1

Long ago. Bulgaria was the most powerful country in Europe. That is a title it no longer has, but it can still lay claim to being one of the most fascinating. It is certainly different. A place where east meets west, it is perhaps fitting that this was one of the few places on earth where, for 40 years, East Germans could meet their West German relatives with ease. All this at a time when Bulgaria was the staunchest ally of the Soviet Union, upholding an orthodox socialist regime, yet also the first Soviet ally to develop its massive potential as a tourist destination. Bulgaria invested heavily in tourism during the l960s. Purpose-built seaside and ski resorts appeared almost overnight, and the often ridiculously cheap prices attracted a large number of visitors from Western Europe, particularly Britain and Germany.

Since Bulgaria peacefully waved goodbye to Communism in 1990, tourist facilities have become even better. From the beach resorts and fishing villages of the Black Sea to the new ski centre of Bansko, from the provincial-in-size yet cosmopolitan-in-attitude capital of Sofia to the historical region around Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria still offers tremendous value for money, while preserving its uniqueness.

Bulgaria’s 8 million people are still trying to come to terms with their own identity in the post-Communist world, and in 2001 they elected their former king to serve as prime minister. Though Bulgaria looks set to join the European Union in 2007, it is stilt often seen, unfairly, as one of Europe’s stragglers, lumped together in the same bracket as Romania, Albania and Moldova. This image is mistaken. Bulgaria is an increasingly modem state, a nation of merchants and farmers, and a country that has succeeded in making the best of its cultural mix: more so than any other nation in the Balkans.

Something to remember is this strange custom

Bulgarians nod their heads when they mean “no” and shake their heads when they mean “yes”. Do not be caught out. Ask a kiosk vendor if she has any bus tickets, and a shake of the head actually means as many as you like’. It is easy to get confused.