The ship entered the port of Vidin, Bulgaria around 7 am. I was up early most days of the trip out of necessity but also because I never quite shook Eastern Standard time. But it was worth to see a week of mornings just like this (we lucked into almost perfect weather for the entire trip).
We arrived ahead of schedule so we got to wander around Vidin a bit before the day’s field trip.
Then we hopped on the coach for a trip to the mountains.
Belogradchik Fortress was originally built by the Romans and passed through Ottoman and Bulgarian hands through the centuries. Given the elevation it was originally built for surveillance rather than defense, though the walls are 2 meters thick in places.
We had the option to stay at the bottom or hike to the top. I chose the hike, and am grateful I invested in my hiking sneakers: ugly as sin prevented me grinding my knees to sawdust.
I hate heights—or at least being near the edge of potentially long drops. Guard rails don’t help as I don’t trust them to hold. Nonetheless, I took a breath and stepped up to the edge.
The town of Belogradchik (Belograd=”white town”; “-chik” suffix=”small”, to differentiate it from the big white town of Belgrade—a later stop on the cruise) is built within the many Belogradchik Rocks. Most are named but 1) my notes aren’t clear on the specific names, probably because 2) I never could see the Bear, or Adam and Eve, or other figures described.
This site was a bit of a workout, in a good way: I challenged my fear of heights and got some good hiking in as well. Belogradchik was both beautiful but also a warmup for the next day’s excursion to a Roman archaeological site in Serbia.
