Good morning from Ruse, Bulgaria – about 75 kilometers south of Bucharest, Romania. Viking had the herd buses lined up and ready this morning. One was going to a monastery made out of rocks. Maybe interesting, but also a 2 hour bus ride. Pass. The other bus was a shuttle into town. Kind of a head-scratcher for us, since we’re only about a mile away from town – but walking a mile isn’t in the cards for a lot of these folks. Ken and I would much rather walk, so we just waved to everyone as we set off on foot.

Little Vienna

Ruse bills itself as “Little Vienna”. Thaaattt’s a bit of a stretch. There are certainly more buildings in Ruse that were once beautiful, but like much of Eastern Europe, the theme here seems to be deterioration and decay. And the buildings that *do* look like they could have potential are “far away” buildings. Because if you look at them close-up, everything is falling apart.

Sidebar: Everything in Cyrillic, Day 2. I wonder what sound the number 3 makes in Bulgarian?

Am genuinely concerned about the electrical and internet wiring in Bulgaria. This chaotic wiring scheme is everywhere. And it looks like it’s about to start a fire. When you hear stories about spotty electricity and internet in these towns, you understand why.

Sidebar: Ken made a Bulgarian cat friend. Lots of cats in Bulgaria, but not nearly as many as in Istanbul.

Odds & Ends

Quick walk by the Monument of Liberty in Freedom Square. Honestly, all of these freedom monuments/squares are starting to look alike to me. The statue points toward the free people of Europe. Kind of surprised the communists didn’t change the direction of the statue to point toward Mother Russia during occupation times. They did rename the square, though: Lenin Square.

Jaunty Bulgarian track suit.

Here’s a pic of a typical store in Ruse: need some shoes? You can get them with or without spider webs and water damage.

I did find a jewelry store (I have a special spidey sense for this) that specializes in sterling silver made by local Bulgarian artists, so I bought a few of pieces for my collection.

Ah, and here are some more rose oil products.

Wine friends will find this interesting: Bulgarian rose oil is a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) under EU law – meaning only oil produced in Bulgaria’s Rose Valley can bear the name Bulgarian Rose Oil.

Time to pack up our suitcases. For the next two nights, we will be in Bucharest, Romania.

Travel date: October 21, 2025.