on the cross after it has been in the water, then there is going to be a good harvest. Once this ritual has taken place people are said to wash their hands and faces in the water. This will also ensure their own health and happiness forthe coming year. Even the old and infirm are not forgotten, water is bottled and taken to them. 

For the most part I do try to use my own photographs for our Blogs, but as this event doesn't seem to happen in our village I have included random photographs from the internet. Unfortunately I don't know who the photographers are, but I would like to pass on my thanks to them. Although a lot of the depictions are of people in traditional costume, this doesn't mean that they are compulsory 

Winter's Back

At least we made it through November before the snows arrived this year. Even though we haven't received a huge amount of snow yet, it has proved to be totally different to any other winter that we have experienced since moving here. Once again the normal warnings have been trotted out, about how this is expected to be the coldest winter since records began. I do tend to take these things with a pinch of salt. By and large there is enough of a problem trying to predict what tomorrow's weather will bring, never mind a whole season. Bearing in mind we are mid way through the month we have had sunny days with bright blue skies, rain and drizzle, snow, sleet and hail. Just for good measure we have also had some freezing fog, probably because it couldn't be fitted in anywhere else.

We started off with a scattering of snow showers, which really weren't amounting to anything much, but it was enough to start pitching on the ground. The village just carried on much the same as normal, but then overnight we had a larger than normal load of snow which fell. On top of this there were further snow showers the following day. In the village here they seem to wait until the snow has finished before they get the tractors out to plough the roads and lanes. As we were getting snow showers off and on, none of the roads and lanes have been cleared. So this has meant that the village has slowly ground to a halt. We did have a few days without snow, and the sun came out and everything glistened and looked very festive. The down side to this was that the snow was melting, and the temperatures at night have been falling below zero. So what was once nice looking snow was rapidly becoming treacherous ice. Still no signs of any snow or ice clearance activities in the village.

Just out of interest I did get the village bus into town last week. The last time that I used this was last winter, for some reason the lunchtime bus that I caught used to turn round at Vinograd, but it turned in our village this time. Maybe the road out that way was just too bad. I have to admit that here in Paisii and our neighbouring village of Strelets the road conditions had a lot to be desired. This didn't improve all the way down the ridge road until round about the old hunting lodge. It was almost as though someone had thrown a switch when the bus got to the main road, as the roads were totally clear. In Gorna itself it was difficult to find any evidence that there had been any snow at all. Is it any wonder that I often refer to our village as Ice Station Zebra.

By far the worst thing that we have had to face so far has been the freezing fog and the overnight drizzle. This gave everything a nice glazed look, but every path and road was like a skating rink. Even the cats and dogs were slipping and sliding everywhere, even our gravel driveway was just one sheet of very slippery ice. It was as though someone had polished everything to such a high shine it was nigh on impossible to walk on. There was no way that I was even going to contemplate driving anywhere in those conditions. The dogs and cats are also very reluctant to go out in it, and as soon as they have finished outside they make a bee line indoors and head for the closest fire. Mind you I can't say that I blame them too much. Net has very kindly shared the virus that she has been suffering with, so I'm not feeling 100% either. There are certain jobs that do need doing outside, so I end up looking like the Michelin Man as I go about them.

At the moment the thermometers have not dropped too far down the scale, a couple of times we have woken up to -7C. There is still plenty of winter left to go though, and at the moment the daytime temperatures are often hovering at about the 0 mark. Once again it gives the ExPat community something to talk about, who has snow and who doesn't. It is surprising that weather conditions can vary so much between villages, even neighbouring ones. This time of year does also lead to a lot of missed celebrations. We were meant to be at a friend's birthday celebration yesterday, and tonight we are having to miss the Ambassador's carol concert in VT. Not only do we have to pay attention to the existing weather conditions, but it is also prudent to keep an eye on the time too. The temperatures start freezing in the village at about 4pm, so ideally we normally try to be home before then.

Well this has been another year of blogs, and once again I would like to thank you all for taking the time and effort to read them. Net and I would like to wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

November Ends

So we come to the end of November, and still no sign of the dreaded snow word. The closest that we have come to snow has been to wake up to a few frosts in the morning. Today is a real surprise, I have checked my thermometers outside and it is 21C, and this isn't even in the sun. We now have a full line of washing out drying, even the breeze yesterday morning had a warm feel to it. In one way we did make up for it last night, as we had a wonderful thunderstorm and the rain did come down like stair rods. One thing that we do get at this time of year is a fair bit of fog, but fortunately this has normally burnt off by mid morning.

As is usual at this time of year we have had to do certain things to get ready for the onset of winter. Wood for the fires has been cut and stacked, we have been up in the attic checking for damaged tiles and any possible leaks. While we were up there we have also laid out even more of the rolls of insulation. We have also been down to Yolanta's and given a hand there too. All of the petchka's and their associated pipework have been cleaned. To some it might seem as if this is being carried out far too early, but last year we had snow on the ground in October, other years we have managed to get up to Christmas morning before the snow has arrived. So no year is the same as another, as it does pay to get yourselves sorted out early rather than rush things. Our winter preparations are nearly complete now, the freezers are full, the cupboards are full, we have a healthy stock pile of animal food, we have even managed to get elasticated crampon type things that will slip on over shoes and let us walk round a lot easier. One of the last things left to get on my list  is a replacement snow shovel as I managed to kill mine last winter.

We have also helped some very good friends do various bits and pieces to their home too. It is surprising what can be achieved if people pitch in and help each other. These lovely people now not only have a wood store, but I feel sure that it can double up as a nuclear bunker should the need arise. It even took the weight of two of us up on the roof, so I don't imagine that the weight of snow will cause too many problems.

Despite these preparations we have still managed to get out and walk round the village in the sunshine. It was quite pleasant doing this as you end up in places that you can't get to in a car. For example we managed to walk all of the way round a lake on the outskirts of the village. The only downside was the amount of rubbish that we found just dumped there. The worst of it being that it can only have come from  the villagers themselves, as this lake is largely hidden. Sometimes they fail to see just what they are ruining. Maybe in time they will learn, but in the meantime they might follow our example and take their rubbish home with them, hopefully this won't be too difficult for them to understand otherwise there will be nothing left for future generations.

When we went on one of our walks we did meet a couple of Bulgarians from a neighbouring village who were out mushrooming. It just goes to prove that a lot of the villages are interconnected by small tracks and trails, and not just by roads. One thing that I did spot on one of our walks, was something that I didn't even see very often back in the UK. At the top of a tall tree was a ball of mistletoe. I can't remember if I have seen sprigs of mistletoe sold on Bulgarian markets, so I can not comment about whether it holds the same position in winter lore as in the UK. Even if it is not the case then it is an alternate source of food for the birds. I am pleased to report that there has been no repetition of last year's visitor from the plant pots, but we have asked the cats to keep an eye out just in case.

Sometimes it does seem hard to believe that all of this will soon be under a coating of snow. If we are lucky the winter will not be as prolonged as the previous one, or that the temperature will plummet quite so far. Whatever happens we will be prepared for whatever happens, and if I am lucky I might not be interviewed by  any odd TV news team that might be about this time round.

Maybe Autumn Has Arrived Now

Now here we are mid way through October and it has got much more Autumnal. Even though the colours are mainly just greens and golds at the moment. When the wind blows through the trees there are sudden flurries of falling leaves, as they clatter their way to the ground. There is the normal battle of trying to keep the leaves raked up, and as you go around the village there are plenty of mounds of smouldering leaves. The wood lorries have been doing their rounds and delivering people's winter firewood. Here we get the wood in metre lengths, and it is up to us to get it cut and split. My chain saw has decided that now would be a good time to pack up, so we have had one of the locals in to saw the wood up into cheeses for us. I am quite happy splitting it, there seems to be something quite satisfying, and therapeutic, about log splitting. Even in the depths of winter I find it good exercise to split a few logs. I have quite a nice pile of split logs growing, and as I fill the log baskets up I intend to split some more to replace those used.

Our neighbour Dencho seems to have got a bit carried away pruning some Walnut trees. I thought that they were protected, but maybe pruning them is ok, and you have to obtain permission to actually cut one down. Most of them we haven't had a problem with, but one of them, even he has previously told us, stands on our land. Not only that but when he 'trimmed' it the branch damaged the corner of our barn. I eventually managed to catch up with him and pointed this out, but this was met with the traditional Bulgarian shrug of the shoulders. The next day his son was in the field cutting the branches up, I pointed out the problem and the damage to the barn, again I got the shoulder shrug. I wrote out my points of concern, and then used Google translate (which I realise isn't wonderful) and then showed it to Dencho's son. Once again the shoulders were shrugged. Even though it was a Saturday me and my piece of paper went round to the Kmet's house. I don't know what she said or did, but half an hour later Dencho's son is knocking on the gate with his mobile. He had got a friend to translate for him, he said that the roof of the barn would be fixed, and that our walnut tree causes too much shade in the field where they want to grow fruit trees. I explained that was all well and good but if the tree is ours then shouldn't we have been consulted first. I would even have given a hand. He tried telling me the tree was his, but thanks to the sketch the tree is actually within our boundaries. I pointed out that as a foreign national I had to form a company to buy the land on which my house sits, so therefore anything on the land is a company asset.

Anyway Dencho and his son have now got a nice clear field, surrounded to the South and East by Walnut trees that look like they have come out of a Dr Seuss book. We have both got some firewood from the tree branches, and the barn roof has been repaired. So much of this could have been sorted out over a coffee before the chain saw massacre took place. Hopefully we will not suffer too much with the natural windbreak no longer being there, I am sure that we will find out soon enough. We have fared ok with the first rains in I don't know how long, and hopefully we will do the same when the snow arrives. This time last year we had already received our first snowfall.
Like everyone else in the village there are certain tasks that have to be carried out, otherwise the winter will catch us on the hop. It's silly things like getting up on the roof and checking for damaged tiles, and replacing them. The chimneys and flue pipes also need to be swept, and any damaged piece of flue replaced. Whenever I do this job I always seem to end up looking like an extra from the Black and White Minstrel Show. I must be showing my age being able to remember things like that. The garden also has to be sorted out, with a lot of the old bits and pieces removed, various bits lifted for storing over winter, and other bits. I always find that it is better to just do as I am told, otherwise I would be lifting weeds for over wintering.

It is still a nice time of year, and the countryside is constantly changing. The daytime temperatures are still quite good, and we haven't woken up to frosts yet. We have had a couple of foggy mornings where the fields have not emerged from the murk until nearly lunchtime. You can still hear the steady chug and wheeze of tractors as they work the fields, and even though you can't see them the roosters have been in fine voice. The only downside to this time of year is that it always comes before the winter. If we are lucky it will be better than the last one. People are already forecasting another harsh winter, I can't see how they can manage this, as each year the winters have been different. So at the moment no one can really say how severe our fifth winter is going to be, or even how long it will last. Maybe we will be lucky and have a little snow, and plenty of sunny days. It would be nice but somehow I doubt it.  

Independence Day Wrestling

For those who are regular readers of our blog, you might remember that this time last year we were invited to attend the wrestling in the village of Parvomaytsi. Net and I enjoyed ourselves there, and luckily a friend of ours Victor remembered this and invited us both to attend again this year. We didn't want to keep it to ourselves, so in turn we also invited Barb and Dave. In the lead up to the Saturday we were getting rather concerned as it was bucketing down with rain, fortunately it did dry out on the Friday and so we were confident that the wrestling would be going ahead. We got there ahead of most of the other people so we sorted out somewhere that we would have a clear unobstructed view.

We even had enough time to move tables as it did get a wee bit chilly sitting in the shade. Barb and Dave turned up in plenty of time, so we were able to sort out drinks and nibbles. They had these fried fish things, fortunately for me they also had chips. For anyone who has not experienced Bulgarian style wrestling, you are missing out on a treat. It is nothing at all like the Saturday afternoon wrestling that I used to watch with my Nan. It is all done to 'musical' accompaniment, I can't really imagine the likes of Big daddy and Giant Haystacks wrestling to the squeal of bagpipes, and the beat of a drum and an accordion being drowned out by both of them. It was remarked upon that they all seemed to be playing different tunes.

There was wrestling for all age and weight categories, and the best of it was that it was all carried out by people with big beaming smiles on their faces. There is definitely something that other sports can learn about sportsmanship. There was no animosity at all, the crowd were openly drinking and urging the wrestlers on. It was an occasion for all of the family, but there was not one scrap of drink fuelled loutish behaviour. Everyone was just concentrating on the wrestling. It was more like the wrestling in the Olympics than Nan's Saturday afternoon bouts, and seemed to be scored for throws and pins.

The wrestlers were definitely agile, and in some of the bouts is seemed as though some competitors were trying to get the better of an eel. Barb was getting quite enthusiastic about the various bouts, and the locals seemed to enjoy the idea of Barb enjoying herself. I can safely say that I thoroughly enjoyed my Saturday afternoon sat in the sunshine, watching this sporting spectacle unfolding in front of us. It did feel nice being included like that, and I think that we were the only foreigners there. Even the squealing of the bagpipes seemed to fade as the hubbub rose as people discussed the various techniques being utilised in the ring.


There are much worse ways to spend a Saturday afternoon, and I even had my camera there to capture some of it. As you can see I found a way to change the images from colour to black and white. For some reason I am enjoying black and white images at the moment, and thought that I would share some with you. I am just hoping that Viktor will also remember to remind us about the wrestling next year if it is on, it really is that enjoyable. Once the bagpipes had faded away into the background it was all even more enjoyable. So if anyone ever invites you to go and watch some wrestling I can highly recommend that you attend. Before I forget I had best let you know the prize that they were all fighting over, it was a sheep.

As We Go Into September

Well we are now nearly midway through September, and even though the days are still sunny, the evening temperatures are definitely dropping. During the day we are still facing temperatures in the 30s, but at night we are down to about 15C. That might sound warm to those still in the UK but because we have got so used to the temperatures in the midst of the summer, it does feel quite nippy of a night time.

The trees are starting to take on an autumnal hue, now whether this is due to the time of year or that they have had so little water through the summer is anyone's guess. Whatever the cause there are now starting to be drifts of leaves at the road side. I have noticed the days are getting shorter too, we left Gorna in daylight yesterday, but it was dark by the time we got home. There didn't even seem to be any real twilight, it was light and then it wasn't. It even seemed to catch a lot of the wildlife out too.

So the summer seems to be losing its grip on the country, the summer Olympics, and Paralympics, are now finished for another four years. The football seasons have kicked off again, in both the UK and over here. Farmers are busy in their fields, and quite often you get stuck behind a lorry, carrying grain or wood, as it drives round the back lanes. Well it seems to be lorries or farm vehicles at the moment. The trees all seem quite laden with fruit ad nuts at the moment. It might have taken nearly 4 years but I have finally managed to pick, and eat, a peach from one of the trees in our garden.

The fruit trees about the village will soon be battered by the local gypsies, as they try to gather up as much fruit as they can. It wouldn't be so bad if it was for their own consumption but they sell it on for a pittance. It is the same with the walnuts. If ever you see the locals hands at this time of year, you would think that they have all been doing oil changes on the village tractors, but they have been shelling the walnuts. We have already been approached about the nuts in the trees surrounding our house.

The winter fodder for the animals is also being collected up and put into storage ready for the winter. At least the weather is that much cooler so at least you can get out and about and do things. We have learnt to start to adopt a siege type mentality round about this time of year. Down at the fruit and vegetable market as things come into season the price drops, so we stock up and freeze a lot. At least this means that we do have access to fruit and veg when we get snowed in up on top of our hill. Some things like the basic bread, eggs and milk we can get round at the local magazin, other things like pet food we can't. So we will shortly be doubling up on certain grocery items. It might sound a bit early to be doing things, but winter doesn't always give you advance warning before its arrival.

Our wood pile has been drying out since this time last year, and has now been cut up into cheeses. This means that come the winter while Net is indoors doing the housework, I am getting some exercise splitting logs for the fires. I think that the animals are already eyeing up their spots in front of the fires. It does seem to be worthwhile doing a winter job a week at this time of year, at least everything isn't going to be such a rush when you don't need it to be.

So soon we will be able to look forward to the smell of wood smoke on the evening air. If we get any rain then we will always get mist and fog up on the hill. So soon it will be a case of putting the shorts and t-shirts away for another year, and digging out the warmer clothes.

Before I forget I would like to welcome John, who has just started to follow these Blogs. A pleasure to have you here with us all. Once again thank you all for taking the time to read these Blogs, please feel free to pass the link on to any friends who you feel might like to read them. The more the merrier :o)