13 April 2025 – Melnik

Miles driven today = 48

Total Miles to date = 3,482

The first Chuchuligovo Choo Choo rattled past the site before 6 O’Clock this morning which didn’t best please us.  It was also a fair bit colder than forecast and a chilly 8 degrees inside the van when we got up this morning, so we were both a little grumpy.  But we had a long chat with our hostess, Ana before we left.  She’s a very interesting lady.  Zimbabwean by birth but also has Portuguese nationality.  She lived for a number of years in Norfolk and worked as a scientist in the Antarctic for 6 months of the year.  She and her Bulgarian husband Ivo have been running Sunny Paradise Camping for 6 years but are also vanfolk themselves and go off touring during the winter months.  She had lots of advice about things to see and places to stay while we are here in Bulgaria.

Top of the list, because it is relatively close by is the town of Melnik, which is built along a gorge between sandstone cliffs.

The buildings have an almost Alpine appearance and any new builds have to be constructed in a way which sympathetically reflects the older architecture in the town.

At the far end of the main street and in a position which overlooks the rest of the town is Kordupolos House.  A grand building, which was built in 1754 and is reckoned to be the greatest of the Bulgarian National Revival period.  The Kordopulov family who built it were rich local wine merchants.

The Middle Floor is predominantly open to the public.  This central hall has a number of different rooms leading from it.

The “Kyoshka” is a small meeting room used for entertaining guests and has interesting stained glass windows.

The Bedroom contains influences from Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish and even Oriental designs.  The fireplace is shaped like a minaret.

A weaving loom with examples of period costume.

A tiny door no more than 5 feet high leads to this small chapel.

A steep wooden staircase leads to this Sun Terrace.  The stonework represents a map of revolutionary Bulgaria while the tree to the right is positioned where Melnik lies.  The sundial is reckoned to be surprisingly accurate.

As well as hosting meals, the Dining Room was used for trade negotiations.  It has a secret cupboard where other members of the household could eavesdrop on proceedings.  There is also a sauna, which apparently was fairly common at the time.

The impressive Guest Room measures 90 square metres and has windows on all sides to allow in sunlight throughout the day.

The cellar was predominantly used for making wine.  It also has a 57 metre deep well which was used to provide water for livestock.

Leading from the cellar are 200 metres of tunnels dug into the rockface. 

These were used to store anything up to 300 tons of wine at a constant temperature of between 7 and 9 degrees.

The walls and floors were covered with coins which visitors have deposited.

In front of the house are the ruins of St Varvara which was the family’s own Church.

We sat on a balcony and took in the view before heading back down the hill and through the town.

There is a Museum of the history of Melnik but that was closing for lunch in just 10 minutes so we continued a short way to the Museum of Wine which is in the cellar of one of the hotels.

Unfortunately there was no English translation for any of the exhibits so we didn’t really get to learn much. 

The “Wine Treasury” is made to look as though the bottles are stored in holes in the rock but it’s all made of plaster and a bit tacky.

They do tastings but I was driving and we hadn’t had lunch yet so not the best idea.

A glass of Anti-Virus anybody?

We decided to have lunch sitting in the Sun.  I chose poorly.  My meatballs were basically 2 grilled burgers with a few chips and a big dollop of relish.  Lisa did much better with her chicken dish with mushrooms, peppers and onions.  She also had a glass of wine.  The whole lot came to 47 Lev, which is about £21 so eating out is definitely much cheaper in Bulgaria than in Greece and I suspect most other things are as well.

We so often forget to buy anything for ourselves while we are travelling but Lisa took a shine to some of the local pottery so we bought a plate for display on our kitchen wall.

We made our way back onto the motorway and headed North for a while.  Kresna seemed to be one big truck stop but shortly after passing through there we took a right turn and chugged our way up the steep mountain road to the village of Stara Kresna which sits under the snow capped peaks of the Pirin Mountains.

We are staying at the Debeli Dab Eco Village, which is a bit of a work in progress if the truth be told.  The usual area for motorhomes has recently been covered in manure but they reserved a space for us next to the onsite bar and restaurant which is relatively flat.

It seemed rude not to try a couple of bottles of local Pirinsko Beer whilst gazing at the mountains from which it takes its name.

The forecast is for a much cloudier day tomorrow so we went for a walk in the sunshine to take in the scenery while the Sun was still shining.

We spotted these large nests in some of the pine trees.  They’re the size of a coconut.  We’re not sure if they are maybe some sort of caterpillar.

The local church looks rather dilapidated.  I don’t think it’s particularly old.  The ruined building on the left has a stone inlaid with the dates 1856-1912 so we weren’t sure if the one on the right replaced it.

One wall is plastered with commemorative notices of deceased locals.

We are going to stay here for 2 nights.  It’s not exactly the quiet idyll which I was led to believe it might be from the Park4Night reviews but the locals are all friendly enough and we have told the guy behind the bar that we will have dinner with them tomorrow evening.  Meanwhile Lisa can steel her nerves for when we make the journey back down the mountain on Tuesday.  

14 April 2025 - ...And Relax