Vitosha

Peter and I are climbing a mountain on Saturday. Apparently there are brewerys along the way, so we can stop half way up and drink beer. I'm really excited to get out and feel like I am exploring. There is a show this weekend and I'm going to the bands practice tomorrow night I guess. I can't wait to talk to them. I've talked endlessly to all of them on-line.

Its been in the 30s all week (celcius) so two people who work at the hostel and I went to a swimming pool yesterday. It was odd, there were a lot of topless people. You'd never see topless people at the pool in Minneapolis. The water was perfect. I got a bit burned, but it doesn't hurt.
I beat Peter in chess, the first time I've ever one chess in my entire life. I skrewed up pretty bad but had put him so much in the defense that I was able to put him in check with my queen and my king. It was pretty fun. I think once the Euro cup in over, he and I will have to play more chess. Spain and Germany! I never would have guessed from the group stages but Germany really turned around. I thought it would be portugal and holland.

Anyway, none of you care about football. Off to sweep and mop and then research.

Rila Monestary

I went to Rila monestary today. It was absolutely beautiful in the middle of the mountains. I've never been to a monestary before. I saw my first ever painted image of god on a church. They never paint god. Weird Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians. I hiked around the mountain a bit too- nothing too spectacular. Beautiful forests and a waterfall that I failed to photograph. It was nice to be somewhere so tranquil and meditative. Whatever you think about religion, that kind of intense meditation and serenity has value, even if you don't agree with its motivations.
A drunk Bulgarian fell off the hostel wall onto his face and smashed his nose really badly. They called an ambulance and everything. Very exciting. now there is a huge bloodstain in the garden below. Ouch. There have been three private bulgarian parties in the last week, two b-day parties and a concert. I've talked to a lot of drunken bulgarians. Its very nice.

Chai

Chai is back. But only for a few days. I am out on a quest for decent english translations of the great russian novels.

the winner of Bulgarian Idol

no more kitty

They kicked Chai out. I guess he was peeing in the basement. I don't really know what they expected- they didn't give him a litter box. I heard that some woman really liked him and took him to live with her. I am glad at least that he has a home, but I miss my hostel kitty. He was really the ideal cat...

I went to a Last Hope show last night. I actually got up the courage to introduce myself to a few people and they already knew who I was. It was kind of funny- I guess they were both in bands and had both talked to me on the internet. They said they would message me, but I might try to track them down before they get the chance. I need to set up more interviews. Its funny though- I guess I am a known figure in the underground punk scene in Bulgaria...

I finished The Comedians today. Its the only book I took with (sorry mom), and I feel a bit of a let down with nothing else to occupy my down time. I guess I still have about a dozen crossword puzzles and I could really stand to do a bit more exploration. I am saving hiking in the mountains for when Peter finishes his paper and has a weekend free of research obligations. Maybe that is silly- I should just do it anyway. But it rains everyday here for at least an hour and I stupidly brought no umbrella...

Plovdiv

Plovdiv is a beautiful city. The old city has old ancient Roman ruins and a 2,000 year old still functioning amphitheatre. The new city is much like Sofia, only less crowded and less dirty and they have stray cats more than stray dogs. Both cities have both, but cats seem to rule in the Old City anyway.

The old city is funny- its very much designed for tourism, much more so that Sofia, but it is clear that tourism here is small and relatively new- people don't seem to hate tourists and the streets, cathedrals and museums are mostly crowded with Bulgarians.

The hostel is alright. The actual building is much nicer than the art hostel- smaller, cleaner, newer... but it is filled will snotty travelers who only go to high rated hostels and love shopping and being pretentious. Maybe that's just who is here right now. Art Hostel is much more laid back and friendly. The people who work here are nice- I've been talking to them mostly. Also, the hostel cat here is much less friendly than my chai.

Chai

The light in the basement is very bad so I couldn't get a good picture of him, but here is my chaio