Off the beaten track – Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

This is the first from a series of guest posts from travelers we know and love from around the world. Today Dia is telling us about Veliko Tarnovo, an off the beaten track city in Bulgaria. Follow Dia’s travel adventures and wanders on her blog (Romanian).

Veliko Tarnovo is a breath of fresh air. Is easy to get there from Bucharest or even from Sofia. From Bucharest it’s something like a 3 hour drive with at least a short break included. And From Sofia.. I think it’s like a 4 hour drive. And from Sofia you can also take the bus from “Centralna avtogara”.

veliko tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo

For Romanians is like a second Sighisoara closer to home. Veliko Tarnovo or the city of the tsars as it’s sometimes called is a medieval city, dating back since the first Bulgarian Empire. But I won’t go all historical on you, there are books for that.

Let’s start with a few recommendations.

Where to Stay

This has never been a problem in V.T. It’s easy to find a nice deal in a small hotel or in a B&B, or even an apartment (most of the times they are the best deal, especially if your booking for a 4+ group). I can recommend with all my heart the hotel Stambolov.

Where to Eat:

Best place in town is Shtastlivetsa. It’s the classiest restaurant with an awesome view of the city and of Gurko Street. They serve the best pizza ever! But be careful! The big pizza is really quite big, for at least 2 people.

And there are also the Ego restaurants. They also have very good food and I am happy to say that also fast service. You will surely not regret entering there. There are 3-4 restaurants around town.

And also don’t forget to try the Ice cream from Raffy. You will mostly find them on the street. But they are the best you can find in Bulgaria. I know that normally you can find this near the Post Office, near to Square “Maika Balgaria”.

Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo

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Top 10 Castles to Stay in Europe

Ever fancied having your own castle and pretending you are a princess or Sir Lancelot? Well, you can have that dream fulfilled and actually rent or buy a beautiful castle in Europe, and at affordable prices (or so the property experts say). For the rest of us we’ve put together a list with our top 10 castle hotels in Europe, and a little bit about each to ease your decision if you consider booking a room, or why not – plan a wedding:

1. Amberley Castle, England

amberley castle

http://www.amberleycastle.co.uk/

The lovely 900-year-old medieval castle in England is perfect for a slow vacation. The castle has a legendary history, including ownership by Queen Elizabeth I from 1588 to 1603; visits from Charles II; and a bout in the civil war, when Cromwell attacked its walls. Nowadays the 19 rooms are luxurious and enchanting, boasting elegant four-poster beds, rich wall hangings and carpets, antique frills, and a few modern additions like en-suite jacuzzi, TVs and VCRs. A standard B&B double room can be your for about 440 EUR.

2. La Bourdasiere Castle – Val de Loire

la bourdasiere castle

http://www.labourdaisiere.com/

Constructed in the 15th century for the royal mistress of King François I, the castle today is a popular honeymoon destination (for officially married couples). Located less than an hour from Paris, and surrounded by 140 acres of enchanted woodlands, Château de la Bourdaisière lets guests live like royalty, with 11 luxurious rooms (and three apartments), outdoor heated swimming pool, tennis courts, and more.  Price of a standard room: 142 EUR.

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Traveling with your dog this summer?

Friends, we’ve been asked recently about how someone should prepare if he wants to travel with the pet. And though we’re mostly into sheep, we’ve put together some quick travel tips to help you when you’re planning a road trip with your precious:

- Be sure to pack all his things he’d normally use when at home – food, water, bowls, snacks, leash, collar, medicine, toys, bedding;

- Besides the essentials, you should have with you the dog’s ID & health certificate, paper towels, stain remover and some anti-diarrhea and car sick pills;

- Plan longer breaks while driving, and keep the dog in the back seat; consider some sedatives if he is very active, but be sure to check it with the vet first; (more…)

Green Traveling Tips

We’ve heard much about green travel in the past few months, and people seem to have a positive reaction and encourage it as well. But   what is green travel after all, and how can we actually do that on our next trip? There seem to be various definitions, but the one for the Ecotourism is used the most as guidance:  “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” (TIES, 1990).

Ok, so it’s about responsability and improvement. Hmm… that sounds nice, but why should we care? Well, one simple answer is that there are ~1 billion tourists traveling the world each year, and the number is growing. People and especially places will not stay like they are forever, and is very likely to suffer from the crowds passing by each day. Think about how much you love the places you went to, and the memories that you have – won’t it be nice if other people can see those places too? At first I thought that well, green traveling, like using bio products, will certainly be more expensive. But it actually isn’t, and it is very likely to give you a good feeling about the trip when you end it, and the people you met in each place you’ve been. (more…)

10 most Interesting Buildings in the World

This is our top pick for the 10 most interesting buildings from around the world. Criteria considered: strange, bizarre, unexpected architecture – buildings that make you stay, take a moment, and imagine their story.

1. The Crooked House (Sopot, Poland)

Bult in 2004, this crazy looking building is situated in Sopot, at Bohaterów Monte Cassino Street. The architecture of the  building is based on drawings by Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg. It’s a popular tourist destination and inside are a number of pubs and restaurants, and it  is the most photographed building in Poland (no wonder).

The Crooked House (Sopot, Poland)

2. The Basket Building (Ohio, United States)

The Longaberger Basket Company building in Newark, Ohio is 2nd most strangest building in the world ! The 180,000-square-foot building is a replica of the company’s famous market basket, cost $30 million and took two years to complete. I guess the CEO of the company who envisioned this building can now rest assure that all employees are ‘touched’ by the product.

The Basket Building (Ohio, United States)

3. Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

The original idea of these cubic houses came about in the 1970s. Piet Blom developed a couple of these cubic houses that were built in Helmond. The city of Rotterdam asked him to design housing on top of a pedestrian bridge and he decided to use the cubic houses idea. Blom’s vision was to create a kind of village. Now you can still see the shops on the ground floor, while upstairs families live in strange-shaped little homes.

Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

4. Forest Spiral – Hundertwasser Building (Darmstadt, Germany)

This building is called “Forest Spiral” and it’s located in Darmstadt, Germany. Its designer is Friedensreich Hundertwasser , and was built in  between 1998 and 2000.  The architect is renowned for his colorful designs which incorporate irregular, organic forms in an incomparable individualism. The structure of the altogether 12 floors has 105 apartments’. The roof is formed by a garden of beech, maple, and lime trees.

Forest Spiral – Hundertwasser Building (Darmstadt, Germany)

5. Dancing Building (Prague, Czech Republic)

This interesting building was constructed between 1992-1996, and is somewhat of a rarity in Prague: a modern, glass building surrounded by historic architecture. Dancing House has daring, curvy outlines, which led its architects, Vlado Milunc and the American Frank O Gehry, to initially name it the “Astaire & Rogers Building”, after the legendary dance duo. Like-minded Czechs tend to call it The Dancing Building, while less appreciative viewers have names for it like: “terrible“ and “looks like a crushed can of Coke“ to name but a few. Ouch!

Dancing Building (Prague, Czech Republic)

6. Erwin Wurm: House Attack (Viena, Austria)

On number 6 we have Erwin Wurm – House Attack; it was a temporary installation during the Erwin Wurm exhibition in the end of 2006. This building is an outdoor sculpture at the Museum Moderner Kunst (MuMoK) in Vienna. Architects: Ortner & Ortner, 1998–2001.

houseattack-vienna

7. Kansas City Public Library (Missouri, United States)

The  impressive bookshelf covering the Kansas City Public Library parking garage is definitely our pick for number 7. The 480-car garage, at 10th Street and Baltimore Avenue, was completed in 2004. Its south façade looks like a giant’s book shelf, with 22 nearly 30-foot tall book spines sandwiched between glass-surrounded stairwells made to look like bookends. Designed for the people, for a real library experience. Nice!

Kansas City Public Library (Missouri, United States)

8. Hang Nga Guesthouse/ Crazy House (Vietnam)

The famous attraction in Dalat, often called The Crazy House, is a bizarre network of caves, cubbyholes and hidden stairwells, with precarious bridges leading from one concrete tree house to another. It was designed by eccentric architect Hang Nga, also the daughter of former president Truong Chinh. Most tourists leave before dark, but if you like it you can rent a room there, and you may expect to go to sleep with the giant girafe’s red eyes on your window. BOOO!

Hang Nga Guesthouse a.k.a Crazy House (Vietnam)

9. Beijing National Stadium (Beijing, China)

The Beijing National Stadium is a sports arena built to prepare for the 2008 Olympics. Because of its characteristic appearance, it is also known as the Bird’s Nest Stadium. The $423 million stadium (according to Wikipedia) is the world’s largest steel structure, as you probably already know. However, after the Olympics the stadium has not found significant use, and it seems that it will be transformed in a shopping-events area.

Beijing National Stadium (Beijing, China)

10. Nautilus House (Mexico City, Mexico)

Built using mainly chicken wire & concrete, this quite unique home claims to not only be earthquake proof but also maintenance free. Inside, the Nautilus House is all about smooth surfaces & gleaming bathroom fixtures. Nautilus Shell House was build for a Mexico City couple by Javier Senosiain, and we could not end this list in more wacky way :)

Nautilus House (Mexico City, Mexico)

So people, how many of them have you seen up to now? What other wacky buildings do you know?

Best 30 Roadtrip Songs Ever

As I seem to make more and more road trips and I always forget to update my iPod with some really nice driving songs, I thought that it would be a good idea to make a play list and share it with you guys.

It took me a while, but I’ve found some great tunes and I know I could have found many, many more  (just love their hit the road spirit),  but anyway here’s my 30 road trip inspiration playlist:

1. Born to be wild -- Steppenwolf

2. Highway to Hell -- AC/DC

But wait, there’s more