Shipka

Last weekend the weather was cloudy and cold, I had an interesting sewing project and an engaging audio book to listen to and we decided to skip hiking and stay at home. So, instead of a hiking galore, I dug up a draft post, which I had composed months ago, but never finished and took the effort to finally complete it and post it.

One of the most interesting places we visited this summer was Shipka - a historical peak in the Balkans with a memorial at the place of one of the major battles for the liberation of the country from the Ottoman rule in 1877. We climbed the steps - 894 in total, walked around the grounds and viewed the inside of the memorial.

After climbing up to the top of the memorial, we went a bit around and had a short picnic on the grass with a view to the peak on the one side and the valley on the other.

On our way through the Shipka pass we stopped at the village of Shipka to view the commemorative church, which was built at the end of the 19th century in Moscovite style and was dedicated to the Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian soldiers that died for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78.

Bled, Slovenia

Last week Gaby and I were on a bus excursion to the Bavarian castles. The first stop on our way - Slovenia. This is my first visit to the country and I was totally smitten with what we saw from the bus windows - green pastures, small villages with beautiful church towers and the majestic Alps. In Slovenia we visited the Bled lake - a serene alpine lake with a small island in the middle and a castle on top of the rocks.

We traveled to the island by pletna - a traditional boat, operated by an oarsman.

The most interesting feature of the lake is the island with the beautiful Gothic church. We were told several legends about the bell of the church, which was supposedly blessed by the Pope to fulfill wishes.

Of course, Gaby and I rang the magic bell and climbed to the top of the church tower, to see the mechanism of the tower clock and the view from the top.

A path runs along the edge of the island, which can be walked around for 10-15 minutes.

The waters of the lake around the island were of an amazing emerald color and full with fish:

We didn't have time to visit the castle, built in the Middle ages, which stands 139 m high above the lake:

There were many geese and swans, swimming gracefully around:

We only had time for a walk along the panorama path to the foot of the castle rock:

There are many more interesting places to visit in the Bled National Park - the gorge, the hills, the Triglav peak, but that would require a trip, designated especially for Slovenia.

A postcard from Bled, which shows the location of the island on the lake:

Weekend in Kavala

This weekend we decided to escape for a day from the cold and rain and to visit sunny Kavala - a port in Northern Greece, across the island of Thasos, some 320 km from Sofia.

It's early spring in Greece - the trees are coming into leaf, industrial peach gardens along the road are in pretty pink blossoms and the decorative tangerine trees are covered with ripe fruit.

The St. Nicolas church near the port with an interesting mural in front.

Houses in the old town, built on the small rocky peninsula, with charming narrow cobbled streets and houses with hanging loggias.

The statue of Mohammed Ali, founder of the last Egyptian dynasty, who grew up in Kavala. His house is now a museum.

The big and beautiful Panagia (Virgin Mary) church, built right at the very end of the peninsula.

The island of Thasos is right across the sea.

We walked these narrow streets for hours. This one leads down to a small cove, where we had a cup of tea, listened to the waves and the cries of the seagulls and looked out to the sea.

The Halil Bey complex, which includes the red mosque, built on the foundations of an old Christian basilica, the remains of an old minaret, dated around 16th century and a madress (Islamic school).

One of the major sites of Kavala - the Kamares aqueduct, built during the Suleiman the Magnificent period in the 16th century on top of a post-Roman aqueduct. It is 280 m long with maximum height of 24.5 m. Its northern end connected with 6.5 km pipes, which brought water from the Palia Kavala area to the city, feeding the public water fountains, Turkish baths, mosques, etc.

The port of Kavala with a very pleasant sea-side pedestrian area.

Almost all of our pictures from Kavala were taken by hubby on his phone, while the Olympus struggled with focus and diaphragm opening and overexposed the photos :(

A view from the port to the domes of the Imaret - a 4200 m2 Ottoman area for religious, teaching and philanthropic activities, built by Mohhamed Ali in 1817-21 and on top of the hill - the remains of the Byzantine acropolis, built during the first half of the 15th century.

In the acropolis - the watch tower.

A view from the watch tower to the inner court of the castle with the arms and food depots.

The entire wall of the castle is "walkable", which is really cool, the views are so beautiful.

Inside the arms depot, which served as a prison at one time.

The watch tower and the castle wall provide panoramic views over the entire city: