Cherni Vruh and Golyam Rezen 2025

Today we decided to make our annual climb of Cherni Vrug, Vitosha's summit. We used to climb it along the shorter and steeper trail from Aleko, but during the last several year we found that we actually prefer the slow and gradual climb along the much longer "King's road".

The day was sunny but windy and with some chill in the air, very pleasant for a hike in the high mountains.

Globeflower (витошко лале), Vitosha's emblematic flower

The plateau and peak Kamen del in the distance

Peak Luvcheto, one of Vitosha's dozen (peaks above 2000 m), located in a protected water-supply zone.

We climbed the longer main trail, passing by peaks Maluk Rezen and Golyam Rezen.

Cherni vruh is behind me

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda cargo pants, Burda t-shirt

I: lingerie, Lotte blouse in the backpack

 

We had our lunch on the peak, sitting on a couple of rocks, sheltered by the wind, with a view to Golyam Rezen, Skoparnika and many other peaks.

On our way back we decided to try and climb Golyam Rezen. The entire area around the peak was a military zone and was with restricted access, but the barbed wire, that guarded the place is now removed. Being uncertain of the state of the place, we entered the zone, found the peak, took a few pictures there and left quickly - out seventh peak from Vitosha's dozen.

 

The view from Golyam Rezen 

 

Hike info:

Date: 20 June 2025 

Destination: Cherni Vruh (2290 m)

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 14 km

Elevation gain: 500 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 4 and a half hours

Average difficulty: 4 / 10 

On our way back we took the even longer roundabout trail by Goli vruh - a day of slow hiking and complete enjoyment of the mountain.

Calf Jeans

I am one of those people, that loves to use up materials to the maximum possible and hates waste. So, when I have big remnants of fabric, I save them for later smaller projects, to be combined with other remnants, if possible.

Last year I made a pair of flared jeans out of a dark blue denim with lycra and I had about 60 cm  left. I had also some mere scraps from the jeans I made for Gaby, which are of the same fabric type and weight, only a different shade of color - asphalt grey.

I could have made a pair of jeans shorts, but I much prefer calf length jeans for the summer, so I decided to do my best and try to squeeze a pair out of my meager remnants.

For the pattern I used again the Flared Burda jeans, but in their shorter calf-length version. This pattern features flared hems, but I preferred to add simple rectangular hems, as I wanted my jeans to be straight calf length capri type pants.

 

For most of the details of the pair I used the bigger dark-blue piece of denim and I cut the back yoke, and the hems out of the grey denim.

 

I was so short of fabric, that I had to make the inside of the waistband out of a third piece of denim - a remnant from my black jeans and the back pockets are made of small scraps of fabric.

 

Pattern: Flared Jeans Burda 7050

Size: 34, short version, with corrections

Fabric: cotton denim with lycra

Time to make: 10 days

I can totally afford to buy a new piece of fabric and make myself any number of pairs of jeans, but that is not the point - my complete satisfaction lies in the fact, that I managed to use up my remnants and I have a perfectly functional pair of jeans, which I've been wearing regularly. Is that crazy or what :)))

Bistritza - Zeleznitza 2025

The low altitude circuit trail on Vitosha is at its prime at the end of May and June, when it is in full green mode, with lots of flowers and blooming trees. We love to frequent various parts of it at this time of the year, today we chose the most popular of them all, only some 30 min by car from home - the section between the villages of Bistritza and Zeleznitza and back.

Unlike previous rainy years, June is warm and sunny this year, with just a touch of chill in the air in the low parts of the mountain.

Today we seem to have happened upon the very time of blooming of the elder trees, so the air along the trail was amazingly fragrant. We gathered a bunch of elder flowers and I'm making an elder lemonade right now.

Hike info:

Date:  13 June 2025

Destination: low altitude circuit trail Bistritza - Zeleznitza and back

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 12.5 km

Elevation gain: 80 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 3 hours

Average difficulty: 2 / 10

The picnic area around the Selska river above Zeleznitza was packed with children on a school trip, enjoying the simple delights of playing in its shallow waters :)

We found a quieter place up along the river, where we had our delicious picnic.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda t-shirt

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims I, Burda blouse

And back along the same track - one of the disadvantages of the low altitude circuit is, that the hikes are usually to and fro, unless they are combined with some climbing and descending, or involve the use of  public transportation. But the trail is so lovely and easy, that walking it in both directions was a delight, not a chore.

An interesting beetle on the path - Morimus funereus, long-horn beetle, буков сечко.

Along the Vladaya River 2025

The day on Vitosha today was very hot and very sunny, with a lot of humidity in the air - the summer is coming! For this week's hike we chose a light circular trail to Zlatnite mostove. 

We started from a point along the low altitude circuit on Vitosha, called The Quiet Place. The first part of the trail gradually brought us at the outskirts of the village of Vladaya.

The trail from Vladaya to Zlatnite mostove was definitely the most beautiful part of the hike, as it runs along the picturesque Vladaya river.

Hike info:

Date: 07 June 2025

Destination: Zlatnite Mostove

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 10.5 km

Elevation gain: 490 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 3 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda cargo pants

I: lingerie, Burda raglan blouse, Burda colored jeans 6534

For our picnic this time we decided only to pass through Zlatnite mostove and to stop for a snack at a picnic place along the alternative trail back to the car. Despite the lack of panorama views and high peaks, our forest hike was very pleasant and energizing.

Strawberry Cheesecake

Gaby had been sending me pictures of the strawberry cheesecakes she made lately for various occasions, making my mouth water, so in the end I asked her for the recipe and made a strawberry cheesecake myself. Mine is a lighter version of the original and it was a great success with husband and son, so I'm writing down the recipe, as I improvised it yesterday:

INGREDIENTS:

For the biscuit layer 

• 150 g biscuits
• 75 g melted butter 

For the cheese cream layer 

• 100 g cheese cream
• 400 g sour cream
• 50 g milk 
• 120 g sugar
• 2 eggs
• a pinch of salt

For the strawberry layer 

• 500 g strawberries
• 1 pack red cake glaze
• 30 g sugar
• 200 g water 

PREPARATION:

Grind the biscuits, stir in the melted butter and transfer the biscuit mixture into a cake form. Compact the biscuit layer with the bottom of a glass and leave to cool in the fridge for a few minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the batter for the cheese cream layer. Pour it over the biscuit layer and place the cake form in a preheated oven and bake at 175C for one hour. After the cake is baked, leave it to cool completely for a couple of  hours. 

Cut the strawberries into slices and arrange them tile-like on top of the cake. Prepare the cake glaze - mix the powder glaze with the sugar, add the water and cook on the hot plate until it thickens. Leave it to rest for one minute, then spread it on top of the strawberries with the help of a silicon brush. 

Leave the cake to cool in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. Serve with coffee and enjoy!