Thankfully when I’m sick of wrangling Amadeus of a morning there’s always Jesse, Gio and especially Noelley to love him! Today was another driving day so we packed up and hit the road – the kids with handmade Bulgarian dolls in hands

Beautiful Bulgarian flag rippling in the wind.

First stop was the Shipka Memorial Church. Built in the Russian style in 1902 to commemorate the lives of the soldiers who died fighting for the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottomans. Jesse and I were mesmerised, definitely makes us keen to get to Russia one day!

Next stop was the National Memorial at St Nicholas Peak. Funded by the Bulgarian people’s and completed in 1934.

In the background you might spy the Buzludzha Monument. Truth be told when I first considered coming to Bulgaria this was one of the sites I was most keen on seeing. However a combination of cranky kids with motion sickness, winding un kept roads and a 24/7 guard preventing anyone from exploring the inside made me decide to settle for these photos 12k away. It’s definitely worth a quick look on wiki, it’s the pinnacle of brutalist architecture in my opinion!

Next up was the Etar Ethno Village. Completed in 1964 it’s filled with artisan crafts people – furriery, cutlery makers, potters, silversmiths etc. Kids loved it – in particular the waterwheels.  Noelle was all over the ins and outs of water powered wheat mills!

From here we made it to our accommodation in Veliko Tarnovo. Had a relaxed Sunday evening and are ready to tackled the sites in the morning!