Village Hopping, Part 1

Patleyna and the Sunflower Fields

These beautiful and long summer days have left me with the itch to get outdoors and just enjoy the warm weather and the great scenery around my town. The past few weekends, I’ve been able to get out of town and do some exploring in the many villages that comprise the Preslav municipality and that lie within walking distance.

One of the great things about the villages in Bulgaria is that, even though they lie within mere kilometers of each other, each offers something unique. When I first arrived here, I was amazed at the sense of isolation apparent in villages that are seemingly so close. In America, these places might be considered suburbs of another bigger city. Here, the villages enjoy a certain independence from each other and all have their own identity and traditions, completely separated from nearby towns, even though they are often within easy walking distance from each other.

My first such excursion was to nearby Patleyna, a place in the hills outside of Preslav, actually visible from many spots here in town. After a short 5 kilometer walk past the familiar ruins and up into the hills, I was greeted by a quirky inn and an old man tending to his horses in a nearby stable, somewhat confused as to what I was doing there. The quietness was incredible, and even separated by a mere 5 kilometers from my town, the difference was noticeable – the air a bit cooler, the area covered by more greenery, the pace of life a bit slower.

After walking around a bit, I would a set of stairs leading up into the forest and somewhat overgrown by nearby trees and decided to investigate. After a couple of minutes of climbing, I came upon the ruins of an old monastery from the 10th century, incredibly more intact than the bigger and more famous ruins in Preslav. Apparently it was at this monastery that one of the national treasures of Bulgaria was found – the ceramic icon of St. Theodore, currently housed in the national museum in Sofia.

Walking further up the hill, the stairs led to an old abandoned building (a more recent monastery, built in the last century but now apparently closed) with an amazing view of the valley below and of Veliki Preslav.

Having seen a significant amount, I turned back for the day, taking a different road back into town and taking the opportunity to pass by vast stretches of sunflower fields. The past month, the countryside of Bulgaria has blossomed with entire fields all across the nation erupting into a vibrant yellow. I had seen pictures of Bulgaria’s sunflowers, being one of the things that the country uses to promote tourism, and seen in several books (including the language book I purchased before coming out here), but passing by these endless landscapes is an entirely different experience.

There are small patches nestled in between hills and mixed in with different crops, creating little picturesque farms in little unexpected places. There are vast valleys blanketed with sunflowers as far as the eye can see, stretching on and on, hill over rolling hill, until the hills blend together in the distance, creating the impression that the entire expanse is composed of just one giant hill, impossibly covered in zigzagging patterns from top to bottom. I could sit for hours just enjoying the view and just walking by offers a peaceful feeling unparalleled so far in this country.