My Story

American Lyz Gaumer, 27, visited Bulgaria in the summer of 2002. Here is her story.

I visited Bulgaria in June 2002. My trip was short but Bulgaria's generosity made it feel like a much longer one. Everything I saw was a stunning juxtaposition - open land and busy streets, rich tradition and anxious development.

I arrived during a heat wave so I travelled to the sea to wait for cooler days ahead. The Black Sea is something that no one should miss. I stayed for a few days in the seaside town of Nessebur. The area was filled with visitors. It was the beginning of high season and the miles-long beaches in adjacent Sunny Beach were packed from one end to the other. If you love walking, Nessebur is the place. In the old part of town there are beautiful winding streets and old wooden buildings. There are amazing ruins of Byzantine churches.

I next travelled to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city. With its collection of nineteenth century houses, Plovdiv's Old Town is a great architectural treasure. There are house tours for those who want to understand what they are seeing, but just seeing this neighbourhood on the three hills is remarkable. You have the sense of stepping back in time rather than history being brought forward to you into the present. Fantastic Roman theater!

I spent a day in the village of Pavelsko in the gentle and welcoming Rhodopi Mountains. It was off-season for the ski-resorts and everything was quiet and serene, with very few people - tall green mountains, winding village roads and fresh, cool air.

Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, was the place to finish my trip and I feel I got to know it the least. It has the feel of an old world European city - its center full of cafés, churches and museums, but there is a modern urbanism to it as well - work and shopping and transportation, redevelopment and sprawl. Like any city anywhere, you have to be experienced at digging beneath the surface, skilled at finding the unexpected, sharp-eyed to see the beauty of everyday utilities and places.

Apart from the seaside, the whole country felt untrampled by westerners and delightful to explore at one's own pace. I found it really refreshing that as an outsider I could feel what it was like to live in Bulgaria. Everyone I met or saw had a directness and curiosity about them that made me feel very un-tourist like. This was truly remarkable and very special. The country is a wonderful secret - in some ways I don't want to say it because it ruins the secret but it's wonderful!