More on Bulgaria

Two transport related incidents that left me feeling concerned in Bulgaria:

1. On the flight there I picked up a copy of Air Bulgaria's bilingual inflight magazine (aptly named "The Inflight Magazine"), where I noticed this letter to the editor:

In Inflight Magazine Issue 45 I was pleased to discover the photos and features in your magazine on master Peter Deunov, the Rila Mountain and the White Brotherhood. I'm glad that an editor... who works for such a prestigious magazine ... has decided to focus on what should be of concern to us all if we are to preserve our unique spiritual, cultural and historical heritage.

Best regards,
Andrei Griva - Chair of the Managing Committee of the White Brotherhood

2. The second anecdote occurred while waiting for my 11:04 (23:04 to the European Brotherhood) night train from Varna to Plovdiv. I was on the internet trying to figure out how much a ticket would cost (upgrade to 1st class = $3!; upgrade to sleeping cabin = $5!; upgrade to business class sleeping cabin = $2.50!). I googled something like "bulgaria overnight train" which led me to this charming article. But don't worry Mom, it happened forever ago -- all the way back at the end of February!

So before I went to sleep under my warm soviet wool blanket I practiced opening the window a few times. I also made the decision to sleep in the middle bunk in order to give me easiest access to the window. And I also sent myself an email noting that I was on the train so that my body could be quickly identified.

That's travel savvy.