Road To Varna

Cute, but not Gal's car...

We road tripped all over Bulgaria, and things were never boring.  We stopped to visit family and friends, food and drink, and on the way, with the exception of almost being washed away in a freakish sideways rainstorm, I had the best time of my life.

The countryside is beautiful, from quaint little villages, classic bridges, and fields of sunflowers (or as they call them "sun lookers") that sometimes go as far as the eye can see.

One of the really cool things about the drive was seeing all the old cars.  They've got all the same new cars that we do in the USA, but the vintage rides are something else.

Rumor has it these are made from pressed cardboard!

A hitch?  The short, short trailer?

A Lada these on the roads!

Bizarro Veedub Bus

In the cities and towns, potholes might actually be on the maps, they stick around so long.  Sofia is so famous for potholes that they even play a part in advertising campaigns!

I actually never saw a pothole this shallow.  They were being kind...

In Sofia, and other cities and villages, there's not much in the way of organized parking.  The cities were built way back when, when cars weren't plentiful, and no one imagined that a city for 200,000 would ever hold 2,000,000 people!  As a result, sidewalks give way to cars, and people squeeze by.

The above picture actually shows a pretty civilized parking area,.  I didn't take pictures of cars parked in bushes, on curbs, double parked, and tucked behind dumpsters!  Amazing, but necessary when merging the old world with the new.

Between potholes and parking challenges, I'm surprised so many vintage cars survive!  Of course, there are trains, and in the cities, taxis are plentiful.  And, there's the subway, vintage 1960's awesome!

Isn't this is the coolest thing ever?

For the suburban Bulgarian who don't put up with shit, there's always this option!

Russian Amphibious Army Vehicle