A Mosaic of Science and Culture

9^th – Wednesday

Arrival of all partners and students.

Reception for the families.

11^st – Friday

Bowling competition.

12^st – Saturday

20^th –  Sunday

Departure

The Spanish team after a quiet flight Valencia-Madrid-Bucharest, we were faced with a total language immersion workshop, in which we learnt that there are virtually terms in Romanian for crossing the centre and outskirts of the city in a monumental traffic jam. There was no sign or advertisement that we did not understand.

As the minibus was on its way to Bulgaria and after crossing the Danube, we made our first stop on the outskirts of Ruse . We saw a large river port but were disappointed that the effort in the language immersion in Romania was in vain in the neighbouring country, and that these lands walked by St. Cyril and Methodius had been evangelized but had, in exchange, left the Cyrillic alphabet behind, and so there was no way. For example, we knew our destination was Shumen , which written in the Cyrillic alphabet is ШУМЕИ was so close by that we did not realise we were almost there. In ШУМЕИ (hereinafter Shumen ) we were received by Silvina and Ivan, both very very nice and we made our first contact with the Bulgarian cuisine in a traditional tavern.

We made an excursion around the vicinity of Shumen by car, and after visiting an ancient nunnery, we went to one of the most important places in the history of the country, Veliko Tarnovo (ВЕГИКО ТБНОВО) surrounded by the meander of the river Yantra. It was the medieval capital, and on the Trarevets hill the citadel is to be found, where the Boyards and military leaders lived. While the common people, traders, artisans and farmers lived in their own neighbourhoods on the banks of the river.
The citadel was walled, and in the Bulgarian revolt against the Byzantine Empire , King Baudouin is believed to have killed in one of the towers (possibly in the early thirteenth century).

After lunch, we visited the village of TRIAVNA (ТРЯВНА) with lovely wooden houses in typical popular Bulgarian style, a medieval bridge and an old square dominated by an octagonal tower with a clock.

The chronicle of the days in Shumen is contained on the DVD which we were given by the Nancho Popvich High School showing all official events, from the scheduled visits to the city to the bowling championship. So this columnist refers you to this magnificent document that describes in detail, events, activities and visits (the wonderful Madara Rider).

However, the DVD does not include the trip to Varna , a beautiful city on the shores of the Black Sea ; a city with a Mediterranean air and of the "Belle Epoque" with restored palaces, including the theatre and the opera with a neobaroque facade of the early twentieth century situated in the populous square Nezavisimort. The Dormition cathedral, with golden Byzantine domes, is to be found, very nearby, dominating the Verneska Commune square.

We did not miss out on a visit to the Museum of Art and History at the Maria Luisa Boulevard , with important archaeological samples and a wonderful collection of icons. In the gardens near the Black Sea there is the statue of Copernicus and the planetarium, which we visited and enjoyed a relaxing session.

On Sunday we returned to Bucharest to take the return flight. We could not understand why the minibus stopped at every service station we passed since entering Romania . Without further incidents we landed in Valencia keeping in our memory the beautiful new landscapes, we had seen.