The Better Halves

Halves are more important than you can imagine.
Here are some Bulgarian halves who tried hard to win a chance for their..., ahm, halves to go to the Final.
Yes, yes, women rock!

A blast from the past

Bulgaria included in a "50 Most shocking moments in World Cup history" video!
Starts at 22:13 mins.

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* Many thanks to Mr. Mavrudov :)

As awesome as Sofia

If you don't trust me when I tell you that you must come to Bulgaria, then you may believe a Canadian couple who has seen most of the world by now.

Matt and Caro loved Sofia and they are telling you a story about their experience here: Sofia, Bulgaria : Our favourite city in Eastern Europe.

At the end of each of their posts you will find suggestions to read more articles about their trip around Bulgaria. But, since I always try to make your life easier, here are links to the other post 1, 2, and 3.


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* I found the picture here: http://jordanewert.com/2013/08/bulgaria/

The Danes and that Sunny place

When I arrived to Denmark I was surprised by how many Danes had heard of Bulgaria. Most of them knew (at least) Sunny Beach and some had even been there.

As it turned out, this Bulgarian city by the sea is a popular destination amongst the Danish youth; a spot filled with endless parties, cheap alcohol and sun. As for the latter two, I can hereby confirm - you can't really find them in Denmark.

So, here is an IKEA ad which kinda presents how much the young Danes like that Bulgarian city*.

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* It is an interesting fact that not so many Bulgarians go there.

Exam - Danish style: 1

This is how an average open-book 4-hour exam looks like in Denmark.

You are allowed to use any source of information that you find appropriate.. including the internet. You can also write on your laptop, instead of paper. Then you upload your file on a USB stick (which they give you on your way into the exam room).

I suppose that's not something that one can experience in Denmark only.. but I never heard of such a practice in Bulgaria. Also, for my open-book exam in Belgium I was forced to print some 1000 pages, because: "if you are reading from your laptop, I can never be sure whether you're not on the internet"..

(click on the picture to view it bigger)

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* Roberta, thank you for making this (though blurry ;)) photo for me! :)

Retrospection: step 1

A few days ago, on March 3rd, Bulgaria had a national holiday - Liberation day.
Google did not forget to congratulate us its own way:

The background is our flag, and the monument on the place of "L" is Shipka Memorial.

The monument was once on the banknote with the smallest nominal value - 1 lev. When I was 5 or so, I went there with my granddad. After running up the 894 steps, I got so impressed with the memorial, that I started to refuse (birthday) money unless it was a 1 lev banknote... Now I'm a little more mercantile then 20 years ago, but I would love to hold in my hands that pinkish piece of paper once again..

Hot in cold!

You guessed correctly, I was talking about myself in the winter.. hehe
A friend visited me and we spent a whole day walking around the city. It was so cold that I got muscle fever from trembling and trying to contract my body to a size that fits me entirely under the jacket..
Anyway, this story does not change the facts:

(click on the picture to view it bigger)

Bulgarian voices in Africa

I was just told by a 50 years-old African guy that when he was about 15 he was listening to "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices".. in Africa.. on the radio... Then he told me that the first thing he did when he went to Europe was to buy a record with their songs.. then he started singing a song... Meeting people from around the world can make you smile for so many different reasons.