Issue 28-29

Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. When Leo Tolstoy created one of the most famous clichés in modern literature, he forgot one important thing: he didn't mention how unhappy families act when they try to hide their misery. They may argue, they may fight, they may smash aristocratic vases pilfered by Soviet soldiers or knick-knacks made of Chinese plastic from the Everything-for-One-Leva stores. Yet the moment an outsider steps into their home, harmony reigns. Tears and snot are wiped away.

It's no secret that Bulgaria has been criticised for its lack of adequate aid. For example, the BBC documentary on the Mogilino orphans and the frequent reports on the stray dogs problem have sent out damning messages to the rest of the world of a country still lagging behind in its approach to charitable causes. In response, the ever-growing expat community have taken matters into their own hands, with projects that show that it's not just tourism and property that are on the rise, but also awareness and fundraising. All this is done without government support.

Our Friday gig went totally lame. The plum of our show was my black eye. Bellerophon was once again slapping the bass and blowing kisses to the audience, I was taking my revenge on it, and Pegasus was trying to mediate between all sides. When this is done by drums, the result defies description. People evacuated themselves with headaches. Bellerophon bid us goodbye at the earliest possible moment and left us "to square our accounts." Pegasus and I decided to drink a shot of vodka. We both knew we would never come back here again. We collected our payments.

At the Zlatna roza, or Golden Rose, Film Festival in 2008, Ernestina Shinova won the Best Leading Actress Award for her performance in Hindemith, a film directed by her husband Andrey Slabakov. She worked double time to earn it – she plays both main characters, who spend their days obsessively watching commercials and buying the latest Hindemith brand products. A parody of the nouveau riche's consumer lifestyle, the film strikes a rare balance of humour and melancholy.

Born in 1954 into a Jewish family in Pleven, Greddy Assa graduated from the Art Department at Veliko Tarnovo University with a degree in mural painting. Between 2000 and 2004 he was associate dean of the National Art Academy and to this day remains one of the most highly respected professors there. His paintings are in the Holocaust Museum in Washington and in the Bundestag in Berlin, as well as in galleries in Tel Aviv, Aachen and elsewhere. He has had solo exhibits in Germany, Hungary, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland. He recently returned from a one-man show in Beijing.

There are two opposed views about the ability of wives to write biographies of their husbands. One is that they make excellent biographers because, at least in theory, they know their husbands well. The other is that they are bad – and that's because they may either eulogise or negate disproportionately.

Winter in Bulgaria wouldn't be complete without the endless name day celebrations, quivering slabs of slanina, or salted pork fat, and litres of rich red wine. In January and February alone you'll be required to do damage to your liver and waistline on Vasilyovden, or St Basil's Day; Yordanovden, or St Jordan's Day; Ivanovden, or St John's Day; Antonovden, or St Anthony's Day; Atanasovden, or St Athanasius's Day; and, of course, Trifon Zarezan, the winegrower's holiday on 14 February, which many people also celebrate on 1 February.

Iliya Troyanov is a man of many faces, languages and passports. After his parents fled Communist Bulgaria and settled in Western Europe in 1971, he spent most of his childhood in Germany and Kenya. He is, in the noble tradition of Bruce Chatwin, a nomad for our times whose life's mission is to explore the meaning of adventure, identity, hybridity and home. He has travelled widely and lived in India during the ᴀve-year research for The Collector of Worlds, his imaginative tour de force on the life and times of Richard Francis Burton, the 19 Century British explorer of Africa and Asia.

The Get-To-Know-the-Fatherland-To-Fall-in-Love-With-It slogan perhaps made sense at some point – back when Bulgaria's natural environment was still relatively unmolested, and potholed roads led to places of breathtaking beauty. Bulgarians getting to know their homeland today run the risk of wanting to disappear rather than fall in love – especially when exploring the Black Sea coast.

If you would rather watch seaside landscapes, snow-capped mountains, lush green valleys or deep forests, look elsewhere. Jean-Marc Caracci has focused on the urban setting as a frame for his surrealist portraits of Europeans. Ignoring political definitions, he has been travelling across the continent's capitals taking pictures of the people who live in them.

THE NETHERLANDS

Willem van Ee has been ambassador of The Netherlands in Bulgaria since 2005, with less than a year to go. He believes in an EU with a human face, meaning that the European project is primarily for all of us peoples and citizens. Van Ee thinks that the colourful walls on the buildings in Sofia, which are part of the Dutch-inspired Wall-to-Wall Poetry project, will stimulate people's minds and make them believe that although every country is different, we are all united by the shared European values.

No matter where you are – Los Angeles, London, Paris, Moscow, Bangkok or Tokyo – 14 February is celebrated in the same way. Crossing cultural and religious boundaries, Valentine's Day everywhere includes red hearts, chocolate, champagne and Mariah Carey singing "Without You."