There is a silver lining to the sharp decline in international tourism in Bulgaria in 2020. You can now see Nesebar, one of this nation's most impressive towns, without hordes of Brits and Scandinavians still hungover from the previous-evening's pub crawl at Sunny Beach resort.
A few years ago, a niece of mine, a young teenager from a mid-sized Bulgarian town, got into a bitter dispute with her best friend who happened to live in the larger Ruse, over one question: what is a cinema? A cinema is a place where people go to watch movies, the girl from Ruse said. No, cinemas are shopping centres, my niece insisted.
In the summer of 2020, a bridge in Sofia has persistently been in the news. Bulgarians demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev barricaded Eagles Bridge, disrupting traffic and attracting media attention.
Why this particular bridge?
North-central Bulgaria is not famed for its historical landmarks. It is a region of rolling hills and soft valleys, of small forests and economically depressed villages and towns where, even on the brightest days, grey is the predominant colour. It is as if generations of people concluded that the landscape was good enough for farming, but not inspiring enough for the creation of something remarkable – a city, a temple, a legend.
As with most appearances, this one is deceptive. This region is the home of one of Bulgaria's most curious ancient monuments: an obelisk.
Bulgarians use the expression "to carry two watermelons under one arm," which roughly translates us "running after two hares." But when you see the enthusiasm with which Bulgarians consume watermelons in summertime, you might easily think that carrying two watermelons under the armpit is the norm. Tarator, the ubiquitous albeit slightly unusual for Western palates cold soup, still keeps its reputation as the best way of dealing with the summer heat, but watermelons come a very close second.
The pines cast a dappled shade on our table and the cool sea is lapping at our feet, the rumble of pebbles drowned by the ecstatic chirping of the cicadas. "There is one thing Westerners won't ever get about us Greeks," says our host, dreamily, while a waitress approaches our table, an overloaded tray in her hands.
За нас е станало всекидневие да използваме гръцки зехтин у дома или да си поръчваме панирани калмари в ресторанта, но истината е, че гръцката кухня е несравнимо по-вкусна, когато сме в Гърция. Може би е нещо във въздуха, в атмосферата или в начина на приготвянето, но такива са фактите - дори маслините каламата са по-апетитни, когато ги ядем в някоя таверна на Бяло море. Тук ви предлагаме субективен и далеч неизчерпателен списък на храните и напитките, които правят ваканцията в Гърция още по-хубава.
1. Салата хориатики
Всеки интелигентен човек е способен да изброи поне пет места и забележителности в Гърция със световна слава (особено, ако следва популярните инфлуенсъри в социалните мрежи). Но страната предлага много повече от Акропола, Санторини, Корфу, Делфи и Миконос. За онези, които искат да отидат отвъд онова, което са виждали на милиони вдъхновяващи снимки в Инстаграм предлагаме 10 скрити съкровища. Всяко от тях може да бъде посетено по време на лятната ваканция на гръцкото крайбрежие.
1. Монашеската република на Атон
Bulgaria as a country, if not a state, has been around for a while. Established in 681, it was an offshoot of the few viable Barbarian lands and federations that popped up in Europe, wreaked havoc and disintegrated in the tumultuous times between the end of Antiquity and the start of the Middle Ages. In the centuries that followed, Bulgaria experienced both periods of triumph and moments of despair, and it ceased to exist as a political entity for 700 years under Byzantine and Ottoman domination.
Each country has a handful of it-places. They are instantly recognisable from millions of fridge magnets and Instagram posts, and their history, with its tragedies and triumphs, is part of the national consciousness.