We had a fantastic day out so I’m going to summarise it in 10 shortish points.
1. Vasko our guide was super informative, friendly and enthusiastic for the whole day. He was so nice that a butterfly literally rested on his shoulder for a good few minutes.
2. The frescoes at Rila are just as amazing as you see online if not better. Bright bold colours telling all sorts of biblical stories.
3. The frescos of how you end up in hell if you’re a man are quite different if you’re a woman. That’ll teach me for being a bad hostess.
4. Transport was comfortable. Small group. I fell asleep a lot.
5. We learnt a lot about Bulgarian history, religion, and people on our day out.
6. My favourite was when Vasko told us about a queen who stole the late king’s heart and escaped the country. Raised a lot of questions...
7. Let’s not overlook Boyana church. Though small, it was probably the oldest thing we saw in Sofia, and so passionately preserved as well. It Has the typical Bulgarian style of painting every inch of the interior. Truly lovely.
8. Blagodaria. We learnt some Bulgarian on the trip too.
9. The history of the Rila monastery was quite special too. The establishment of it, the fact it survived the Ottoman Empire. And the relics inside the church by the ‘gate to the kingdom of heaven’. Quite something.
10. Finally, dont miss the beautiful little church cat at boyana.
