Day 17: Meteora to Melnik

So... who knows the tourist hotspots in Bulgaria? 

We certainly didn't! Whilst in the internet cafe in Meteora the day previous, a quick check of Wikipedia and Google Maps lead us to decide upon the town of Melnik in Bulgaria as our first destination. It was on a plausible route, it was renowned for cheese and especially wine production, and was also known for a cultural icon the Kordopulov House and for natural sand sculptures. 

The drive north from Meteora was pleasant, quick freeway winding through the hills, but after leaving the outskirts of Thessaloniki things slowed down somewhat and the road deteriorated as we approached more closely to Bulgaria. Not sure what to expect upon crossing the border, filling up with fuel was a priority. This proved quite entertaining, being welcomed enthusiastically by the owner of the Eteka station we stopped at once he recognised us as tourists. With many relatives in Melbourne, and having visited Australia many times himself he was very interested (in perfect English) about what we were up to. With plenty of advice for both the remainder of Greece and what to do in Bulgaria, he gave us a small bottle of his own home brew (distilled) raki. 

On our way again, the road continued to get smaller and further into disrepair before it rejoined a major highway to the border crossing point. All was going pretty smoothly here, me assuming that Bulgaria had sufficiently implemented the Schengen visa policy to admit Gerle with her Multi-Entry Schengen visa (and me not requiring one). Then, it was question time. They weren't too sure about the Mongolian passport (likely never having seen one before), and also regarding the car. A bit of fuss about nothing, but a little nervous at the time.  Anyway, we were through. 

By this stage we were hungry, and stopping for lunch in the shanty border town in Bulgaria didn't seem too unappealing. Changing some Euros for Levis, we 'dined' at a truck stop. Shepherds Salad was good, so was the chicken snitzel the second time it came out after being sent back for being raw in the middle the first time. No regrets in the following few days either!

The freeway exiting Greece rescinded into a two way track on the Bulgarian side. The change in the economic fortunes  of the two nations was clear in every way imaginable. Thankfully, we were not on the main (busy) road into Bulgaria for too long before heading off on an otherwise empty country road. This took us through a number of small villages and through vast fields of crops before beginning to slowly rise up into some forested country. 

It was here that we arrived in Melnik. The town itself is very small; basically two streets either side of a seasonal watercourse. Driving up one side, it was unsure whether it was actually a road in places, and perhaps we should have been on the other side, until it was realised that the opposite road was in similar condition. Persevering, we drove up the narrow street towards where the GPS was guiding us, amidst stares from the locals who are I guess more used to receiving tourists arrive by bus at the intersection with the main load leading to town. 

Within a few minutes we were through the town, and out other other side. Without signage, we recognised the Kordopulov House from the pictures on Wikipedia and decided to find some accommodation first before returning to have a look inside. Immediately on entering back into town we noticed the sign 'Room for Sleep' and upon investigation found a comfortable home-stay for 35 Levi (or about 17 Euro). The host was a young mother also running a tourist merchandise shop below, and with good English proved quite helpful. 

Kordopulov House

With the car parked and accommodation sorted, we set about exploring what there was to see in Melnik. First stop was the Kordopulov House, which was built in 1754. The structure comprises a ground floor for wine production and also accesses a subterranean network of tunnels for cellaring, a semi-floor for utilitarian purposes such as grain, vegetables and animals, and a living floor. Apparently the capacity of the cellar is about 250 - 300 tonnes of wine. 

Comprising of a mix of styles, dominated by Bulgarian baroque / revival but with Venetian and Oriental influences, this house is recognised as one of the greatest buildings of Bulgarian national revival and is a national cultural monument. 

We toured through the house fairly quickly, which was pretty cosy inside and surprisingly large. It would have been quite a home back in the day, and it was easy to imagine sitting toasty warm amidst winter snow, eating some hearty Bulgarian meal. The winter garden was also good, and led to a roof-top terrace overlooking Melnik and the surrounding sand 'pyramids'. 

After touring through the house alone, we went downstairs to where there was the cellar and wine tasting. Not quite as savvy as the Hunter Valley, after wandering alone through the maze of tunnels comprising the cellar (still in use) we were offered four glasses of wine to taste between us. Unable to communicate with the barmen, who didn't seem too pleased to see us, we couldn't really determine what we were tasting nor the difference between the tastings offered. It didn't matter, as all four glasses tasted quite good. The local style being semi-sweet young vintages. Apparently, so it was written and mentioned many times in Melnik, Winston Churchill was quite in favour of the regions wines. 

The Kordopulov House

Inside the Kordopulov House, the 'Drawing Room' I think this was called.

A bedroom inside the Kordopulov House.

A loom and traditional clothing inside the Kordopulov House

Not so sure... entering the cellar.

No, it's not a gold mine!

Making the yumminess.

After the wine tasting, we walked back down to the village below Kordopulov House and past our accommodation to check out the downtown. It was surprisingly touristy for such a small place, with what appeared to be busloads of Bulgarian, Russian and other eastern European tourists arriving en mass.  

Both sides of the streets were lined with vendors selling fresh and preserved fruits and vegetables, jams, chutneys and honeys as well as endless varieties of local wines packaged in everything from oak casks to 30 litre plastic drums. We picked up two litres of the local red in a plastic bottle for 3 Levi after being impressed by the ~10 year old boy hawking it. Quite a salesman in either his third or fourth language! A few glasses later that night back in our home-stay proved that the label wasn't important.

The sand 'pyramids'

Speaking with the owner of our home-stay, there were four historical ruins on a trail above the town that would provide a good view over the sand 'pyramids' that Melnik was also known for. It was late in the afternoon, and starting to cool down, so I decided to go up and check it out. Gerle was feeling tired and wanted time to freshen before dinner so decided to remain at the home-stay. 

The walk got off to a bad start.... stumbling through a patch of stinging nettles, jumping one foot to the other to try and get out of the situation. Good thing Gerle decided to stay at the home-stay. Anyway, a few metres on and brushing off the nettles, the track cleared as it became a rocky stream bed that would have teemed with water had it been raining. About 20 minutes later, a fork in the track appeared, with two sites in one direction and two in the other. I chose right, and continued up and along a ridge affording views of the sandy cliffs and valleys comprising the sand 'pyramids'. 

As the track started to deteriorate such that it was hard to follow, the ruins of the Saint Nicola Church appeared. It was well overgrown, and completely unprotected, but free of the defacement so common in modern times. Though crumbling, the frescoes were still visible. Apparently the structure dates back to the 8th century. 

With the trail no longer visible, I headed back to the original fork in the road and headed in the other direction. This way provided some excellent views again over the sand pyramids, however with Melnik   sitting below. With the sun setting, the lighting was excellent for some good photographs (had a decent photographer been present). I spent a bit of time up here relaxing, and looking at the ruins of the 'Despots and Tsar's Monastery'. 

The name of the monastery comes from a donors deed dated 1220, and was built between 1209-1211 atop an older and smaller cave monastery dug into the rock. The place had been ruined through collapse of the cliff on which it was built.  Getting a bit hungry, it was time to head down to the village again before a quick shower and a feed.

Sand Pyramids (?) over Melnik, Bulgaria

Sand Pyramids from the 'Despots and Tsar's Monastery'

Houses of Melnik down below

Me, stopped for long enough so as not to look like a sweaty mess...

Sunset over the Sand Pyramids

Sandy cliffs

Mish Mash

When perusing the village earlier in the day, we'd already figured where we'd go to have dinner. Free Wi-Fi signs can be very enticing when traveling. The place was a small cafe come restaurant that we had stopped at for a drink earlier, but the waitstaff had changed in the time we had been absent. We were greeted by a very busy waiter speaking excellent English, who seemed to be running front of house, the kitchen and another side business all at once. He was dealing with a large group of unhappy Russian customers, but was very pleasant to us. 

Going over the menu, it was pleasing to see a change from the Greek fare that we had become used to. Nothing wrong with Greek food (it is excellent) but a change was nice. Given it was more of a family business cafe rather than a restaurant, the choice was limited, but I was happy to see 'Mish Mash' on the menu. I thought that this was the made up name that my Mum gave to a concoction of tomatoes, capsicum, eggs, onion and cheese... but it is in fact a named dish. Not sure it it is Bulgarian or Russian, but either way, it tastes good. Far better than it looks!

Between us we shared some Mish Mash and a Bulgarian style pizza, with a few local beers, and a carafe of both local red and local white wine. Travel in Bulgaria was proving to be great, with friendly people working hard for the tourist dollar - which went quite a way. In contrast to Greece, which is renowned for its tourism, it was competing well in terms of value for money. 

Me... starting to look more like my Dad... happy to see Mish Mash on the menu.

Mish Mash... looks like vomit, tastes excellent. Better with spinach though.