Great Journey 🏍 Day 262
"Go to Shumen!", they said. What they didn't say was not to come to Shumen in the evening when you are tired and hungry.
We take a drive through the town, feel a somewhat worn-out charm and find nothing to stay in. So not what suits our "mimimi" mood. Finally we find accommodation, even with a restaurant (we don't have to go out) and a singer who sings almost only for us. We are the only guests besides another couple. After each song, I only feel good when I applaud, as the only one. And the singer is already smiling at me as she warbles the last notes of each song. Because she probably knows that I am the only one applauding.
With the 70s/80s song swing, we go to bed and start the new day in the same mood: socialist-Bulgarian at the Bulgaria Monument. The largest in the country.
Inaugurated in 1981, for the celebrations of the 1300th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian state, it is still there and even very well maintained. The ticket windows are designed for children and I'm glad I have knee pads in my motorbike suit.
The whole monument is huge, but it doesn't feel as brutally evil as the UFO. Maybe because it's not just about paying homage to the communist party and its power, but about the development of Bulgaria?
The artists manage to depict important milestones of Bulgarian history and at the same time elicit some "wow" and "ah" cries from us. Especially the 3 mosaics with the writings of the brothers Cyril and Methodius (Gerd is now quite good at deciphering the Cyrillic letters!) did it for us.
(By the way, you can trudge up 1300 steps if you want. Or you can drive through a beautiful mixed forest to the upper car park and then walk 200 metres).
And right at the top of the monument - visible from afar - a huge lion, THE symbol of the Bulgarians. We see the lion again and again. For them, it seems to be the sign of strength, energy, the will to be free, and for us, simply a kitten.
#shumen #Паметник1300годиниБългария
