Vakali Rocks a Packed NDK Auditorium

How do you write a review of a performance dance group that wears Viking costumes, uses bones to play their drums, and has pyrotechnics so badass that I could feel them twenty rows back in the audience? I was clapping so hard during Vakali’s performance at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia last week that my hands still hurt?

Vakali group (from their Facebook page)

Vakali group (from their Facebook page)

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Village of Gela, Birthplace of Orpheus

As you drive into the village of Gela in southern Bulgaria a sign informs you that this is the birthplace of Orpheus, the legendary Thracian musician and poet. I’m not sure if it’s true, but who wouldn’t be able to “charm all living things and even stones” with their music if they were born in a village with such a view? These are the Rhodope Mountains in the golden afternoon sunlight of early spring.

View of the Rhodope Mountains from Gela, Bulgaria

View of the Rhodope Mountains from Gela, Bulgaria

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The “Sofia Communist Tour” Is Great

What better vessel could there be than an iconic, former-East-German Trabant for navigating a narrative of Bulgaria’s communist era? A few clever young Bulgarians have bought a little blue “Trabi” and are giving free tours of Sofia with the aim of doing just that.

The East German Trabant is an iconic reminder of Communism in Eastern Europe

The East German Trabant is an iconic reminder of Communism in Eastern Europe

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English Bulgaria. Life in the Balkans… in English! Read more →