We visited a small hilltop village near Veliko Tarnovo, and enjoyed an amazing fortress, the Tsarevets Fortress, one of the most iconic sites in Bulgaria.

Day 8, Tuesday, June 23: Arbanasi and Veliko Tarnovo

In very humid and hot weather, our group took taxis to the hilltop village of Arbanasi, near Veliko Tarnovo. Once this place was the residence for wealthy Bulgarians. The village has stone houses, many churches, and monasteries.

First, we saw the Church of the Nativity, which currently is a museum. It’s simply amazing: beautiful frescoes cover the walls, the arches, the ceilings. The frescoes represent different Christian stories. Our local guide here was very knowledgeable, but he spoke too fast for my taste.

We were not allowed to take photos inside the church, so the ones I present here are from a booklet.

After a little break, with coffee and cold drinks at a local café, some our group members visited an old house of a rich person, the rest of us just relaxed in the house’s garden.

After this, Flavia suggested a 3.5 km hike back to Veliko Tarnovo, Only three of us said yes, the rest of the group took taxis back to town.

Shortly before 1 pm, Flavia, Steve, myself, and Kevin started our hike. The beginning was easy – just walking through the village, then a little walk by the road, and then the trail started.

Compared with previous years, Flavia said, the majority of trees by the trail had been cut down. So, basically there was no shade. And it was 34 degrees of Celsius (93 degrees of Fahrenheit)! Fortunately, we had a sunhat, enough water, and good shoes, but the heat was brutal.

Flavia was periodically asking me whether I regretted my decision about the hike. No, I did not! But, never ever in my life was I sweating this much as I did during this hike. At times, my legs were even shaking.

Even though the hike wasn’t too long (1 hour and 15 minutes), there were many challenges: slippery slopes and narrow rock canyons, overgrown and not clearly marked path, thorny bushes on both sides of the path. But Flavia was an excellent leader getting us through the difficult parts! No photos, she said, when we hiked very close to the edge of the rocks. At times, we really needed each other’s support. And only towards the end, when we reached the part with trees, did we encounter some shade.

The great reward during the hike were the stunning panoramic views of Veliko Tarnovo.

In the end, when we finally could buy cold water in a small store by the road and to relax in a café for almost an hour, did I realize that this hike was a challenging one for me. The main reason was the hot weather. But I overcame the difficulties, and was proud of my accomplishment. And what a tale I could tell later!

After getting our strength back, around 4 pm, Steve and I decided to walk up to the Tsarevets Fortress (we were very close to it), even though the heat didn’t decrease noticeably. The ground was cobblestone, so we took it slowly and carefully.

The Tsarevets Fortress, a castle complex, one of the most iconic sites in Bulgaria, is surrounded by stone walls. It’s set on top of a hill overlooking the town below.

We reached to the church, the Patriarchal Cathedral St. Ascension. Inside we found impressive murals that bring Bulgarian history to life.

From the fortress, I kept looking at the view of the rocks by which we hiked earlier today. It felt almost unbelievable that I was up there.

Back in the hotel by 6:30 pm. After a much needed shower, we joined some of our new friends for a dinner at a restaurant called Gurko. Here we were finally tasting (and liking very much) the famous Bulgarian cold cucumber soup, the tarator soup.

In bed by 11 pm. What a day it was!