Boyana - Tihiya Kut 2026

This week’s hike took us back to Vitosha. Starting again from Boyana, we headed in the opposite direction this time.

The Boyana - Tihiya kut trail is part of the low altitude circuit on Vitosha and surprisingly, we had never walked it before. After traversing it today, I have to say—perhaps there was a reason for that. While there’s nothing inherently "wrong" with the path, it runs quite close to the city and the road to Zlatnite Mostove. The constant hum of cars and buses nearby gave it a more urban vibe than I prefer. For now, I don't think we’ll be repeating this specific route any time soon..

The forecasts for today specifically for Boyana promised a mild and partially sunny day. The meteorologists couldn't have been more wrong. As we approached the trailhead, the sun hid behind the clouds and we entered into thick fog, that clung to the forest for the entire duration of the hike.

Hike info:

Date: 31 January 2026

Destination: Tihiya kut

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 10.5 km

Elevation gain: 270 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 hours

Average difficulty: 3 / 10

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda green longsleeve, Burda Cargo pants, Burda grey hoodie, socks

I: lingerie, Sinclair Lotte blue blouse, socks, hat, gloves, snood, buff

We spotted a couple of nuthatches working laboriously on the bark of the trees near the trail

The further we walked, the denser the fog became.

We stopped for a picnic of tortillas and hot herbal tea in a gazebo near Tihiya Kut. While we ate, two young girls on horseback passed by.

As we headed back toward Boyana and the car, the visibility dropped to just a few meters.

The temperature dipped as well, giving me the perfect chance to test the new buff I made from fabric scraps just last night. Pretty satisfied with it, kept my neck perfectly warm and toasty.

About a kilometer from the finish, the mist turned into a steady rain. So much for that "sunny" weather :) But the snowdrops and hellebores are starting to peek through the soil already, spring can't be so far, only a month or two away :)

Brick Sinclair Journey Jacket for Myself

Although I haven't posted about sewing for a while, I've been very active this month,  I just need to catch up on photographing everything I’ve created.

Here is one of them -  a fully lined Sinclair Journey Raglan Jacket and my second Make Nine for 2026 - this is fabric 12.

I had over 2 m of thin polar fleece in this gorgeous brick shade that I picked up last year. The moment I saw it I knew I had to have it, as this is my most favourite color and, if I do say so myself, it’s very complementary to my complexion (which explains why my wardrobe is full of it!)

The pattern I chose for the jacket is a true-and-tried raglan pattern, that I've already made three times - twice for Gaby and once for myself. Although the Sinclair Journey pattern has several versions, I chose to make a complete repeat of the Andean jacket I made for myself over a year ago. It is my go-to zip-up, I wear it all the time and I've been planning to make another one out of polar fleece for ages, so the choice of the pattern was the easiest part. 

The mods I made to the pattern are more or less identical to that for my Andean jacket. I added 2.5 cm to the length of the sleeve and I also added 1 cm to the width of the sleeve. I find Sinclair patterns a bit too snug, I prefer my jackets to have some ease, as I wear them over blouses and sweaters. 

Pattern: Sinclair Journey Zip Up Raglan Hoodie

Size: Petite (152-160 cm) 4 S with added 2.5 cm to the sleeve length

Fabric: polar fleece; lining - polyester jersey

Time to make: 10 days

 

My major modification is the collar, which I designed based on the half-hood, provided in the pattern. As my polar fleece is very pliable and thin, the collar does not stand up firm as in my previous jacket, but I didn't want to risk adding fusible to it and ruining its softness.  

The jacket closes with a zipper up to the end of the collar, which can be worn as a shawl / turtleneck collar, providing protection for the neck in cold weather. 

I opted for welt pockets again, securing the inner pocket bags to the hem and zipper for stability.

As this jacket is a part of my Make Nine effort to use up my fabric stash, I lined the jacket with a navy blue polyester jersey I already had. In combination with the blue blouse, blue jeans and blue hat of my present outfit, all self- made, I find the blue lining a happy serendipity, as it compliments the brick color of the fleece perfectly, adding depth and contrast. 

Despite the lightweight fleece fabric, the lining makes this jacket surprisingly warm. It’s the perfect mid-layer for winter or a standalone second layer for spring and autumn. I am thrilled with how it turned out!

Bonus: Because I’m a very economical cutter, I managed to squeeze an almost identical jacket for Gaby out of the remaining fabric. Stay tuned for more on that soon! 

Boyana - Dragalevski Monastery and back

What a hike we had today! We hiked the trail from Boyana to Dragalevski monastery and back, some 6 km in one direction. The weather forecasts painted a sunny and warm day, but the morning was foggy and gloomy, with temperatures slightly above zero. The snow in the city melted yesterday, but as we approached the outskirts of Boyana, we found that the snow on the trails on Vitosha was there to stay, probably till the end of February, if not longer.

I really don't know why we have never done this hike, starting from Boyana, which is only about 20 min from home by car, but we liked it a lot and we'll definitely repeat it in the future.

The first part of the trail is a gradual climb through beech forests towards the Boyana lake

Even if it was only for this view of the lake, the hike would have been totally worth it. I had never seen the Boyana lake frozen and the scene took my breath away - the white emptiness, the total quiet, the mysterious fog - it was a surreal experience.

And then the sun broke the clouds and shone through the mist

Hike info:

Date: 23 January 2026 

Destination: Dragalevski Monastery

Mountain: Vitosha

Total length: 12.5 km

Elevation gain: 300 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 4 h

Average difficulty: 3.5 / 10 

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Burda longsleeve, Burda Cargo pants, socks

I: lingerie, Burda "Page" hoodie, socks, hat, gloves, snood

Although the mist did give way for a while at the altitude line above 1000 m, the city stayed tucked under a thick white fluff the whole day. Across the sea of fog - the ridge of the Balkan mountains, with peak Murgash.

We had our delicious tortillas and herbal tea on the meadow near the Dragalevski monastery and headed back to the car along the same track.

The usually popular trail between Boyana and Dragalevtzi was completely empty, we had the mountain for ourselves today :)

A curious encounter - fire salamander. These cute creatures usually stay hidden and protected from the cold in winter, but this well developed specimen was recklessly staying on the track. We moved it carefully to the side, I hope it will find a shelter and survive the cold months.

And an update on our pickled veggies - we polished off the previous batch with the red cabbage and today we prepared a new batch with olive oil and white cabbage. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow to taste it!

Kokalyane 2026

Winter this year has been a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve swung between brutal, snowy cold and milder days when the city slush finally begins to melt. Last weekend was all cold and wet and we stayed hunkered down by the radiator, enjoying the warmth of the central heating and our other hobbies. 

This week there's some warming up, it's peak was yesterday and a new significant drop in temperatures is expected in the coming days. So today was somewhere in-between - mostly cloudy and not very warm, but with almost no wind and still positive temperatures.

For our weekly hike we chose a place near to home - Kokalyane, a perfect choice for our modest city car. Since the trailhead sits right off the main road between Sofia and Samokov, we didn't have to worry about navigating treacherous, snowy mountain passes.

The climb from the Devil's bridge to Kokalyane monastery is steep, but apart from a few meters of ice coating the bridge itself, it was fairly dry and easy to navigate. 

Hike info:

Date: 16 January 2026 

Destination: Kokalyane Monastery and up the ridge  (1060 m) round trail

Mountain: Plana

Total length: 7.5 km

Elevation gain: 430 m

Total duration (plus picnic): 3 h

Average difficulty: 3 / 10 

Choosing to skip the monastery church this time, we pressed upward, following the broad trail toward the mountain ridge.

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, orange hat, Burda longsleeve, Burda Cargo pants, socks, scarf

I: lingerie, Plantain brick blouse, Burda "Page" hoodie, socks, hat, gloves, snood

As the elevation increased, the dry leaves and earth on the trail gave way to a messy cocktail of mud, snow and ice, which turned the climbing into a real workout and made us definitely earn our lunch :)

Up on the ridge, the world was covered in a blanket of melting snow. We headed straight for a spot we discovered last year: a brick wall at the edge of a meadow.

The ground was wet, but the mossy wall was dry and comfortable enough and we had a very nice time with our tortillas and warm herbal tea, enjoying the shy sun, which occasionally peeked through the clouds.

For the descent we decided to take a steep track down to the monastery, decreasing abruptly the elevation and with it - the presence of melting snow and ice. It was an adventurous gamble, because of the many fallen trees on the partially overgrown track, but an excellent choice, as it turned out in the end!

Back to the monastery from the side hill.

A glimpse towards Lozen and the excavations on Urvich on the hill across the river Iskar. 

All in all, a deeply satisfying winter trek. Kokalyane remains one of my favorite escapes for these 'indifferent' winter days when you just need to breathe some mountain air.