Wednesday 3 August 2011

Road trip to Shipka Pass







Simon got home, so we decided to take a wee trip out towards the Shipka pass in the center of Bulgaria, atop the Stara Planina range. It's a fair old slog from our homes near Veliko Tarnovo, so we figured we'd stop off overnight further down towards the Shipka pass.

 We started out fairly late on the Wednesday, as Simon had just fitted some shiny new brakes and pads to the front and rear of the Pinin, (for a cheap 300 leva I might add), so we left at about 1pm in the afternoon. We drove west along the 4 to the very small village of Idilevo where we were hoping they would have space at the small motel and camping grounds at MotoSapiens. We were planning on camping, and had all our stuff crammed into the back of the cars. Tents, rollmats, cookers, sleeping bags, etc, but as soon as we got to the lodge, we decided to stay in the rooms! I know... terribly adventurous!

 -No sooner had we put some stuff in the room, and we went on a jolly in the local woods. Plenty of trails up there to have a pootle around. We had camera issues, so not much in the way of pictures, I'm afraid. Still, we found some places to play about, and we did a fairly good stomp through the forests...

























So, had a little play, and headed back to the motel/mototel/camp ground for munchies, and beer!


The motel bit. Very bumpkin, but great atmosphere. 



Grill area, with Poly's mum.



The hay barn, converted to what seems to be biker heaven! All sorts of memorabilia, posters, maps, trinkets, etc, cover the walls. A real biker play room. 




An assortment of vintage Soviet era motorbikes under thew bar, with sidecars. All working, and used. 





Bobby, the killer cat of Idilevo.




Simon took some panoramic pics with his Galaxy Tab.




The Ernest Phlegmingway pose.




The room... Simple, but VERY comfortable. I'd highly recommend it. very friendly, and easy to get to. Ideal for cross country Euro trekker traveling types, (especially those on 2 wheels!)

So, beer was drunk, food was scoffed, and all was well with the world. To Shipka tomorrow...

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