Yea, really! Sorry to pull this type of stunt and say your day really can’t compare with mine but that’s why I’m on the road. You deal with tons of strange and upsetting situations, and spend countless hours in uncomfortable seats and once in a while you stumble upon something that’s totally amazing. It might be a spectacular view or a beautiful girl who just happens to have a thing for American Engineers or an opportunity to purify your soul by crawling through a dark cave. Yep, supposedly, passing through St. Ivan's cave purifies your soul and symbolize rebirth.
Anyways, I just got through spending a night in the Rila Monastery. It’s a beautiful monastery located in the Rila Mountains. There are tons of hiking trails that wind their way through the mountains and loads of small churches and shrines hidden away in this area. I’d love to spend a week backpacking through Rila National Park during the summer. Now isn't the time because it's freezing up here.
I timed my visit so that I’d be up here on November 4th: Election Day. My superstitious side thought it might be a good idea to make my way up here and spend the night in quiet isolation convincing the infinite that we need a democratically controlled executive branch. Whatever. It beats watching CNN for 18 hours. I’m not sure if they still allow him to cover the elections in the states but truly regret missing the spectacle of Dan Rather slowly going insane over the course of his 24 hour stints covering an election.
"You would sooner find a tall talking broccoli stick to offer to mow your lawn for free."
In complete media isolation, last night I felt like I was five year old kid waiting for Christmas. I had a ton of trouble falling asleep and when I finally managed to, I was plagued by three very vivid and very strange dreams that were loosely tied to Obama, McCain or the US government.
Strange dreams and cold rooms aside, spending the night in Rila is a great experience and I’d recommend it to anyone who comes to this part of Bulgaria. It gives you a chance to see the monastery and explore the surrounding mountains. Because of the limited bus service, you only have about an hour and a half of sight seeing when you do Rila as a day trip so make sure to spend the night.
When you do make the trip, you need to know three things: First of all, there’s no bar or nightclub in the monastery. It’s really quiet up here at night, you’ll need a book. Second, the restaurant outside the monastery says it’s open until 10PM. It is not. In fact, they close really early. I think they do this in order to give you the real deal ascetic starving monk experience. My dinner consisted of tap water two week old cookie crumbs I found in my luggage. Finally, when you check into a room here, you have to state why you’re visiting. Just so you know, "The beautiful ladies of Rila" is no an appropriate reason to visit the monastery. You’re on a "spiritual journey".
Anyways, on my return to Sofia today, I was greeted with a smile and a hug from Vasil, a member of the staff at Hostel Mostel (you should stay there!). Everyone here seems excited by Obama's victory. In fact, I didn’t know he had won until I struck up a conversation with a German couple on the ride back from Rila. I had seen his face on a newspaper earlier on in the day but his expression was not one of triumph. Perhaps he realized the job he’s about to undertake. Or he had to sneeze.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Sofia. It’s not an amazingly beautiful city but it’s a great place to spend some time. It’s cheap and there’s plenty to do. Supposedly the club scene is spectacular but there aren’t any amazing acts coming through town while I’m here (Marco Carola is scheduled for next weekend… shoot).
One of Sofia’s nearby attractions is Vitosha mountain. At 2000 meters, it towers over the background of the city. I made my way out there and climbed to the top a few days ago. While it’s a big attraction, I was blown away by the staggering number of people out on the hiking trails. It was literally like being in an amusement park. While I could have done with a bit more solitude, I was really impressed to see so many people out and enjoying a bit of nature.
The views weren’t bad either.
OK, I’ve gotta’ go purify my stomach with a plate of veggies and a Bulgarian Pilsner.
No comments:
Post a Comment