Freedom!!!

Lately I have been in kind of a slump and needed to get out and do something new. I felt the need for a breath of fresh air and that is exactly what I got. A few friends and I decided to go out into "the nature". Starting from Stara Zagora we decided to take a bus to the nearby town of Kazanluk. We putzed around for awhile and then from there we took another bus to Shipka Pass. To get us going Emily, Kathy, Melody and I hiked up the 1000 steps to the Freedom Monument.


What is the Freedom Monument exactly? Well, this is supposedly the ridge where the Turkish soldiers tried to cross the pass during the 1877-1878 war between the Turks and the Russians, with Bulgarian volunteers taking part. But the Turks were defeated. Today the monument is a national monument that symbolizes liberation and freedom of Bulgaria.


In theory there is an amazing view, but due to thick fog there was no long range visibility. I did this same hike last year with my family and could see for miles. And if you know what direction to look in you can see Veliko Turnovo to the north, and Kazanluk and the Valley of the Roses to the south.


After the hike up, we of course hiked back down where we enjoyed a regional favorite, "Bivolsko mylako", also known as Buffalo yogurt. The Shipka area is famous for the wonderfully thick and tasty yogurt produced locally from the milk of water buffalo. It is most commonly found in the mountain areas around Shipka village and the town of Gabrovo. Mmmm, mmm good.

From the Freedom Monument we were headed into the mountains....