Bulgaria - Buzludzha & Shipka

I have no other pursuit that makes an impact like travelling by motorbike. Look at where they took us today!

After shaking hands with the host of Wild Glamping, we entered rural Bulgaria and passed through a wonderfully rustic hamlet where the buildings were seemingly older than the trees surrounding them.

Compare those above with croncrete blocks we noted in many towns, below. Two sides of the Bulgarian coin.

I’m not sure who the chap in the murial was, but clearly a hero of WWII, assuming my interpretation of the date is correct. My Bulgarian isn’t quite fluent yet, having only heard it spoken for the first time yesterday.

The military theme from yesterday continued today, but thankfully with more of a memorial tone, rather than preparation for war.

We spent a few minutes attempting to identify a shop in a village, only to discover it was right next to us, inside a lady’s house.

The road surface deteriorated and eventually gave up altogether. That’s the beauty of this type of bike though, the Heineken of bikes, reaching the parts other bikes cannot. We continued off the beaten track, passing disused quarries, river crossings, and lakes.

Our first “wow” moment of the day was coming across the Monument to Dimitar Blagoev (founder of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party). It’s massive, standing proud next to the road on the plains before the ascent to Buzludzha. That ascent and indeed the entire ride that followed was spectacular.

The Buzludzha momument is a building I attempted to reach last year, but Sarah and I were refused entry at the Romanian–Bulgarian border. Annoying, considering the border no longer exists due to both countries’ EU membership. As it came into view, just the sight of it stopped our conversation in its tracks.

We made some new friends who helped us with photos and took a few more moments to pose. Among them were an American couple who later invited us to California, and an English stag do on enduro bikes who invited Sarah… well, I’m not exactly sure what for.

Just look at that! The Buzludzha Monument, built by the communist regime to commemorate the creation of the Social Democratic Party by Dimitar in 1891. Apparently country leaders used to meet here at this, the ultimate muscle flex and seat of power. 

You’re not supposed to enter, the doors are barred, and signs warn you in multiple languages but we met a biker who described an underground tunnel.

It was literally as dark as a coal mine under that concrete monolith. Had the head torch failed, we’d have been feeling our way past thousands of flies, chunks of concrete, rusted iron, and other hazards.

But it was worth it. Remnants of its magnificent past were still visible from the vaulted auditorium to the mosaics and murals, and that unrivalled view over the land.

Our final stop for the day was the Shipka Monument, in Shipka National Park on Shipka Peak. There’s definitely a theme here and I think spectacular is it.