Veliko Turnovo

The main Veliko Turnovo statue
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Our final stop in Bulgaria was the smaller town of Veliko Turnovo, where we stayed for 2 nights. Although its smaller than Sofia, Veliko Turnovo was actually the capital of Bulgaria during the Second Bulgarian Empire.

On the afternoon that we arrived, we walked around town to see the general sites (and pick up our train tickets to Bucharest while we were at it). We walked from the hostel to the tourist office, having a look at the town's major statue, a representation of a battle between Romanians and Turks, on the way. We were again reminded of Bulgarian hospitality when we attempted to locate the train ticket office. After searching around for 10 minutes, we asked a woman in a local office; she not only locked up the office to show us, but walked with us for 2 blocks to show us exactly where it was.

Veliko Turnovo fortress
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On the second day we checked out the Tsarevets fortress, which served as the main stronghold for the Second Bulgarian Empire during the early second century. The fortress is a little worse for wear now, but allows for fantastic views of the city and surrounding countryside.

It was soon time to say goodbye to the rock bottom prices of Bulgaria and head off to the still-pretty-good prices of Romania.