Early in the morning, Katrin, a German volunteer, went to the city for a traditional dance class and a coffee. While enjoying the coffee, she met two locals and after a good conversation they recommended a visit to the Buzludzha monument. She called the rest of the group and asked if we were interested in going there and spend the day hiking. We did not hesitate and quickly, that relaxed Saturday morning turned into a busy day, preparing what we needed to spend the day in those amazing mountains. 

         Together, the 7 of us decided to take a taxi to the Buzludzha monument and split the cost among us. Once there, we went out of the car and we felt an incredible atmosphere. We were surrounded by shinny green mountains and forests in a perfect combination with the blue and white sky, coordinated with the birds and wind sound; all this pure nature was “disturbed” only by one thing: the Buzludzha Monument.

         Also known as The Monument House of the Bulgarian Communist Party, it was built in 1981 by the communist government to commemorate the secret event of Dimitar Blagoev and his socialist group. Buzludzha has been abandoned since the fall of the Soviet Union. This building doesn’t exactly “fit” with the surrounding landscape – it´s huge, dark and mysterious – this contrast is exactly what makes it even more interesting!

         Once we finished admiring the monument and taking some pictures – it’s a pity we couldn’t see the inside – we walked a little bit and we found a flat place to sit down, relax and have lunch. The food was cooked at home and it was delicious. We packed it in upcycled food containers in order to avoid waste. After our meal we all rest: some went for a walk around in the area while a couple of people layed down for a nap and others did yoga. Once everyone had some rest it was time to start our exciting hike back home.

         After almost 5 hours of hiking, during which sometimes we stopped to rest or change the direction, we finally reached the closest town – Enina. We were all happy and impressed by the surrounding area, but also quite exhausted. Some people decided to have the dinner there, but Lexy and Ricardo prefered to run back to the house and have one last challenge. 

         After the dinner, the rest of the group came back and met the other volunteers in the house. Lexy and Ricardo were already home sharing the pictures and moments of the day with them.

         If you are interested in visiting Buzludzha, we recommend you read about it. In our opinion it is amazing not only for the contrast, but because most of us are from Western European countries, and the soviet architecture really impressed us.

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AUTHOR: Ricardo