We discovered that people LOVED our chutney. They didn’t know what it was, but they LOVED it. The smoked garlic was a hit, once we explained what to do with it. It’s really valuable to get some market research, isn’t it. And being at an actual market is wonderful – the most basic, satisfying kind of market research there is.

So, we decided to do some more market research. Why? Because we want to write about what you want to hear about. Because we’re writing a book. Because we really want to make sure we tell you about what’s relevant and valuable. Because we know you’re busy, and because we are too.

All entries (you must enter your name and email!) completed by 31 July will go into the draw to win a signed hand-pulled screenprint by Jo ‘Always Together / Vinagi Zaedno’ PLUS a selection of our dried garlic and smoked garlic goodies. (Yes, that means we can send it out to you even if you live outside Europe).Enter now by clicking this link.
Good luck!

*For news on this, and other organic growers in Bulgarian, check out Organichno.com

But alas, for foreign tourists the experience can be puzzling at best and completely disorganised at worst. Last year’s Rose Festival saw even native Kazanlakers running around the rose fields in the surrounding villages, trying to find out where the Rose Queen ceremony had been moved to at the last moment. The mayor of our own village seems less than enthralled by the surrounding historical attractions. When I ask the locals if they’ve been up to the beautiful, spiritual Thracian megalith overlooking Koprinka they answer that no, that’s not the sort of thing they do.
All this is a shame, because the attractions in this area are out of this world. In the space of one week (these Kiwis are voracious culture-buffs), they saw….

Lake Koprinka

This hare-shaped artificial reservoir was created under the Communist rule in 1945 in order to provide irrigation for the fertile plains of the Rose Valley. On making excavations, they discovered the ancient remains of a city, and archaeologists discovered that this was Seuthopolis, capital of Thrace and seat of the popular and powerful king Seuthes III (c. 4^th century B.C.). The communists decided to flood it anyway, and now the regional council have proposed an ambitious plan to drain and recover the portion of the lake where Seuthopolis lies. Who knows whether they’ll ever raise the mammoth funds needed for this, but good luck to them.

Visiting Lake Koprinka, Kazanlak

No fishing from the wall

 
The Kazanlak regional history museum and art gallery

In the meantime, this jewel of a small museum is the place to see some breathtaking Thracian finds from Seuthopolis and the surrounding tombs. There is a permanent exhibition of King Seuthes burial ornaments and decorations, fragments of frescoed plaster from the most beautiful tomb ceiling, exquisite silver and gold worked horse and human armour and embellishments, jewellery, coins and tools and vessels. It also houses bronze age pottery and bones, early Bulgarian history, and of course some fascinating art from famous Kazanlak painters.

http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/104/Istoricheski_muzej_Kazanlyk

Tomb of Seuthes III, Golyama Kosmatka

This is the largest and most impressive of the tombs in the Valley of the Thracian Kings, as our area is known. The burial place of Kind Seuthes II himself, this tomb is hewn from granite monolithic blocks, one of which  weighs 60 tonnes. There’s a beehive domed antechamber, apparently the site of sacred rituals conducted by followers of The Orphic Mysteries prior to its use as a burial chamber, and an unusual corridor leading to the entrance. Once Seuthes was buried (with wine, adornments, gold, a horse…) the corridor was burnt and sealed with earth. This tomb was only excavated in 2004 by the late Gyorgi Kitov.

http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/52/Grobnica_Golyamata_Kosmatka

Amber at the entrance to Golyama Kosmatka tomb

Ostrusha Tomb

This is unprepossessing from the outside. An old caravan, a portacabin, a shack on a hill.

But once you go in, you’re treated to the remains of a much larger tomb complex. Another granite monolithic block (what’s even more amazing is that all these huge blocks were brought from the quarry at Rozovo, some 25 km away). But inside this small, rectangular room is a celing carved into the stone, finely panelled. Each tiny square would have had a painting inside: a red haired maiden is the only one remaining, but you can see vestiges of the other animal, deity and plant forms in the others.

http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/189/Grobnica_Ostrusha_gr_Shipka

Not much to look at from the outside, but well worth it

The Thracian rock sanctuary and megalith (Goddess Gate) of Buzovgrad

This is a truly special place. Hard to find, but special. A badly-marked path leads from Buzovgrad village (5 km towards the Sredna Gora from Kazanlak) up through forest to the rock sanctuary. At sunset on the Summer Solstice (June 21^st) the sun sets through the rectangular portal in the rock gate, overlooking Koprinka (and what was once Seuthopolis itself). In 2011, we went up for the Solstice, and a mellow crowd of a hundred or so sat chatting, draped around the rocks, calmly taking in the spectacular sunset. On one side there is a series of notches made in the rock: a Thracian astonomical marker or calendar. The energy in the rocks, if you’re into that kind of thing, is amazing.

The solstice sun dips over Koprinka, Goddess Gate, Buzovgrad

Buzovgrad Thracian Rock sanctuary, solstice 2011

Amber in the Goddess Gate at sundown, solstice 2011

The Russian Church at Shipka

This is very touristy. It’s even got a car park full of kitsch Bulgarian souvenirs. The onion-domed church, built in the Russian style to commemorate the Russians’ role in overthrowing the Turks, is so dolly-mix bright that it seems surreal. The golden domes glitter amid the forest of the lower Balkans, and act as a signpost to the Shipka tombs, the pass and beyond. Inside, there are beautiful religious icons, ornate woodcarvings and obligatory grumpy warden with candles you must buy and light. Downstairs in the crypt, if they turn the lights on (they didn’t, when we were there) you can admire in silence the memorials to various fallen soldiers.

http://www.visitbulgaria.net/en/shipka/shipka.html

Colourful, gold-domed church at Shipka

The Shipka memorial to the Bulgarian-Turkish battle of 1877

It is obvious that men built this. It’s kind of phallic, and surrounded by Very Large Cannons. Anyhow, an impressive memorial to the bloody battle between the oppressing Turks and the On The Point of Liberation Bulgarians.

The former communist headquarters at Buzludja, in the mountain above Kazanlak

The boys reckoned this was one of the highlights of the trip. And this ufo-like concrete behemoth, sitting in a windy spot on the Balkan ridge, is certainly mind-blowing. And dangerous: it’s falling to bits. Which is a shame, for it should really be preserved as a memorial to the depths of human greed and cruelty inflicted on a gentle people by the Communist regime. Last year, the Bulgarian premier Boiko Borisov washed his hands of it, handing it over to the Bulgarian Socialist Party. Who knows what fate befalls it now.

Climbing up into the Balkans to reach the UFO

Apparently, in the past, all Bulgarian schoolchildren were routinely bussed up to pay tribute here, and admire the glittering mosaics of Communist thought-leaders in the main room. The mosaic of Zhivkov’s face has been obliterated, the copper laminate on the roof has all been stolen, as has the electrical cabling, all of which has fast-forwarded the monument’s fall into decrepitude. Can you believe it was completed, after 7 years and hundreds of master craftsmen,  as recently as 1981? A stark contrast to the two thousand year old monuments which survive below.

You are not supposed to go in, but even from a distance, it is really something. Huge concrete block cyrillic letters (socialist slogans) dangle precariously from the imposing entranceway. A new addition: someone has emblazoned in red graffiti: FORGET YOUR PAST. Indeed. I wonder when this building will fall down.

Almost-falling socialist slogans

Indeed.

Photographer Timothy Allen travelled to Buzludja earlier this year to document it. His photos, and his account are mesmerising. http://humanplanet.com/timothyallen/2012/02/buzludzha-buzludja-bulgaria/

The Roman bridge near Dabovo

We have a Roman bridge up the road (you can even see it from the train to Tryavna). It’s thin, so thin it looks as if it might fall. Elegant, and an interesting spot to paddle in the river among huge stones and tree roots.

Tryavna (by train)

Tryavna is nestled in the Balkan mountains, an hour and a bit from Dabovo by train. The train ride itself is brilliant. The (old, Russian, compartments) train chugs up the steep incline past ancient abandoned-looking halts with blue signs in Bulgarian and French, does a figure of eight, and makes it over the hill into the beautifully restored centre of woodcarving excellence. Oh yes, and there’s a microbrewery on the river too, just off the cobbled square lined with artisan workshops.

And heaps of mountain biking and walking trails.

http://www.bulgariainside.eu/en/articles/Triavna/116/index.html

A composite sculpture made by master carvers, Tryavna

Stara Zagora – a newly-renovated museum of religion comprising layers of Roman, Early Christian and Muslim buildings culminating in a mosque with a beautifully painted cupola and an exhibition of 100 year old authocrome? photos from all over the world

http://wikimapia.org/9845068/Museum-of-Religions

The neolithic dwelling at Stara Zagora

This is spectacular. Behind the huge ugly hospital building sits a squat 70′s museum building which was built over the remains of what is known as the best-preserved neolithic dwelling in the whole of Europe. It’s 8,000 years old. Because this pair of mud and wood houses were suddenly destroyed by fire thousands of years ago, they’ve remained well preserved, with remains of large grain urns and a central fireplace still visible in the ruin. Downstairs, in the exhibition room all the pieces start to really come together and you can see scultpture, ornaments, pots, tools, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic vessels and very advanced decorative techniques. It really is mind-blowing.

http://bulgariatravel.org/en/object/123/Neolitni_jilishta_Stara_Zagora

The Roman remains of Augusta Tryana and amphitheatre, Stara Zagora

Stara Zagora (literally ‘old behind the hills’ is a very ancient dwelling. The relatively recent Romans left their mark everywhere, with almost casual bits of portico and plinth dotted around. In the summer, the open air amphitheatre still hosts opera. And if you duck in to the main post office, in the surreal atmosphere of the babas and dyados lining up for their pensions, you can gaze at a well-preserved floor mosaic too.

Casually-scattered Roman remains

Checking out the Roman Amphitheatre at Stara Zagora

This was a real whistle-stop. We only had a week, yet each one of those sites could easily take up a whole day. They didn’t even get to the massive, impressive regional history museum of Stara Zagora (which, incidentally, houses an entire reconstruction of a Roman street in its basement), nor the numerous art galleries or house-museums in the region.
Another day was spent taking in the beautiful timbered houses of Koprivishte (where we also saw a new straw and mud building, yay!) and the laid back and Roman-wall-clad spa town of Hisarya.

Revival style houses at Koprivishte

Koprivishte shop

Roman wall, Hisarya

Dandelions are of course nutritional powerhouses (I put them in a soup, but then everyone except me went ‘yuck.’ Must improve on the soup recipe. Oh, I also put them in dandelion scones, but went too heavy with the turmeric and mustard, so once again everyone (including me) went ‘yuck.’ Milla decided I was a witch (just ‘a little one’.)

Anyway, Graeme has been digging up dandelions all week, with a little help from us girls. They don’t go to waste; the dandelions get stuffed into big 10 litre containers and topped up with hot water to make a foul-smelling garden tea.

We have significantly fewer dandelions, and over 200 litres of dandelion brew slowly sunbathing in the garden.

Unfortunately, even our latest additions to the garden, five young hens, don’t like the dandelions.

Where do we put the seed trays? What do we use as seed trays? What about seed raising mix?

Well, you can use anything as a seed tray, but the shallower it is the more risk of the seedlings drying out rapidly. It’s better to fill the trays or pots right up to almost the brim to avoid real leggy seedlings. In Bulgaria, everyone ends up with gazillions of empty yoghurt pots, quite big ones, so by stabbing a hole in the bottom and setting them in a larger tray, we get lots of nice big, deep pots for plants that will grow big quickly.

Juice cartons. Ahem. We actually recycled about a year’s worth of juice cartons because they were not being used for any creative project whatsoever. I’m talking about the big one litre ones. But, recently, I started cutting them open to make a neat little seed tray. They’re quite deep, you can prick holes in the bottom (or not) and keep the flap on as a cool reflector or lid while the seeds are germinating. Good for mustard and cress experiments too, cos you can fit quite a few of these babies on your windowsills (if you had any flipping windowsills).

Loo rolls: yes, we buy extremely cheap recycled loo paper. It’s grey and runs out ever so quickly, but that means we are loo-roll-rich. We’ve successfully started peas off in em (you just transplant the whole plant, bog roll and all, into the ground when you’re ready). This year, we are trying Linda Woodrow’s suggestion of growing carrots to advanced seedling then transplanting. Carrots don’t really like being transplanted, but by keeping them in a decomposable module (that is a fancy name for bog roll planter) you can trick them that they were in the ground all the time. Linda uses all sorts of homemade leaf containers and other cool stuff, but unfortunately we are a bit short on leaves here since it is flipping well snowing.

We’re sticking to the lunar calendar (finding Maria and Matthias Thun’s Biodynamic calendar clear and easy to read) which tells you which plants (root, leaf, fruit, flower) will do better on being handled on which days according to lunar and planetary aspects.  It was a root day on Sunday, so we took the opportunity to plant some very late garlic as a trial. Normally we plant garlic in early winter, and certainly by Christmas. But in Bulgaria, we get the dreaded garlic fly which can eat up to 40% of your crop just like that. Apparently, spring-planted garlic isn’t as susceptible so we’ll give it a go.

Milla had lots of fun making sure all the garlic was happy and pointing the right way up too.

About the seed raising mix: a mixture of worm castings, river sand and compost/peat (or ethical alternative) is good. Now, our worm farm was left outside by yours truly so all the little blighters died, but I’m hoping there are some eggs left to get them going again this year, so we’re short on that unless we buy it in. Sand: yes. That’s what the sandpit is for. The only problem is that until now it’s been totally frozen solid. Ditto the compost heap. We’re thinking that when we get the barn/greenhouse finished this would be a very good place to store the worm farm and aged compost. So, I cheated and am using a bought-in planting mix. I figure getting it done is the priority or we won’t have anything in the garden at all this year.

We experimented last year with using this willow to try to build some structures (a willowwam and a bit of a fence) in the field, but we came up against a lack of readily available water.

Next time we try this, we’ll know to dig the willow in deeper underground, and give it loads of water to get established.

I also think that allowing the cut branches to stand in water for a while before planting will encourage root formation.

Anyway, Milla and I went out to the field yesterday to cut some small bits of willow – not for planting, but to make some rooting water.

While Milla was busy drawing pictures in the snow, I snipped some small pre-bud branches on an angle until I had a shopping bag full.

Then off we trundled all the way through the icefloe-like melting snow back home (it was all too much for Milla by then).

I put the cut branches into a container with some rainwater and spring water and…will leave them standing in the bathroom so they don’t freeze solid outside.

The aim is to get the magic rooting magicky ingredients (erm…rooting hormones?) out of the willow branches and infused into the water, so then we can use the water to stick other cuttings in and, hopefully, get them to root.

We are thinking lots about trees at the moment, and I reckon some of our mulberry and aronia will be ripe for cutting soon.

(I’m writing more in depth about trees to subscribers of the Orpheus Letter this week)

Amber went into her class by sledge this morning (here’s a little vid)

If you want to read more about how getting momentum is going to help us help the school, read about our projects here.

It’s about killing the pig, and gathering.

Drawing close around the pechka, warming.

It is a stunning time of year.

Commercialism is creeping in insidiously, but the village is still holding its own against all that.

I made a colouring-in for the children at the school to celebrate village life. The angel has wings made of oak leaves, because in Bulgarian ‘Dabovo’ (Дъбово) refers to the Oak tree, ‘Dab’ (Дъб)

Here it is if you want to download it..

Download Selska Koleda Colouring in here.