FUN

I let my ministers attend events with Radev, but they do not want to go.

Boyko Borisov, GERB leader

He's just a friend's kid.

Boyko Borisov on a Wall Street Journal report claiming he met with Donald Trump Jr and offered to sell him shares in the Turkish Stream pipeline in exchange for lifting the Magnitsky Act sanctions on Bulgarians

If someone really believes that we are capable of paying for an article in the Wall Street Journal, he has seriously overestimated us.

1. Which mountain is famed for a cluster of seven lakes?
A. The Strandzha
B. The Rila
C. The Rhodope

2. Which town is known for its old clocktower?
A. Tryavna
B. Tutrakan
C. Topolovgrad

3. Which ancient Thracian tomb is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
A. Mezek Tomb
B. Aleksandrovo Tomb
C. Kazanlak Tomb

To reach it you have climbed and climbed and climbed for hours on end, starting from a mountain chalet called Bezbog, or Godless. British expat Tony McMurray, who is a financier, a philanthropist and an avid Vagabond reader, did it, in his successful effort to conquer Bulgaria's 56 highest peaks. You will read more about his climbing odyssey in this journal's next issue, but the challenge now is to guess the name of the mountain summit pictured here. A hint: Not far from Bansko.
 

1. Mountains take how much of Bulgaria's area?
A. About 30%
B. About 50%
C. About 5%

2. If you travel downstream on the Danube, the first Bulgarian town you encounter will be…
A. Vidin
B. Ruse
C. Silistra

3. Which of these is a spa resort?
A. Velingrad
B. Momchilgrad
C. Ivaylovgrad

Adhering to military protocol, Trump did not disclose any exact whereabouts, leaving the top brass to wonder whether this would not be a historical first, a nuclear superpower standoff triggered by a social media spat. But a local TV station in Bulgaria was quick to produce the answer.

All that was left of Sofia's supposed dream team are the dreams. The rats have abandoned ship. Only the mayor and his banner have remained.

Boyko Borisov, GERB leader, on Sofia's mayor Vasil Terziev

Bulgarian tourism is very reliable in regards to technical maintenance when it comes to inspection and control. This will become clear from the inspections that will be carried out.

The city was cosmopolitan and rather rundown, part Danubian and part post-Ottoman – a place where one could drink a huge Viennese coffee in a brightly lit coffee shop that served both Mitteleuropean cakes and pretzels, and Middle Eastern kataifi and baklava.

The duo noticed a unusual large black animal lurking behind some bushes, and quickly retreating after it noticed the humans. Crucially, one of them managed to get hold of a smartphone and made a short video of the event.

1. What is depicted on the tails of the Bulgarian euro cents?
A. A lion
B. The Madara Rider
C. A coat of arms

2. Which UNESCO World Heritage Site is closest to Sofia?
A. Boyana Church
B. Srebarna Lake
C. Rila Monastery

3. What is the Bulgarian for "yellow cheese"?
A. Krastavitsa
B. Kapama
C. Kashkaval

When all Bulgarians start spending their summer holidays on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, then we will have enough money to raise doctors' wages.

Boyko Borisov, leader of GERB

Bulgaria's next big goal is to become the richest country in the Balkans.

Denitsa Sacheva, GERB, on Bulgaria's planned adoption of the euro on 1 January 2026

It will become increasingly difficult to lie to the EU about what is actually going on in Bulgaria.