Monday, October 15, 2007

Veliko Turnovo Part 1



This place I like. Veliko Turnovo, an old imperial city with some character, is where I now sit. I only arrived this afternoon and haven't seen much, but the winding streets and the incredible views gave a good enough first impression that makes me look forward to waking up tomorrow and wandering around aimlessly.

I'm kind of sick of "internet cafes" and am looking forward to having my own internet access once I find a place to stay, which is my goal for tomorrow. I'm terrified of someone bumping my fickle laptop, which will send it into hard drive chaos, as I know all too well from experiences of the last week. Speaking of internet cafes, it is a strange sight to see not one laptop in all of the cafes I have been to so far. In DC, hardly anyone sitting in these places did NOT have one. It was too the point where I wondered if anyone ever talked to each other anymore!

It was a beautiful day, but I spent most of it trying to get here. The bus ride was only three hours, but it felt like fifty since they didn't have a toilet on the bus. I only was able to take fifty photos today instead of my normal two hundred, which doesn't really matter anyway because it takes so long to upload them to Blogger that I don't have time to post them.

Right now I'd like to know what the drinking laws are here, as there are some kids not more than fifteen who are drinking. I am an advocate for lower drinking laws in the US, but I think 16 should be the minimum for unsupervised kids. They seem much more grown up than American kids, though. They aren't loud, they are well dressed, and they are acting like there are others around them to respect!

Anyway, here are a few more pics from the city. Hopefully my internet access (and my laptop) will stabilize so I can post more regularly. Although I guess I have been pretty regular.

To be continued...



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The correct name is Veliko Turnovo (meaning Great Turnovo), where “u” in Turnovo is pronounced as in “u”pdate.

Cathie said...

As a certified linguist, I can assure you that vowel transliteration issues do not matter. And as an American, I can inform you that we do indeed pronounce A's as U in update for certain words. Perhaps it is not the best transliteration, but it is not wrong, as you can see in many publications on the place.

Anonymous said...

As a Bulgarian, I can assure you that it is TurnovO :))

Sorry if my previous post has offended you :(

No harm was intended...

Wellcome to Bulgaria !!! Hope you enjoy your stay...

Cathie said...

Oh, no, no, no offense, and by my comment, I was only refering to the first one! I didn't even realize my stupid mistake at the end! Sorry! From now on, though, I will definitely spell it Turnovo.

Anonymous said...

I see (on ourbulgaria.com forum) you're puzzled by some aspects of our Bulgarian lifestyle. You may inquire on these on my mail: seascrambler@abv.bg . I'll be happy to help.

Anonymous said...

Some pics from Bulgaria bellow... Turn the volume on and enjoy:

http://www.senseofbulgaria.org/index_real.php

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BmZ7Z7V4ocY

Anonymous said...

Some more pics:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IbuHQFJ70qA

Anonymous said...

And more:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hJNRXPV0yME&mode=related&search=