Before coming to Bulgaria I was living in London for more than 4 years. The last two years were super difficult because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Suddenly everything was closed and everyone was closed at the comfort of their home. I was thinking I need to leave this massive city for a few months. I found a program for an eco festival: I applied for it, got accepted, bought the plane tickets, packed my backpack and left my big city for an adventure. 

When I arrived here everything reminded me of Lithuania, my home country. Nothing is correct and you don’t have fake politeness in hospitality, just people being themselves. Everything is simpler. People are willing to help you even if they don’t understand you. For me to understand the language was a bit difficult at the very beginning,  but eventually, this slavic language became more understandable for me because my mother tongue has few similarities.

 Food is delicious and I found a few similarities with Lithuanian cuisine. Even if I am vegan, I can find what to eat in restaurants. And with apps like “happy cow” when you can check all vegan and vegetarian restaurants it is easier to Google search.

After one year of sitting inside and not being able to move freely, I only have small walks in the park in the daytime. Being unable to travel outside the country I now feel amazed of having this opportunity to travel to another country and see other cultures.  I like to travel by train and here it is cheap and easy to travel with this means of transport. For now, I didn’t see a lot of the country but for what I see it is beautiful. I like to hike and there are so many hiking trails around national parks and mountains. This is what I wanted all these years: more nature, swimming in the black sea, enjoying the sunshine, exploring the city I have never been to.

 Bulgaria has an old history and old cities that are amazing to travel and discover by walking… Originally when you go on holiday you have a limited time frame. So if you really want to explore Bulgaria you should come here with a lot of time. So you could fully enjoy the long walks and beautiful nature…

Jurga Balciunaite