Bulgarian artist Lydia van den Berg uses her distinct artistic style to transform images of our hectic modern world into something serene and cheerful. In an approach she has named ‘Magical-Poetic-Realism,’ van den Berg showcases elements of the real world that are reconfigured in a context of poetic freedom and fantasy. Here the magic of imagination always dominates, pointedly ignoring conventions of realism and the classic perspectives of space and time. Rather, her images reflect an instinctive harmony of color and intensity, and balanced compositions of geometric forms. Using clear precise lines, two-dimensional images, and bright, contrasting colors, van den Berg provides a window into a half-forgotten world of innocence and wonder, re-exploring the boundaries of what might be called home and the terrains of daily life. For van den Berg, “My wish is that my images can move people to search and look further than the four lines within a square.”

Lydia van den Berg lives and works near Zurich, Switzerland.

Lydia van den Berg’s work may be seen on http://www.agora-gallery.com/soloannouncement/lydia_5_12_2011.aspx

However, the Bulgarian TV channel BTV claimed that the Holywood Bad Boy Johnny Depp has never been to Bulgaria, thus denying the widely spreading rumours that the US star has been seen in one of Bulgaria’s cities along the Black Sea coast.

According to the broadcast, a Bulgarian actor with a striking resemblance to Depp had been the person photographed on the balcony of hotel “Primorets” in Bulgaria’s southern coastal city of Burgas.

The TV broadcast showed a person with astonishing resemblance to Johnny Depp, who was enjoying the view from the balcony of hotel “Primorets” in the city of Burgas.

“Johnny Depp has not been here and there was no person registered here under this name, neither is one at the present” told the hotel owner to the TV guy. “Those pictures are obviously taken with a cell phone, but we are not aware of their origin.”

It came out later, according to the TV channel already mentioned, that supposed Johnny Depp was a 23-year-old actor from the new generation of Bulgaria’s talents. The man – actually named Georgi Velizarov – admitted that he had been impersonating his Hollywood counterpart for a while, but was unwilling to share more detailed information on the whole affair.

The whole deal was a clever PR activity, carried out by a marketing agency and intended to use Velizarov’s appearance to gather some attention. Speculations go around, claiming it was the owner choosing a more creative way to promote his business. By the way, the hotel had just underwent a major renovation.

The final solution to the whole “Johnny Depp in Bulgaria” affair came later, after photos appeared in the media showing the Hollywood star in Hawaii, accompanied by his partner in life, French actress and musician Vanessa Paradis. Those photos were taken at nearly the same time as the claimed appearance of Johnny Depp at hotel balcony in Burgas.

A nice try, one must admit. Anyway, hotels in nearby Sunny Beach were almost fully occupied at that time …

That 98% voting data has confirmed that the 62-year-old daughter of a Bulgarian immigrant will be the successor to her mentor from the Labour Party, the present President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Taking up the position on 1 January 2011, Dilma Rousseff will be the first female President in Brazil’s history.

Her competitor, the former Governor of Sao Paulo – Jose Serra insisted the final results will be known only after the last voting-paper has been counted.

The 62-year-old Rousseff, with Bulgarian origins and a longtime Socialist Party activist, actually won the first round of the presidential elections, however she did not manage to get absolute majority of votes. After the first round of the elections, being held in the beginning of October, Rousseff gathered the support of 45,96% of the voters. Serra managed to collect 33% of the votes.

Present President da Silva, who can not run in these elections after two consecutive mandates, expressed his support for his former Head of Office.

In an interview during her time as a Chief of Staff in the Brazilian government, Dilma Rousseff said:
“As a Brazilian government member, I have a special relationship with Bulgaria, and feel engaged to develop a deeper mutual cooperation between our both countries, since that would be a great personal achievement considering my position”. I am half Bulgarian, half Brazilian. Therefore, in my work I aim to realize my double destiny in a such matter, which is of benefit for both Bulgaria and Brazil. We have plenty of opportunities to have a good cooperation, we only have to elaborate on them.

So could we expect relations between Bulgaria and Brazil to receive a significant boost in the future, after the new president of Brazil has admitted she has a special place in her heart for Bulgaria ? Well, perhaps … Despite the geographical remoteness and differences of size (territory, population, GNP), there are also some similarities, mainly related to the stage of socioeconomic development, since both countries have went through a series of changes during the past few decades.

Organizers of the event promise a snow fest and numerous surprises for all visitors. Ski and snowboard demonstrations, competitions for snow figures and horseback riding are some of the events to mark the opening.

Borokids child park and Boroland theme park will work free of charge for the opening.

Borovets also announced lift pass prices. One day cards during the week cost 55 leva for adults and 33 leva for children. The daily pass during weekends will cost 35 leva for adults and 22 leva for children.

Snow, music, dances and warm drinks welcomed tourist who came to witness the opening ceremony.
Marc Girardelli won the slalom in competition with Pirmin Zurbriggen, Bulgarian skier Petar Popangelov, Bojan Krizaj, Paul Accola, Patrick Ortlieb, Peter Muller and Hubert Strolz.

The race took place at Alberto Tomba track in the winter resort.

All ski champions endowed their personal belongings for a charity auction.

The figure is 1.3 percent higher than revenue for the same period of 2008.
Foreign tourist visits to Bulgaria during the 10 months of 2009 decreased 0.2 percent. Bulgarian travels to foreign countries decreased 11.2 percent.

Visits of tourists from EU member countries increased 2.9 percent. The number of EU visitors who came to Bulgaria totaled 3.988 million people.

Sandanski and Palma de Mallorca will cooperate in the sphere of tourism. The Spanish experience will be very useful for Sandanski’s businesses, deputy Sandanski mayor Mladen Timchev said. Spanish hotel owners visited Sandanski and advised their Bulgarian counterparts, Timchev said.

The Sandanski association of hotel and restaurant owners in Sandanski worked together with Spanish experts on a project that will receive funding from the cross-border cooperation operational program.

The aim of project is to development of tourism in Bulgaria and Greece, as well as the creation of information portals.

Prices for accommodation and other services in Austrian and Italian resorts are close to those in Bulgarian resorts. A number of tour operators offer package vacation in Austria. For example a seven-night stay in a three-star hotel in the Austrian resorts KitzbГјhel and Pitztal, including a six-day ski pass for costs between 300 and 400 euro per person.
Prices are similar in the Italian winter resort of Montecampione.

French resorts among which Val d’Isere and Les Arcs offer prices reaching as low as 500 to 600 euro. Prices are highest in the Swiss Alps. A seven-day vacation in Gstaad including a ski pass costs as much as 800 euro, travel expenses excluded.

Winter resorts in Italy and Austria are the most affordable for Bulgarian tourists. A ski pass in Austria and Italy gives tourists access to hundreds of kilometers of slopes, since facilities connect one resort zone to another.

About 600 of these apartments are used by tour operators and offer accommodation.
Kravarov met British consul in Bulgaria Ian Barks and discussed the problems that British property investors might face in Bansko.

Meanwhile, Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said that the European Commission (EC) has received numerous complaints. These complaints concern property purchase fraud, Telegraph daily reported.