Ruse (Pyce) Winter and Summer...

A few weeks ago I posted a link to this album on my Facebook page @onemanintheworld so that friends in Bulgaria could see them. My first trip to Ruse was made in December by train, my second in June by bus. As always I am playing catch up but why did Ruse become so important that it merited two trips? I have much more to write about my first visit and the good friends I made along with several photo albums to add but the second visit became necessary after the UK decided to leave the EU. Ruse became my departure point from Bulgaria on 1st July 2017 and the start of a great train ride across Europe which will, ultimately, end in France.



The selection of photos from winter and summer correspond, in the main to my second visit and give a comparison of the city in the freezing depths of winter and the heat of summer. Ruse can be the coldest and hottest place in Bulgaria. I bought a book on sale at the Lombard whilst I was there the first time. It was a collection of old postcards which had been put together to mark an anniversary. In it I discovered pictures of the Danube frozen over at the turn of the century. Romanians walked across to shop in Ruse whilst wooden hood vessels were crushed by the pressure of the ice. Perhaps climate change was discussed around firesides even then.

On both occasions I stayed in the Lombard though not in the same room. The owner and his family made me feel so welcome and the staff, largely changed on my second visit were helpful and friendly. I hope that we continue to keep in touch in the future. I extended my first stay in Ruse and was included in family Christmas celebrations whilst there. More of that when I catch up. During my first visit I visited many places and attended many events. I shall write more later but I can say that it is an interesting city to visit. I even discovered the eastern Roman empire's equivalent to Hadrian's wall between England and Scotland. There that should whet your appetite!

Whilst I wandered around the centre of the city recapturing sights which had been covered in snow I was impressed by a young lady trying to impress me with her skill on the roller blade as she twirled around me whilst I was trying to take a photo of the, now active, fountain in front of the Opera House. I decided to sit and record her activities for a while and have included the results in this album so that she can see and download them if she wishes. Similarly there are photos of staff and friends, the "Nivia" girl and her friend were most helpful when I first visited Ruse. There shop which sells mostly Nivia products is just down the street from the Lombardi Hotel.

I went to the railway station to obtain the compulsory seat reservation on the train to Bucharest and used the opportunity to take some photographs of this once fine station.  The first railway line in Bulgaria ran from Ruse to Varna.  The evening before I was due to leave my friend Plamen took me to the highest restaurant in Ruse where we had a very good dinner. The purpose was to show me the panoramic view from there, hence the name of the restaurant. This seemed a fitting way to leave Ruse and Bulgaria with views back into the city and across the Danube into Roumania my next destination.  Here are some of the photographs: Ruse in Winter and Summer .

Join me in my next adventure in onemanineurope.blogspot.com. I intend to add more to this blog too when I have some time. There is still a lot to tell you about Bulgaria and its people. I am duplicating the posts in both blogs so that, eventually, onemanineurope will tell the story from Tenerife to who knows where. The blog will be discovered, serialised in a newspaper, a TV series or film will be made and I'll die a rich man ho ho ho!