Baylovo 2025

Sunday was an amazing day amongst a series of rainy and cold April days - it was sunny, warm and calm and our hike in Baylovo was simply divine.

The fields with  autumn crops were already juicy green. The snow covered cap of Vitosha is peaking from the west.

And the fields, designated for spring crops, were prepared for the spring planting.

The village of Baylovo is situated in the Sofia valley, surrounded by high mountains on all sides.

Baylovo and the white cap of peak Murgash in the Balkan mountains

Rila to the south

Hike info:

Date: 13 April 2025

Destination: St Spas Chapel

Mountain: Spasova Mogila

Total length: 11.6 km

Elevation gain: 80 m

Total duration (plus rest): 3 and half hours

Average difficulty: 2 / 10 

St. Spas Chapel

We had a very long picnic on the top of Spasova mogila, with a view to the fields. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the place was completely empty and we could have spent the entire afternoon there, basking in the warm sunshine.

Rila and Vitosha in one frame

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, Burda longsleeve, cargo pants

I: lingerie, ankle warmers, Hounds Tooth hoodie

My first stork for this spring. There were actually more than half a dozen storks we saw on our way back to Sofia.

As we've been doing lately, we took an alternative route back home, by the Ognyanovo dam, where we stopped for a short walk.

Three T-Shirts For The Boys

Whenever I visit my favourite fabric shop downtown, I always check the knit fabrics section for fabrics, suitable for men's t-shirts. Husband and son have plenty already, but I find it so difficult to restrain myself, when I come upon some really good quality fabric, especially when it is also at a good price.

Thus last time I bought a piece of this super soft cotton knit, extremely pleasant to the skin. The piece of fabric was supposed to be 1.8 m, perfect for two T-shirts, but when I came home I found out, that the seller had made a mistake and the piece was only 1.3 m. Well, it's human to err, so all I was left was to figure out how to make two tall men's T-shirts with half a meter of fabric missing. Spoiler alert - I managed!

First I cut the t-shirt for my son, as he wears a smaller size and then I started playing Tetris with the remaining fabric and the pattern pieces for my husband's T-shirt. The solution I came up with was to add decorative elements out of another blue piece of fabric and to cut the back out of two separate pieces.

Pattern: Burda #132 from 12 / 2020

Size: 50 with with added length

Fabric: cotton knit

Time to make: 2 days

The seam at the back is covered with a strap of the lighter blue fabric and I also added another strap for good measure.

I personally love this T-shirt the best of the three I made and I am especially happy that I was left with practically no remnants of the darker blue fabric. It gives me always such a satisfaction to use up a piece of fabric to the last centimeter :)

The lighter blue fabric is a gorgeous cotton-viscose knit with lycra, which I had bought for the lining of a hoodie I made last year for Gaby's boyfriend. After I cut the lining for the hood, I was left with plenty of fabric and I had been planning a t-shirt for him out of it ever since. I had the patterns out and the overlocker threaded, so all I was left to do was to cut the fabric and make a third t-shirt.

Pattern: Burda #132 from 12 / 2020

Size: 46

Fabric: cotton viscose knit

Time to make: 5 days

And this is the first t-shirt, which I made for my son - it is super plain and unadorned, as he prefers them, with just a tiny label added to the side of the pocket.

Pattern: Burda #132 from 12 / 2020

Size: 46 with with added length

Fabric: cotton knit

Time to make: 1 day

 The three men's t-shirts I made this week - time for something girly!

Dupevitza on a Foggy April Day

After a few weeks of perfect weather in March, the temperatures dropped and it has been cold and rainy for almost two weeks now. The forecasts for today envisioned more rain and clouds, but we decided to risk it and go climb peak Dupevitza on Lulin anyway, come rain or come sunshine :)

The day did start with a slight drizzle, but luckily it stopped before we got to the start of the trail and we enjoyed a cloudy and coldish, but calm and dry conditions.

The wild plum and apple trees were at the peak of their bloom

Hike info:

Date: 04 April 2025

Destination: round trail to peak Dupevitza

Mountain: Lulin

Total length: 10 km

Elevation gain: 320 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

The view from the top was non-existent - we were in a cloud. We had our rather quick lunch on the benches there and expeditiously continued along the trail towards the next peak.

At Dobrinina skala

Despite the lack of sunshine, the hike was very pleasant - there was an abundance of spring flowers, quietude and solitude - we met no one along the trail the whole way over.

Even when it's cold, spring is colorful and green and this makes a world of difference for the hiking experience.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

 

Husband: men's boxers, Burda longsleeve, cargo pants, orange hat

I: lingerie, Lotte blouse, ankle warmers

The All Saints chapel

The forests are getting slowly green

St. Cyril and Methodius Monastery