Issue 134

What has been in the offing ever since Boyko Borisov's GERB's ascend to power in 2009 is now beginning to assume sinister proportions more befitting the years just after the Second World War, when the Bulgarian Communist Party consolidated its hold to power, than an EU member state in 2017.

According to Prof (Oxon) Evgeniy Daynov, a political scientist, the central issue no longer is the replay of the means and methods of "Mature Socialism," with its stagnated economy and police state. It is when GERB will turn their almost 10-year rule into an open, full-fledged dictatorship.

Yes, there are dolmens in Bulgaria, and it was the Thracians who constructed them. This ancient people had a predilection for megaliths, the prehistoric manmade structures found all over Europe, whose most famous example is Stonehenge. The term megalith, a derivative of the Greek for "big stone," traditionally applies to the single standing stones called menhirs, the stone circles called cromlechs, and the dolmens, which are low, heavy structures often used as tombs.

Expats in Bulgaria often fell deeply for the country, but the enthusiasm that Israeli entrepreneur Avinoam Katrieli nurtures for all things Bulgarians stands out. It comes second only to his belief that Bulgarians can build a better version of modern Bulgaria, and that they should be proud with their nation.

Traffic is murder, they claim, and the city council never sweeps the streets properly. But snow here can be magical as it envelopes everything in white and everything starts looking quite not what it actually is.

So, if you find yourself in this city in December, do not miss the chance to take a long, long walk through the snow-covered streets and just enjoy the clear air and the calm. Weather permitting.

Where in Bulgaria are you?

There is something mysterious in the picturesque ruins of a fortress on a rocky cape rising 70m above the crashing waves that seems to have inspired horrifying or intriguing stories.

1. What do Bulgarians eat on Christmas Eve?
A. Odd number of veggie dishes
B. Stuffed turkey
C. Roasted lamb

2. Which Bulgarian city has a yellow brick road?
A. Varna
B. Plovdiv
C. Sofia

3. Which of these is not a ski resort?
A. Pamporovo
B. Hisarya
C. Borovets

Located deep into some of the most inaccessible parts of the Stara Planina, the town produces and lends its name to the famed Troyanska Slivova, or Troyan plum Rakiya. It is also the place of origin of the ubiquitous pottery found all over Bulgaria's traditional restaurants. The so-called Troyan pots, with their distinctive multicoloured patterns, are amongst the best souvenirs visitors to Bulgaria can lay their hands on.

Then, there is the Troyanksi Pass, a precipitous road that reaches an altitude of 1,595m before leading down, south of the Stara Planina.

Bulgaria is supposed to start its presidency on 1 January 2018.

Borisov's statement should be taken seriously by the EU and its law enforcement agencies because it comes at a time when Bulgaria was slammed once again by a damning EU report for its failure to fight corruption and reform its judiciary.

Albania and its capital are shrouded in the atmosphere of a little-known, little-visited, isolated and poor country haunted by the memories of Europe's last dictatorship.

Between 1944 and 1991 Tirana was the capital of Communist Albania. Most of those years were spent under the Stalinist Enver Hoxha, who imposed total isolation on the nation. Albania was a North Korea in southern Europe. Add this to Albania's late start as a nation state, in 1912, and its troubled transition to democracy in the 1990s, and you end up with a destination that simultaneously fascinates and frightens.

The opposition is very cunning, they diminish the successes of the government.

Lilyana Pavlova, Minister for Bulgaria's EU Presidency

The Balkans may replace the UK which is now exiting. Incredible nature. From the Mediterranean all the way to the Black Sea: mountains, rivers, natural wealth, hard-working nations ... beautiful people.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov

Borisov will rule us until he gets fed up with us.

Most recently, she was the dean of graduate admissions at Babson College, where she frequently canvassed the globe in search of the next best and brightest candidates for the Babson MBA. "Wanderlust is my number one vice, liberally cultivated and indulged," Petia says. During a recent visit back to Bulgaria, she identified an unexplored opportunity to introduce the culture, history, nature, wine and food of her homeland to fellow US and world travelers. In 2017, she leveraged her entrepreneurial training as a Babson MBA to launch Flying Raconteur.