Week 30: The rest is history . . .

When people think of  'ancient . . . ', they usually think of Greece or Rome, but, unbeknownst to most, Bulgaria is just as old!

Bulgaria's origins are fascinating (the Balkans have been a massive crossroads of people for centuries) and their history has been as equally brutal (Darn those Ottomans! *waves cane in the air*), but I cannot say it's not interesting! Bulgaria was/is a place of khans, kings, tsars, and the creation of the Cyrillic alphabet, and people are proud of it. So much so that almost every other school or national institution is named after 2 of their heroes--Hristo Botev and Vasil Levski--who fought against the Ottomans!

Hristo Botev looking as regal as ever

To begin with, one of the coolest things about Bulgaria is the abundance of archaeological artifacts and structures intact. From the Thracian amphitheaters to the previous 3 kingdoms' institutions, Bulgaria is a history buffs dream. This past weekend, I had the joys of going on an excursion with my students to one of those gems! Tsarevets, the stronghold of the kings of the 2nd Bulgarian empire, sits atop of a hill outside of Veliko Tarnovo, the capital of the 2nd Bulgarian kingdom. The complex is quite large and one could see how the hill provides ample defense; the steep cliffs surrounding the fortress are quite the climb (or fall depending where you're going . . . ). Regardless, 10 outta 10 recommend!

The castle walls extend from all the way to the left to the right AND they wrap around the hill!

Some of my crazy (awesome) students!

Speaking of history, Fulbright celebrated their 25th anniversary in Bulgaria this year! Woohoo! Congrats on the silver anniversary! For such an honor, the Commission had several presentations this past Friday (that I couldn't make), but I had the honor of joining dinner and the reception that evening AND helping Bulgaria's reforestation efforts on Saturday! I am happy to say that nothing was going down and no one was yelling 'Timber'😆. And, of course, it's always a pleasure hanging out with some of my favorite peeps :D

Faith, Tajia, and Dan ready to plant some trees!

Shady Sadie with the Spade(y)

Honestly, what would I do without Tajia?!

This site FulbrightBlogaria.blogspot.com is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of Keegan Scott and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.

The Beautiful Baltics: Lithuania, Latvia, & Estonia

Spring Break finally arrived and so did the sun! While it was a balmy 74 degrees F (23 C) in Bulgaria, I thought it would be a swell idea to head north to the Baltic nations. Although the weather wasn't my best friend there (it was blizzard-like in Estonia), I absolutely loved the region!

Tallin, Estonia

March 31st & April 1st: Latvia

I flew from Burgas to Riga (the capital of Latvia) and I was so shocked to see how pretty the airport was! Most of the Baltic region is forested so the wood paneling caught my eye!

Riga has a gorgeous city center with sprawling cobblestone streets; however, my favorite parts were the central market, and the surrounding Jewish neighborhood with Communist architecture. The central market consists of 5 giant warehouses with a different 'specialty' inside. I spent most of my time in the "cheese and pastry" section, naturally, and spent only a few euros, but, definitely, gained a thousand kilos/pounds! Of course, the Pelmeny (dumplings) and the soups were incredible!

Warsaw, Poland has an even larger one of these eyesores; it appears Stalin was kind enough to give Riga one too...

The Central Market

I consumed mass quantities of this. It was like a sweet cheese and raisin dessert

Pelmeny (dumplings) in a red sauce

My time was short here, but I met 2 really cool pals who also happened to be from Bulgaria (!) which was great fun and practice for my Turkish and Bulgarian. We went to this really hip bar/restaurant where I tried (and fell in love with) honey beer! If you haven't had it, I would highly recommend!

Bakiya and Rengyul are the best :D

Sadly, I had to depart, but not without appreciating the forest on the bus between Riga and Tallin! Interestingly enough, it seems that people in this region build cemeteries within the woods rather than cutting the trees down. I would imagine this to be a much more peaceful place for mourning.

April 2nd, 3rd: Estonia

You need to stop reading this blog post and go to Tallin right now! I absolutely loved Tallin (capital of Estonia). In my professional opinion, Tallin is much more beautiful than Riga. Of course, the blanket of snow that covered the city certainly helped. Like Riga, Tallin has the towering chapels and winding streets, but, unlike it's neighbor to the south, the crown jewel of the Baltics has a beautiful city wall surrounding the old town.

Apparently, 3 monks died and now they haunt the place. This is one of the 3 hooded statues.

On the 10th, a near and dear friend on mine and I enjoyed a leisurely stroll through Kadriorg palace and the surrounding park, and came across my absolute favorite part of my time their: Telliskivi. Telliskivi is the hip, new creative center of the city near the train station that is a conglomeration of galleries and restaurants constructed out of renovated warehouses. The street art was political, catchy, and aesthetically pleasing, and the food was to DIE for! My only complaint was that I didn't stay long enough . . .

April 4th, 5th & 6th: Lithuania

Lithuania, not to be outdone by it's Baltic cousins, was quite the treat! After a grueling 9 hour bus to Vilnius from Tallin, I enjoyed the small old town of Vilnius (capital of Lithuania) and made the mistake of ordering some local cuisine. The food was incredibly heavy: potatoes stuffed with meat served with a side of sour cream, bacon, and grease! And how could I forget the incredible chewy pork ears! The food was tasty (with the exception of the ears), but my life expectancy is significantly shorter!

Bell tower on the right; Museum on the left

Notice the crown on top of the church!

Gediminas Castle Tower in the back and the Lithuanian National museum in front

The white sticks on the left are cheese. In between those are pork ears

Potatoes stuffed with meat served with sour cream, bacon, grease, and other artery-clogging goodness

In Vilnius, they have an exciting (and peculiar) part of town called, 'The Republic of Uzupis'. It was created at one of the bars (Barliament) by a handful of drunken individuals, and the idea started gaining traction as a fun-loving and inclusive community. They even created their own constitution and, on April 1st (their independence day), they stamp your passport (jokingly) to enter the neighborhood!

"3. Everyone has the right to die, but it is not an obligation."

Vilnius was cute, but Trakai was my favorite!! About 40 minutes from the capital, Trakai Castle, constructed in the 15th century, was previously a home for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The town itself, is quite small, but the castle is perched on a beautiful island in the center of the lake. Amazingly, the castle has maintained it's charm, and it is a must-see. For lunch we grabbed kibinays which are these incredibly delicious breaded dumplings with all sorts of filling! Think of them as breaded, hand-held pierogies.

This free bird was finally caged

The same evening I traveled to Kaunas, the 2nd largest city in Lithuania, which also has a charming central city. Although my time was short here, this is where I came across Lithuanians passion for basketball! Every place in Kaunas was packed with people! It was a Friday, and I thought this was natural, but the game on the screen explained it! The city of Kaunas was playing another team in some sort of championship, and everyone was going crazy. Basketball is a religion in Lithuania!

Lithuania celebrates 100 years of 'restored' independence

Townhall - Kaunas

Sadly, my spring break had to come to an end, but not without a Bulgarian welcome. I flew late into Burgas on Saturday night and came back to Galabovo on Orthodox Easter Sunday. On the train, a family joined my carriage, and we struck up a conversation. They were thrilled I knew Bulgarian and that I was enjoying their country so they eagerly gave me 2 colored eggs for Easter! It was an incredibly kind gesture and I left with all sorts of fuzzy feels! It's good being 'home'.

This site FulbrightBlogaria.blogspot.com is not an official Fulbright Program site. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of Keegan Scott and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State or any of its partner organizations.