RILA

The Morning

I peel my sleeping mask off to see light streaming through the windows. What time is it? 8:00? 9:00? I look at my watch. “Joelle! It’s 11:50!” “What,” she groggily remarks, “really?” After unintentionally waking up at 3:30am the previous night, we overcompensate today. Last night, we added an extra sheet to the bed, so we each could have our own. And, we each wore our sleeping masks, used for last summer’s midnight sun, and earplugs. Our efforts result in 12.5 hours of sleep. Joelle is much less concerned than I am: “That averages to two full nights of sleep.” She even asks if she can go back to bed. I simply respond, “No!” Joelle heads out for her run, as I start to prep us for today’s overnight trip.

Rila Monastery Accommodation Booking

Today we are going to the Rila Monastery, the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. You can stay the night at the monastery, and our plan is to show up without a reservation and hope there is availability (has been done successfully). My planning self gets nervous, so I put my “big girl” pants on and call the monastery (after waiting for them to open at 2:30pm). I am greeted in Bulgarian, so I simply respond “hello.” There is a long pause while I hope someone responds in English. Fortunately, they do, and they have availability for tonight. We are set (and I made a small contribution to trip planning/logistics)!

Sofia → Rila

I am not particularly excited about driving the roads of Sofia since our initial experience from the airport. Nonetheless, that is what I have in store today. I squeeze out of the tiny parking spot in the garage (I made Joelle get out to guide me and rolled down the window to pad the mirror with my hand, ensuring I would not hit the pole). Safely out, I make my way up the ramps and out of the garage. The garage door does not automatically open, so I stop on the steep hill to wait while Joelle digs through my purse for the garage door opener. Garage door open and sidewalk seemingly free of people (remember, I had to drive over the curb and sidewalk to get in the garage), I let off the clutch and push the gas. We start rolling backward quickly, then we speed forward. Yikes. This is going to be a tough one to start on hills. I think I scared Joelle a bit there. Suddenly, there are people walking on the sidewalk, and they are not stopping. BRAKES. The people are un-phased. I am very phased. One thing I have learned about the driving and walking norms is that there is a “go for it and hope no one hits me” culture, not a “pause and wait until I won’t get hit” culture. Sidewalk clear, I let off the clutch and push the gas, only for us to start rolling backward, even when intentionally trying to prevent that. Hopefully we won’t be stopping in many steep hills, especially those with things behind us.

We make it out of Sofia much easier this time, to my relief. On the highway, I get confused. The speed limit sign says 70 kilometers per hour, while cars cruise past me much faster than that. Hmm… I do my best to not speed too much while avoiding being a traffic hazard for my slow speed. Eventually, the limit increases to 120, which feels much better. I start to notice three speed limit signs will quickly follow one another: 120 then 80 then 70. The 80 and 70 signs have a snowflake under them. Maybe it is 70 or 80 when it’s snowing and 120 otherwise? At least we had Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, Taylor Swift, and other popular American artists to keep us company on the Bulgarian radio.

Out of the city, it is beautiful. Mountains rise up in the distance, and everything is green. We turn off the highway and begin driving through the mountains toward Rila. We took what we will call the “local road,” rather than the “tour bus” road. There are some switchbacks (more like “wobbles” according to Joelle—nothing like those Colorado or Iceland switchbacks), and we pass the homes of many locals. Their gardens are lush and beautiful, with many out gardening. We see the story that our guide for our Communist tour shared make sense: Bulgaria has not experienced a famine in their 500 years of written history because they own their land and are able to produce enough household produce in their gardens to live off of. We miss a turn so flip around in front of someone’s house. The older Bulgarian woman is outside gardening, staring at us perplexed. I give her a small wave, and she slowly raises her hand in response, still perplexed.

Rila Monastery

We make it to the Rila Monastery just before 6:00pm. The parking attendant is quickly at our window to collect our parking fee. He is good at his job! We pay for today and tomorrow, and then I look at Joelle to formulate our game plan. She needs food, so I hop out and grab the giant container of pasta we packed. We have a car picnic for dinner, and surprisingly, we eat our way through most of the huge container.

Bellies full, we make our way into the Monastery. We read all the guidelines in advance to ensure we will be respectful guests. As soon as we pass the entrance, our jaws drop. WOW. This is beautiful. The church and tall tower are in the middle, surrounded by black and white striped arcades with the beautiful mountainous landscape rising behind. It is stunning. We take picture after picture at every angle, none of which do it justice. We are glad to be here in the evening when it is quiet and not packed with people, and staying overnight. You can learn more about the Rila Monastery here.

Our first stop is the church. Silence in the church is observed, although the machine being used to clean the floor evoked a similar image as someone vacuuming a crypt. The interior is beautiful, with similarities to the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia (although much smaller).

Our next stop is to find where to check in for our room. It is very quiet with few people. There was a security guard at the front and a small gift shop. We make our way to the gift shop and look through the postcards. Joelle goes to take (another) picture, while I talk to the woman working at the gift shop. “We called about staying here overnight.” I get a blank stare in return. I think she does not speak English… charades it is! I put my hands together and lay on them like a pillow and then point to the ground, trying to say “sleeping here.” She nods and responds to me in Bulgarian. Now it is my turn to stare back blankly. I point outside, across the square, with a questioning look on my face. I am trying to ask, “over there?” She nods, signaling with her hand that registration is around the church and across the square. An effective game of charades.

Across the square, exactly where the woman pointed, we find guest registration. The gentleman asks for our passports, and I see Excel is open on his computer (how fun… “Nerd” -Joelle). He runs our passports through the scanner, and the spreadsheet auto-populates with several columns of information. For my fellow Excel nerds, it was pretty cool. He notices we are from the U.S. and that two other guests tonight are too. Apparently, it is not common to get Americans during the summer, especially since COVID. (What are Americans doing in Bulgaria during the winter? Skiing?)

We get our backpacks from the car (after asking to make sure it is okay, since that was on the list of do-not-dos), and walk up the stairs to find our room. You can only enter the residential areas if you are staying the night, so that is a benefit of staying. More views (and more pictures)!

The room is simple, yet has everything you need for one night. There are three beds (less comfy than the Airbnb springy bed) with sheets and blankets, and there is a bathroom.

Ready to explore, we head out. We exit through the back of the monastery and immediately hear the river. There is what appears to be a hotel and restaurant and below is a trail. We follow the trail down the river. Birds are chirping, and trees are tall around us. We see a sign pointing down the trail to the “Monastery Ossuary,” where the trail ends. We walk around it, then go to the edge of river. The water is cold! Joelle picks a pebble from the riverbed for her pebbles/and-coins-from-special-places jar before we make our way out and back through the monastery. The walls must be thick because the loud noise of the powerful river is (mostly) silenced once pass the threshold into the monastery.

There is another trail near the front of the monastery, so we start up that. This one is steeper and muddier, perhaps not the best place the wear my light linen pants but good training for our Albania trek. We find another grave, and just passed that the trail levels out. We walk along the ridge, level with the monastery. If there was a break in the trees, there would be a great view of the monastery, but the trees are thick, allowing only small glimpses.

Ready for some snacks, we head back to our room in the monastery and do some blogging. While writing this post, I ask Joelle, “Do birds chirp, or sing, or what?” She wittily responds, “they don’t what; they who.” I will leave you with that.

Morning at Rila Monastery

Last night, our blogging hours ticked by, with the bells ringing three times, signaling 9:00pm, 10:00pm, and 11:00pm. We wondered if they would continue all night, and Joelle’s bad night of sleep allows us to answer that question: The last one was 11:00pm, and they resumed at 8:00am. I did not have the best night of sleep but nothing compared to Joelle who laid awake until 3:40am and woke back up at 6:30am. Maybe that is because we slept until noon yesterday… She says it is because her pillow felt like a rock.

The monastery is peaceful quiet this morning, with just the sound of birds chirping. We brought oatmeal packets for breakfast, so we just need to find some hot water (and bowls because I forgot to pack ours). We set out looking for the bakery that is supposed to be behind the monastery and end up at the restaurant patio instead. A nice Bulgarian man immediately welcomes us, menus in hand, and seats us at a table below the gorgeous mountains. Joelle remembers him from the video of our favorite travel vloggers’ trip to Bulgaria (Kara and Nate). It is the same man, and he is sitting in the same place as in the video. He shows us the menu, letting us know we can have a sandwich, pizza, or anything we want for breakfast. Slightly puzzled, we say thank you and skim the menu. Knowing we just need hot water and bowls but not wanting to be disrespectful, we order two juices and Monastery Bread with Yeast. What is that? I also ask for two hot waters and two bowls, using my hands to make a bowl shape. I get a confused look in return: “You want just hot water?” I confirm that is indeed what we want. She brings us the juices and hot water but no bowls. Joelle is worried about being disrespectful, and while I share that concern, I know we need our oatmeal, particularly with the day we have ahead. I step inside and find the man who initially greeted us. I ask him for two bowls, and again, I get a puzzled look. I use my hands to make a bowl shape, trying to communicate what we need. He responds, “You want a meatball?” No, no. I point to the plates and say “like this but…” and signal a round shape with my hands. He heads into the kitchen, shouting something in Bulgarian. I stand waiting, wondering what I am about to get. Hopefully not a meatball. He returns with two bowls on little plates and our Monastery Bread with Yeast. “Like this,” he asks. “Perfect,” I say thankful. “Really? You want them empty?” We go back and forth several times about the fact that yes, I want them empty. Relieved to have gathered everything we need, we enjoy a yummy breakfast of oatmeal, juice, and the most delicious bread we have tasted, all under a beautiful view. Seriously, the bread is amazing. Crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside (we gluten splurged—worth it). We pay for what we ordered and leave a generous tip, thanking them for putting up with us. We are fueled and ready for the day!

Rila National Park and the 7 Rila Lakes

Why Bulgaria? This is a common question we get. Truth is, we saw pretty pictures and videos and decided we should go. Those pictures and videos were of the 7 Rila Lakes, first introduced to us in Kara and Nate’s travel vlog. Today, we get to see them and decide if what brought us to Bulgaria is worth it.

From the monastery, we drive down the mountain, around to the other side, and then back up the mountain. This brings us to the parking lot, and from there, we walk to the chairlift. At the base of the mountain, we see snowcats and the bunny hill—clearly a ski mountain in the winter. We purchase our round trip tickets and are on the lift (our loaf of Monastery Bread with Yeast is a great lift snack). It is beautiful, and it keeps getting more and more beautiful.

Truthfully, it is hard to describe this hike. To summarize, I will quote Joelle: “Everything is so beautiful. I don’t know what to take a picture of. [Anguished groan].” To that point, we took nearly 400 pictures, all of the same mountains and lakes. Unfortunately, none of the pictures even begin to capture what we saw, although they are pretty. We thought it was gorgeous when we got off the lift, and it just got more and more gorgeous the higher we climbed.

The 7 Rila Lakes is, well, 7 lakes in Rila National Park. Sadly, the number of visitors the beautiful place attracts is threatening it, with the unregulated creation of new trails leading to erosion. The more visitors, the more the lakes become silted, and if it continues at this rate, we could loose the lakes. So, be respectful, stay on the trails, and soak in the beauty.

The trail begins with a steep climb up from the lift and lodge. Then, there is a relatively flat trail that takes you along the ridge, above the lakes. We count the lakes as they come into view, excited to see all seven. Four gradually come into view on our left, while another comes into view on our right. We spend some time at the one on our right—Kidney Lake—and judgingly watch as some teenage boys contemplate jumping in the water (this is not allowed and harmful to the area).

Getting to the sixth lake requires more hiking and crossing a small river via a snow-covered bridge. Yes, snow! On the sixth lake, parts of the water are iced over and snow stretches from the mountainside onto the water. It is one thing to see snow up here, but it is another to see the water still icy. It doesn’t seem that cold. This is a perfect place for a snack (and chocolate of course—Joelle claims it may be the best place in the world to eat chocolate, and we will only know if we do it).

The seventh lake requires another hiking stretch, this time up a steeper mountain. We watch some clouds roll in, obscuring what the view would be from above. Should we do it? Absolutely. We begin the climb, and once we get to the top, we see the most beautiful…nope, it is a whole lot of clouds. Bummer. We are chatting with some folks at the top when the clouds blow over, leaving a stunning view of the mountains, lakes, and valley below. I cannot describe the beauty, and the pictures do not do it justice. I highly recommend coming to see it for yourself one day.

For anyone who has witnessed Joelle and I together, we are silly and like to chat. One of the young men at the top, by the seventh lake, asks us, “Are you from America?” We have discovered that the best, and perhaps the only way aside from asking, to guess where someone is from is to hear them speak and to decipher their accent. Turns out, he is a Missionary from Utah, living in Bulgaria and working in Turkey (the Turkish government does not allow them to live there full time). We meet several others in their group, maybe 20 in total, most from Utah and at least one from Colorado. It is fun to chat with them and hear about their experiences. We also meet an Australian couple who are backpacking from here to the Monastery, staying in huts along the way (that sounds fun!). One Missionary asks how this compares to the hiking in Australia, which apparently is few and far between. When asked how it compares to Colorado hiking, we think there are similarities—both mountainous and beautiful—but it is a little easier to breath here (elevation here is about 2,500 meters or about 8,200 feet).

A Missionary who has done this hike numerous times suggests we take the lower trail on the way back, one that winds around the shores of the four lakes we saw on our left while hiking up. Don’t need to tell us twice! This gives us a new vantage point (more pictures!) and further exploring. On the way down the steep section, from the seventh lake, one Missionary, I kid you not, slides down the whole thing on the snow on the mountainside. I wish I had a video. After passing the lakes on the lower trail, we run into a couple, who asks us which way the trail goes to get to the lift. We have no idea, which we let them know before confidently proceeding to the right. We walk along the path, approaching a guesthouse, and then approaching…umm…I think the trail ends at this water closet? We turn around to see the man who asked us for directions running into the guesthouse to find someone who actually knew the route. Turns out, we picked wrong. The trail went to the left. Oops. Won’t know unless you try!

As we are headed down, I get a little sad that it is over (although my legs are feeling it a bit). Something tells me this is going to be a trip highlight.

One more funny story: Joelle and I have been on a lot of lifts in our lives. Dare I say we have mastered the art of getting on and off a lift. As we approach the bottom of the mountain, two large Bulgarian men stand on either side of where the chair will be and signal what we each need to do: The person on the left walks to the left and the person on the right walks to the right, getting out of the way of the chair. I confidently give them a thumbs up. We hop off, each walking in our respective directions when I hear, “Stop, stop, stop!” I realize they are talking to me. I look up confused. Oops, I was supposed to just take a few steps to the left and then leave the lift area to the right, once the chair had passed. I was on a collision course. Turns out, I have mastered the art of getting on and off a lift when on skis.

The Drive Back to Sofia

I am pleased to say there is not much to report here. I am getting the hang of this driving in Bulgaria thing (even on hills).

Bulgarian home and garden

Car picnic!

Monastery information

Monastery over the road

Rila Monastery

Rila Monastery

Rila Monastery

Rila Monastery

Rila Monastery Church

Rila Monastery Residences

Rila Monastery Residences

Rila Monastery Kitchen

Exploring around monastery

Monastery Ossuary

Monastery Ossuary

River near monastery

Exploring around monastery

Rila Monastery

Monastery Bread with Yeast

7 Rila Lakes map

7 Rila Lakes chairlift

Lift snack!

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes: The Eye

Chocolate break

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes

7 Rila Lakes chairlift

Horses grazing by the road!