Bulgaria Time Zone
Bulgaria seems to have a time zone of its own - or perhaps it's like this everywhere in Europe... or maybe it's normal at home too and I just didn't know... but here, everyone seems to be able to stay up all hours of the night and not feel the effects of it the next day!!! it's crazy... I can do that too, but not every day! every night at Peter and Jifka's house we were usually up till 2, 3 or 4AM, and they normally got up at 7 or 8. I tried to do that too - and sure, I could stay up no problem! but getting up in the morning was another story!! It was all I could do to drag myself out at 9!!! :) It was the same thing at Todor and Daniela's, but finally we had to say that we just couldn't do it - we needed our sleep :S I don't know how these people do it - they can work all day and party all night and feel none the worse for it! One person explained it to us, if one makes an appointment for 11:00, it's okay to be there at 11:15. Time doesn't really seem to matter here.
Driving in Bulgaria
Absolutely NUTS! pedestrians can die if they want to, the drivers in the cars plow their way through. Okay, maybe that's extreme, but to be a pedestrian here is indeed very dangerous. Some people even will speed up when we start crossing the street!
Sirene (Feta) Cheese
Used everywhere all the time, and on everything, this delicious cheese is a staple in the traditional Bulgarian household. Salty, crumbly, flavourful, delicious... Ruth and I are set on learning how to make feta when we return to Canada :)
Banitsa
This is a pastry dish that we've had at almost every household. It's so tasty delicious, and can be done many different ways, though usually it's made with feta.
Wafla Moreni
mmmm yummy chocolate.... oh I miss eating chocolate.... wafla moreni is a type of chocolate bar that has peanuts and chocolate covering a waffe type of bar. It's pretty good. chocolate.... oh i'm salivating now!! this is one thing that I've had to get used to (and it's a good thing too): not having chocolate/sweets/candy available ALL the time. I know I know, it's terrible but true that I'm addicted to all things sweet... this is just the trip I needed! :) perhaps I can break the addiction! :)
Kise Mblako
It's like plain yogurt, but different, and definitely better. Not goopy, just fresh and natural goodness... Bulgaria is world-known for its yogurt and dairy product industry. Many of their recipes use this ingredient, including something called Aryan, which is a half and half mix of Kise Mlako and water - a little strange tasting, but once you get used to it, its not bad at all. Also, Tarrator is another favourite Bulgarian food, made with Kise Mlako: in English we`d call it `cold cucumber soup`.... it`s very refreshing and tasty.
Rakia, Boza, and Beer (name?)
Rakia: WOW - that's HOT stuff!!!! a tradition carried in many Bulgarian households is to offer an alcoholic drink called rakia after dinner. You can feel it burn and strangle as it goes down, unlike anything we've ever had! makes you twist your face and wonder why anyone would ever drink such stuff... :)
Boza: non-alcoholic beverage with a very interesting flavour.... can't say that either of us really enjoyed it all that much :S it smells very strongly of I don't know what...(Ruth says it sortof smells like raw meat juices) but when you drink it, it's totally different... and it's so thick and sweet! It's made from some type of grain or something... I always thought I liked everything that was sweet, but now I'm taking that back! :)
Bulgarian Beer: Not bad, though I'm not an authority on beer by any stretch of the imagination :)
Bulgaria seems to have a time zone of its own - or perhaps it's like this everywhere in Europe... or maybe it's normal at home too and I just didn't know... but here, everyone seems to be able to stay up all hours of the night and not feel the effects of it the next day!!! it's crazy... I can do that too, but not every day! every night at Peter and Jifka's house we were usually up till 2, 3 or 4AM, and they normally got up at 7 or 8. I tried to do that too - and sure, I could stay up no problem! but getting up in the morning was another story!! It was all I could do to drag myself out at 9!!! :) It was the same thing at Todor and Daniela's, but finally we had to say that we just couldn't do it - we needed our sleep :S I don't know how these people do it - they can work all day and party all night and feel none the worse for it! One person explained it to us, if one makes an appointment for 11:00, it's okay to be there at 11:15. Time doesn't really seem to matter here.
Driving in Bulgaria
Absolutely NUTS! pedestrians can die if they want to, the drivers in the cars plow their way through. Okay, maybe that's extreme, but to be a pedestrian here is indeed very dangerous. Some people even will speed up when we start crossing the street!
Sirene (Feta) Cheese
Used everywhere all the time, and on everything, this delicious cheese is a staple in the traditional Bulgarian household. Salty, crumbly, flavourful, delicious... Ruth and I are set on learning how to make feta when we return to Canada :)
Banitsa
This is a pastry dish that we've had at almost every household. It's so tasty delicious, and can be done many different ways, though usually it's made with feta.
Wafla Moreni
mmmm yummy chocolate.... oh I miss eating chocolate.... wafla moreni is a type of chocolate bar that has peanuts and chocolate covering a waffe type of bar. It's pretty good. chocolate.... oh i'm salivating now!! this is one thing that I've had to get used to (and it's a good thing too): not having chocolate/sweets/candy available ALL the time. I know I know, it's terrible but true that I'm addicted to all things sweet... this is just the trip I needed! :) perhaps I can break the addiction! :)
Kise Mblako
It's like plain yogurt, but different, and definitely better. Not goopy, just fresh and natural goodness... Bulgaria is world-known for its yogurt and dairy product industry. Many of their recipes use this ingredient, including something called Aryan, which is a half and half mix of Kise Mlako and water - a little strange tasting, but once you get used to it, its not bad at all. Also, Tarrator is another favourite Bulgarian food, made with Kise Mlako: in English we`d call it `cold cucumber soup`.... it`s very refreshing and tasty.
Rakia, Boza, and Beer (name?)
Rakia: WOW - that's HOT stuff!!!! a tradition carried in many Bulgarian households is to offer an alcoholic drink called rakia after dinner. You can feel it burn and strangle as it goes down, unlike anything we've ever had! makes you twist your face and wonder why anyone would ever drink such stuff... :)
Boza: non-alcoholic beverage with a very interesting flavour.... can't say that either of us really enjoyed it all that much :S it smells very strongly of I don't know what...(Ruth says it sortof smells like raw meat juices) but when you drink it, it's totally different... and it's so thick and sweet! It's made from some type of grain or something... I always thought I liked everything that was sweet, but now I'm taking that back! :)
Bulgarian Beer: Not bad, though I'm not an authority on beer by any stretch of the imagination :)
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