Hujung minggu di Sofia, Bulgaria.

Hello Mr sunshine 🌞 It’s been a while since you shines so handsomely like today. It seems everyone is missing you so badly. Hari ini, taman dipenuhi dgn gelak ketawa warga Kota Sofia, kanak-kanak berlari, perjumpaan rakan dan taulan, teman seperjuangan. Turut sama meraikan, haiwan peliharaan yang melompat girang diberi peluang menghirup udara luar. Seperti ada keraian. Bagaimana agaknya kehidupan mereka di lokasi seperti Norway dimana matahari tidak memunculkan diri sepanjang musim sejuk; fenomena yang dikenali sebagai “polar night”. 🤔

“Dialah yang menjadikan matahari bersinar-sinar (terang-benderang) dan bulan bercahaya dan Dialah yang menentukan perjalanan tiap-tiap satu itu (berpindah-randah) pada tempat-tempat peredarannya masing-masing) supaya kamu dapat mengetahui bilangan tahun dan kiraan masa. Allah tidak menjadikan semuanya itu melainkan dengan adanya faedah dan gunanya yang sebenar. Allah menjelaskan ayat-ayatNya (tanda-tanda kebesaranNya) satu persatu bagi kaum yang mahu mengetahui (hikmat sesuatu yang dijadikanNya).”— [Surah Yunus:05]

Setahun di sini, wandering around Sofia never bored me. It always have something new to offer. Often than not I always feels like visitor rather than local. Dianugarahkan empat musim, setiap musim mempunyai keunikan tersendiri. Even you take picture at the same spot, the feeling is so different. 

Love,

нурул

Koprivshtitsa (Копривщица): Semangat yang tak pernah hilang.

Koprivshtitsa, pasti namanya terdengar asing. Pekan kecil yang menggamit sejuta memori.

Tourist Complex "Koprivshtitsa"

Panoramic view from Georgi Benkovski Statue

Memilih untuk menaiki keretapi awal pagi dari Sofia ke Koprivshtitsa. Ini merupakan pengalaman pertama menaiki keretapi di sini. Pagi-pagi lagi sudah berkejaran kerana hampir ditinggal keretapi. Nasib baiklah ada yang perasan. Pagi yang sama juga baru terhegeh-hegeh nk cari kaunter untuk beli tiket, masa yang sama jugalah mata melilau cari platform. Inilah bahana tidak datang awal, lambat ke stesen, ditambah pula kurangnya mereka yang boleh berkomunikasi dalam Bahasa Inggeris. (Okay, the latter part is just my own excuses. Not theirs. Ampun~). Terlewat satu minit, memang terpaksa tunggu train seterusnya. 😅Durasi dan masa perjalanan boleh di lihat di website (http://www.bdz.bg/en/). Take note that tiket tidak dijual secara online. Harus ke kaunter untuk dapatkan tiket, jadi please be there earlier incase there is a long queue. Perjalanan memakanan masa selama 2jam bergantung kepada keadaan. Suggest to take 1st class, lebih selesa (6 pax in a couch) instead of economy class (8 pax in a couch). Harga tak banyak beza pon. Tapi do not expect something fancy. Remember, you have been warned😂

First-class

Economy class

Cerita dari teman-teman sekerja, mereka selalu mengatakan jaluran keretapi Bulgaria sangat tidak efficient. Perkhidmatan yang tidak diperbaharui, kondisi nya masih macam dulu. Langsung tiada penambahbaikan dibuat. Often than not, it breaks somewhere in the middle of the journey. Kalau keretapi tak rosak di tengah perjalanan, itu yang pelik. Pelik, tapi itulah kenyataan. Seperti yang dijangka, setelah sejam perjalanan keretapi berhenti seketika. Tapi alhamdullillah, ianya bukan kerosakan, tetapi memberi laluan kepada keretapi dari arah bertentangan kerana kebanyakan jaluran keretapi di sini hanyalah "single track" especially yang terletak di luar bandar. Sementara menunggu keretapi melepasi stesen, ramai yang mengambil kesempatan untuk turun mengambil udara segar. Setelah sepuluh minit, perjalanan diteruskan kembali. Dinasihatkan kepada yang bercadang untuk menaiki keretapi, just put this in mind so that you don't get yourself surprised.

Train stopped for a while before continue the journey to Koprivshtitsa

Untuk yang mengembara secara berkumpulan, it is also a good idea to drive there. Lebih bebas kerana tidak terikat dengan timetable pengangkutan awam. Kerana berseorangan, saya memilih keretapi ke sana which is lebih praktikal untuk solo traveller. Sambil menikmati keindahan alam ciptaan Tuhan sepanjang perjalanan.
Keretapi bertolak dari Sofia Central Station pada pukul 7:00pagi dan tiba di Koprivshtitsa Station lebih kurang pada pukul 9:00pagi. Koprivshtitsa Station, is a little distance outside of the town. Actually I was pretty nervous when I reached at Koprivshtitsa Station when what I am seeing is all trees and forest and nothing else. I was wondering how could I get into the city because I need to escape from here by any means. I am not kidding, it is really a forest without any buildings around, only the station in the middle of nowhere. Going there alone, I have no luxury to just stay stunt. So I follow the rest of other passenger, that’s the rule of thumb. Actually, I did some research before going, but it is not what I imagined. Base on my research, there will be a bus, which will pick up the passenger form the station and bring them to the center of Koprivshtitsa. A bus that I imagined infact was a size of van that we used to see in Malaysia, and without any sign that mentioned it was meant for public use. You see my expectations are so different which makes me nervous for no reason. Because I thought that mini van is someone who came to pickup their family members. Later I only found out that the buses time departures always coincide with train arrivals. And they will wait until the last passenger get on the bus before starting their journey to the town. Lesson learnt, as a traveller, don’t get your expectation high else you will be upset. Alhamdulillah, in less than 30 minutes, I arrived at my destination.

Sungai yang mengalir di tengah-tengah Koprivshtitsa

Pertama kali menjejakkan kaki ke pekan kecil ini, terasa seperti menaiki mesin masa terbang ke zaman lampau. Sepi, sunyi. Itu yang bermain di benak fikiran. Deruan air sungai yang mengalir di tengah-tengah pekan jelas kedengaran. Koprivshtitsa, terletak di Sungai Topolnitsa di antara gunung Sredna Gora, 111 km ke timur Sofia. Dengan populasi penduduk di bawah 3000 orang, mereka masih mengekalkan rupa asal seperti berada di era Bulgarian Revival. Langsung tidak terusik. Disebabkan kurangnya peluang pekerjaan di sini, anak-anak muda kebanyakkannya berhijrah ke bandar-bandar besar seperti Sofia dan Plovdiv. Yang tinggal hanyalah warga emas dan segelintir dari mereka yang mencari rezeki dalam bidang pelancongan. Walau mereka hanya fasih berbahasa ibunda, ramai yang menyapa, bertanyakan khabar. Walaupun dengan komunikasi yang terbatas, senyum diberikan sebagai ganti.

Koprivshtitsa dahulunya adalah Pusat Kebangkitan Nasional Bulgaria, juga dikenali sebagai Renaissance Bulgaria pada abad ke-18 - 19. Terasa semangat masa lalu yang masih hidup hingga ke hari ini. Rumah-rumah tradisional Revival-period yang masih tersergam indah, sebahagiannya tersembunyi di belakang pagar batu. Banyak juga yang di transformkan kepada museum; dimana ianya dibuka untuk orang ramai agar mereka dapat bersama merasai semangat di zaman kebangkitan. Tidak kurang juga yang dijadikan guesthouse. Jalan berbatu (cobblestone street) masih lagi menghiasi jalanan.

The cobblestone street

Kerana terhadnya pembangunan di kawasan sekitar, kawasan sekeliling masih segar hijau, masih sejuk setiap mata yang memandang. Sedikit pendakian ke tugu Georgi Benkovski, panorama indah yang menakjubkan menanti. Benkovski adalah salah seorang pejuang kemerdekaan ketika Uprising April 1876 menentang Empayar Uthmaniah yang akhirnya menyumbang kepada kebebasan dan kemerdekaan Bulgaria. Sepasang mata dijamu dengan pemandangan yang sukar digambarkan dengan kata-kata; ditambah pula dengan gunung ganang yang menjadi latar belakang; melengkapkan lagi potret alam. Udara yang segar, dan cuaca yang dingin. Tugu dibina memperingati jasa beliau dalam liberasi tanah Bulgaria ini.

Suasana sekeliling yang sunyi

Rumah yang masih didiami

Tiada masjid yg kelihatan di sini, thus you will need to find a way to find a place to pray. Banyak kawasan lapang, so takde masalah to find a spot. Get a prayer mat, and tunaikan tanggung-jawab pada yang-Esa. 🙂

Begitu juga dengan kedai makanan halal, tiada yang berstatus Halal. Jadi pandai-pandailah untuk mengisi perut yang lapar. Depending on your preferences, you can try their bread (Perlanka) with yellow cheese (Kashkaval) and Tomato spread (Lyutenitsa) also Bulgarian salad (Shopska Salata). Else,bring your own bekal supaya tak kelaparan. Boleh juga mencuba pancake yang didatangkan dalam pelbagai perisa. You will pass by this pancake place, somewhere on the street (I can't remember the exact location).

Pada yang tidak merancang untuk bermalam disana, boleh di jadikan sebagai day-trip. Get on the earliest train from Sofia, and take the last train leaving from Koprivshtitsa. That should be suffice. Make sure you buffer sometime and check the shuttle bus time to the train station so that you can make your way back to Sofia on the same day. Also take in mind the time table is not in English. Please find a way to understand them regardless. Ingin merasakan pengalaman bermalam di Rumah Tradisi Bulgaria? That’s not a bad idea too.

Time-table bus ke train station

Antara muzium dan local attractions yang boleh dilawati: The Oslekov House The Lyutova House The Todor Kableshkov Museum The Dimcho Debelyanov Museum The Georgi Benkovski Museum Liuben Karavelov Museum.

The Oslekov House

The Lyutova House

The Todor Kableshkov Museum

Ticket: Combined Museum ticket untuk semua muzium boleh dibeli dengan harga 5 leva (2.50 EUR). Ticket valid untuk semua museum kecuali 'Oslekov House'. Separate ticket harus dibeli untuk masuk ke Oslekov House dengan harga 2 leva (rumah tercantik di Koprivshtitsa if you asked me). Rumah Oslekov yang tidak dapat dilihat dari luar, terlindung oleh pagar yang tinggi. Most of the time you had to knock on their door to get into. Pay your entrance ticket on the spot. I was mesmerized by the furniture and condition of the house which still remain as good as it was in the golden days. very well preserved. Some of the explanation are available in English.

Selain dari rumah-rumah bersejarah, antara attraction yang lain adalah 40 perigi yang dibina pada era yang berbeza. Juga jambatan yang didirikan di atas sungai-sungai kecil yang mengalir ke Sungai Topolnitsa. Yang paling popular ialah Jambatan Kalachev; juga dikenali sebagai 'The First Shot Bridge', dimana berlakunya permulaan Uprising April 1786.

The First Shot Bridge

XoXo,

нурул

Jelajah Bulgaria - Plovdiv, the Ancient City

Plovdiv is 150km away from Sofia, an ancient city which is built around 7 hills. Charming oldtown, with glorious past. This vibrant city; crowned as European Capital of Culture 2019.

There is much to see and experience in the old town of Plovdiv with it winding cobblestone streets and old architecture. Very quiet and laid back. I personally think Plovdiv is a beautiful city, can't just get enough of them. They have so much to offer; Roman Amphitheater, Roman Stadium, Old Bulgarian House too, and not forget their lovely garden, Tsar Simeon. 10 minutes walk from Bus/Railway station, you should reach Tsar Simeon Garden, Plovdiv's prettiest place to stroll.

Whenever you visit Plovdiv you can't just miss the old town. It is treat of history of the old Bulgarian town. Take a stroll on the old cobblestone streets and enjoy the views of the colorful old houses

[1] How-to-reach
[BUS] There is an hourly bus from Sofia-Plovdiv-Sofia. 1way ticket just cost around 15 Leva (apprx. RM35), returned ticket cost around 30 Leva (apprx. RM70). If you are taking bus from Sofia, depending on which bus you take, it either drop you at The South Bus Station (Yug Coach And Bus Station) or North Bus Station. Try NOT to take 'Union Ivkoni' because it will drop you at the North bus Station which is slightly further than the South Bus Station. Journey with bus from Sofia takes around 2 hours ++. 

Note: In SOFIA bus station, if you're approached by someone who is kind enough offering you help to buy tickets, ignore them. This person will ask for money once they finished 'HELPING" you, Instead, go straight to the counter. DON'T GET CONNED, unless you don't mind :)

[TRAIN] If you don't prefer to ride buses, there is night train from Istanbul to Plovdiv which continue to Sofia after that. You can opt for sleeping car which is more comfortable for long journey. (Macam katil untuk tidur - like your personal couch). They have option for 4-berth compartment, 2-bed sleeper, and single-bed sleeper all to yourself (1st class).

Leaving Istanbul Halkali station at 21:40 (1 June-1 Oct) or 22:40 (2 Oct-May), arriving Plovdiv next morning at 6:00am and Sofia's 08:38am. Can check their timetable here: http://www.bdz.bg/…/time…/balkan-express-sofia-istanbul.html

Unfortunately, they don't sell them online; instead you can get them at Istanbul Sirkeci station. The train departs from Halkali station. But there is a shuttle service from Sirkeci station leaving at 20:30(1 June-1 Oct) or 21:30 (2 Oct-May), arriving Halkali apprx. 50 minutes later. Don't worry if the shuttle stucks in traffic jam as the train waits for the shuttle in any case. ;)

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Ticket fares for Sofia-Istanbul and vice versa boleh check kt sini http://www.bdz.bg/en/offers/zakuska-v-istanbul.html
It should be slightly cheaper from Istanbul-Plovdiv. Contoh nk kira, boleh tgk kt bawah ni👇

1st class ticket (54,18 BGN) + 1 bed compartment (68,45 BGN) per pax

2nd class ticket (36,18 BGN) + 2 beds compartment (29,34 BGN) per pax

2nd class ticket (36,18 BGN + Couchette (from 18,38 BGN) per pax
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Kalau interested nak tengok how the Sleeper car looks like, here you go :)https://www.youtube.com/watch…
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[2] Luggage storage in PLOVDIV
There is one in Railway station; which is just walking distance to the Plovdiv center. The South Bus Station is just across the Railway Station. Boleh simpan all your belongings here before exploring Plovdiv.

[3] What-to-see
Most of them are within walking distance. I don't think you need car to move within Plovdiv itself.

►► Plovdiv’s Main Street, a lively promenade in Plovdiv called Glavnata. Banyak shopping outlet sepanjang this promenade. Also Ice-cream and gelato stop 😄

►►Dzhumaya Mosque: Located in the city of Plovdiv. Ottoman architecture, and now it still served as a mosque 🕌 The other name of this mosque is Main Friday Mosque. 

►►Next to Dzhumaya mosque is the Ancient Stadium of Philippopolis. Still well preserved up till now.

►►Bulgarian Revival Houses: It is everywhere within the Old Town. Colourful and creaky 19th century mansion with unique decoration, bright colours dan wall painting is worth seeing. Bulgarian Revival is a cultural movement by Bulgarians to regain their identity from the Ottomans back in the days. Kebanyakkan daripadanya is open to public.

►►Statue of Milyo the Crazy: You will come across Milyo while you are walking along the pedestrian street. Fun statue with an interesting story.Take a picture with him and keep walking. Also next to him is the famous Together sign – the symbol of Plovdiv 2019 European Capital of Culture.

This LANDMARK of PLOVDIV being THE EUROPEAN CAPITAL of CULTURE

►►Hissar Kapia is within the Old Town too. It was the eastern gate to the Acropolis of ancient Plovdiv. Walking through this gate will lead you up to Nebet Hill, a Roman fortress complex that offers beautiful bird’s eye views of the city and Maritsa River.

Hisar Kapia - is a medieval gate in Plovdiv's old town. It was the eastern gate to the Acropolis of ancient Plovdiv

►►Plovdiv Roman Theatre; stage for gladiatorial and hunting games back in the ancient time. Built in the 1st century AD. During summer, the theater still hosts plays and musical performances. Entrance Ticket is 5 Leva. I am always a big fan of roman theater. It seems like it has sad story to tell how it was during the ancient years. Don’t ask me why but I always have my soft spot for them.

Roman AmphitTheatre. Actively used to host special event and concerts. Ticket: 5 Leva

►►Park Tsar Simeon & The Singing Fountains: Spending sometime in the garden is not a bad idea at all. It has Singing Fountains which worth seeing combines light and water effect on a summer Thursday, Friday or Saturday evening around 9pm.

Great for a walk, to enjoy fresh winter breeze. Despite the cold weather, I enjoy them a lot!

►►Kapana Art District (literal translation: “The Trap”). Once you get there you would never want to go back. Also, many other Mural-on-the-wall can be found around Plovdiv.

►►Ancient Forum: The ruins are located behind the main post office on General Gurko Street.

►►Church of St Constantine and Helena

►►The Rowing Canal

[4] Where to eat?
I always came back for dessert. Affredo Ice-cream House located at the start of Plovdiv’s Main Street. It served yummylicious dessert, ice-creams and gelato. If you walked across the Tsar Simeon Garden, you will see one yellow building at the corner of the garden.

If you keep walking along the Plovdiv's Main street, it will bring you to Dzhumaya mosque. There is one dessert cafe attached to the mosque itself; "Dzhumayata coffee and sweet house" which served Turkish dessert. Exactly below the mosque entrance. And if you feel dessert won't suffice your appetite, 100m from the mosque, there is one Halal Turkish Restaurant; SOFRA Turkish Restaurant (https://goo.gl/maps/dSBJCqxnSmM2)

 My favourite yellow building in Plovdiv. Not because of anything else, but they served majestic sinful desert that make you forget you’re on diet. So delicious you can’t resist

[5] CLIMATE: Warmer than other parts in Bulgaria. If you're visiting during summer, you know what to do :) Best to visit during spring or autumn (if you ask me!)

[6] Plovdiv card: Hmmmm it is depending on your need unless you are a big fan of art-lovers, enjoy museums and art galleries, it might be a nice to have. Each Museum-House has an entrance cost apprx. 5 BGN. Boleh dapatkan card di "Tourist Information Center of Plovdiv" berdekatan dgn Dzhumaya mosque/Roman Stadium. Oh, you can get Plovdiv map from there too.

TIPS:
►Please wear comfortable shoes. You might hurt yours because of those cobblestone street yang tak berapa even.

►It is possible to explore Plovdiv in just a day and back to Sofia. However, staying 1 night in Plovdiv is always a good idea which I did almost all the time.

►Those who interested of history of Plovdiv, you can join Free Plovdiv Tour too. (https://freeplovdivtour.com/)

[6] PLACE TO PRAY

Dzhumaya mosque, located in the city of Plovdiv. Ottoman architecture, and now it still served as a mosque. The other name of this mosque is Main Friday Mosque. So jangan risau nak cari tempat solat kat Plovdiv ni, tak susah. The reason for us ‘bermusafir’ adalah untuk lihat ciptaan dan keagungan Allah. Janganlah niat utk bermusafir kerana Allah tapi lupa pada Allah, rugi je nanti.

 Plovdiv Municipality

Full of statues

Cobblestone street in the Oldtown. It is a little hilly, thus wear comfortable shoes of yours. It brings you back to few centuries before. Calm and peaceful. I wish I could live here

Overall, Plovdiv is like a small Rome with all the excavations being successfully uncovered. The romans ruins are absolutely amazing. How can I not love this city when it is as sweet as this?

Love,

нурул