Fulbright Greece/Bulgaria

After a long bus ride north we found ourselves out in a rural area of trees and small scattered villages.  We stopped in a small hotel near Lake Kerkini, a man-made lake supplied by a river from Bulgaria.  Prof. Pyrovetsi narrated a boat ride across the lake to the bird sanctuary with thousands of birds.  It was very impressive.  We also stopped at a water buffalo ranch after off-roading along the river with Hays (our bus). It took a while to get there, and I don’t think Thanassi (our driver) was too crazy about driving a thirty passenger bus through a cow pasture  The rancher told us about the trials of raising these animals with subsidies.  He was very animated and excited about the whole thing.  (Dimitri translated.)

Thursday a six hour bus ride through rural southern Bulgaria brought us to Sofia.  First impression: Sofia is a little rough around the edges.  We have met the Fulbright staff, and Dani will be our new guide in Bulgaria.  But so far things haven’t run as smoothly as they did in Greece.  The hotel is excellent though. The city  looks a little more run-down, and no one mows the grass or trims shrubbery here.  Today we had a lecture on ancient civilizations and a tour of the National History Museum with Dani and an archealogist narrating.  But by the time we got to Boyana Church it was closing.  Tonight we have a dressy reception here where we get to meet a group of invited guests.