Sunday 10th January 2021

Happy New Year everyone! Almost halfway through January and the weather has turned a bit more wintry with steady snowfall through most of yesterday. That's in stark contrast to New Year's Day which was gloriously sunny and quite warm. New Year's Eve I just stayed home for a lazy time in front of the fire and then watched all the hundreds of fireworks going off over Gabrovo at midnight. The next day I met up with some friends for a picnic walk in the countryside.

We drove off under clear blue skies towards Tryavna and on to the tiny village of Bazovets. It's at the end of a narrow rough road and I imagine it getting quite cut off in bad weather, although it is on the railway line which links Gorna Oryahovitsa with Stara Zagora if ever the road wasn't driveable. We parked up and then headed up the steep footpath towards the first chapel - St Sofia, Faith, Hope and Love.

If you travel alone, you get there quicker,

If you travel with someone, you get further.

Love yourself.

We continued up through the woods, passing the site of a soldier's camp from the Turkish-Russian war, and then arrived at the second chapel, St Ivan Rilski. Another very pretty little place, half embedded in huge chunks of rock.

The marked trail kind of petered out after that but with the aid of Wikilok, an app that tracks your location, we cut through the forest to meet a logging track which eventually joined the road into the neighbouring village of Krastets.

We got to the train station with over an hour to spare, so finished our food and then explored the sidings. Krastets used to be a coal mining place until ten years ago, according to the station master, so there are all sorts of tracks, sleepers, carriages and chunks of metal scattered around.

Before the train arrived we all had a laugh dressing up in the station master's hat. Here I am doing my Fat Controller impression!

And here's the link to see the train finally arrive. I LOVE these old fashioned carriages!

https://youtube.com/shorts/NQCpxs9dCSE

It was just a few minutes journey back through to where we'd left the cars, all for the princely sum of 1 Lev.

Back home and I've had a few more sessions cutting up wood with the chainsaw. It got to a stage where the machine was spitting oil everywhere and smoking, taking ages to get through anything, so after consulting a couple of friends I bought a new chain. What a difference! It zipped through big gnarly beams like a hot knife through butter. Here's my little set up with a barrow full of firewood.

I still find it really hard to get the chain to stay tight enough (it's supposedly self tightening as you secure the bar in place) and end up undoing and redoing it half a dozen times before it stays secure. Once I've finished cutting up the millions of old beams I'll probably not use it again. Mind you, that's enough to keep me occupied for years. Better but some more chains!

Indoors I have actually completed one room. I know, it's a miracle. I had a mad purge before Christmas and plastered then painted the spare bedroom. The ceiling took several coats before the streaks became tolerable, and the curtain pole proved tricky when plaster fell out of the holes I'd drilled, but it's done now complete with furniture, and just needs me to make the curtains, which I'm doing from an old Bulgarian bed throw. The room has become an instant storage depot so the electrician has a bit more space in the other rooms to start installing the heating panels. Before he does that though, he will be securing the toilet in the bathroom. In fact, he's here right now and about to commence work. Can you imagine, no more trudging down to the outhouse in the snow to have a pooh. Luxury!