Hiking and Art

I’m approaching two weeks in Bulgaria.  I’ve gotten settled into our apartment, explored our neighborhood, toured the city center, navigated public transportation, and even taken one organized trip out of town.  I’m conscious, though, that it would be easy for me to get into a very sheltered routine within my own little world of the apartment, my neighborhood, the university, and the areas of the city centre I’ve already explored.  My wife, likely sensing that this would not be the best thing for me for a variety of reasons, encouraged me to take some time off this weekend and take advantage of the nice weather and relative flexibility of schedule that I currently have. 

So, it wasn’t entirely on a whim that late Saturday night I texted one of the other Fulbrighters in Sofia to propose an outing on Sunday.  I was pleased to almost immediately receive a positive response from Eric, who I’d met at our orientation last week and who is here on a Fulbright student grant studying Bulgarian history.   After breakfast on Sunday I took the Metro from the university station to the southernmost stop on the newly-constructed second line, near to Eric’s apartment.  We met there, bought a few supplies, and took a taxi to Boyana on the south end of Sofia at the base of Vitosha. 

We walked a short distance to Boyana Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Bulgaria’s treasures.  The small church is filled with 12th Century frescoes which are renowned as being in a Renaissance style but actually predating the Renaissance.  There is definitely an aspect of realism and color, and Eric told me they were a departure from Orthodox artistic canons.  The church is unpretentious, but the frescoes really are impressive.

Eric and I left the church and started for our ultimate destination – Boyana Waterfall, partway up Vitosha.  We walked up a hill to the end of the street past the church and found the trailhead, which was well-marked.  Eric told me that this is a remnant of the communist era, when hiking was seen as a healthy activity to be encouraged among the proletariat.  Faced with a choice of two trials for the ascent, we opted for the longer but more gradual one, but even this proved to be fairly strenuous.  The hike to the waterfall was about 90 minutes including a few stops to rest and enjoy nice views back over the city.  The waterfall was a worthwhile destination, but even so I was surprised by the number of people we encountered on the trail.  I suspect many people were looking to enjoy one last warm Sunday.



View from the trail.

 We took the more direct trail for our return, and it really was steep.  It stays fairly close to the stream that runs down from the waterfall, and in many places I had to lower myself down from boulder to boulder very carefully.  I doubt this trail would be open to hikers in an American park, but it was kind of fun and certainly fast.

Eric and I caught a cab back to the Metro station and parted ways.  On my way home, I received a message from my department head at the university to tell me it was the last day for an exhibit of a famous Bulgarian painter at the National Art Gallery.  I got back to the apartment thinking I was unlikely to head out again, but after a snack, a few minutes nap, and a shower, I decided I should take advantage of the opportunity and headed down Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. toward the city center.

I was glad I did.  The exhibit featured the works of Vladimir Dimitrov-Maystora.  He was a from a rural Bulgarian village, and the majority of his paintings feature the people, landscapes, and crops of his home.  I really liked them.  And an added bonus, which hadn’t occurred to me until I was already on my way there, is that the National Art Gallery is housed in the former Royal Palace.

I’ve heard several times that the greatest things about Sofia are the mountain and the museums, and it was great to experience both in one day.  It felt good to get some strenuous exercise, enjoy the fresh(ish) air, and see the views from the hike.  I hope I have a few more opportunities to do so, even with the knowledge that today’s weather was as nice as it will be for the duration of my time here.  And, when it gets cold and gray, there are always more museums.