We decided to break up our return to Bucharest by picking a central location on the journey so we would have about three hours on both days. After some discussion of a few locations we decided to stop in Pleven.
On our way to Pleven we noted a road side pullout that was more active than most. We decided to stop as it was past noon. We wandered down a path and found a nice sitting area where we could sit in the shade and eat lunch. In looking on thenAllTrails app it appeared to have some sort of undocumented walking path. We wandered down to a small dock about 400 metres from our lunch spot and found there was a path, built partly on an old Roman road, that had been set up along a small stream that went for about 1.6 kilometres. We wandered it going over a couple bridges, passing a few picnic areas with semi-enclosed shelters. As we wandered further the path went under cliff faces will walkways built beside them. This led to a series of caves that we could walk into. Not having any gear other than the iPhone lights we didn’t go deeper than around 100 metres. I learned afterwards that there was a series of caves in the area, the most famous of which is “The Eyes of God” which allows people to walk into a large cave with two eye shaped holes at the roof that look down on those who enter. We did not get to this location for ourselves. At the end of this in and out walk was a shire with a number of paintings on the cliff wall. It was a nice break from drive.
We got into Pleven in the late afternoon and found the hotel we booked as located right on Pleven’s Central Park. This large green area in the middle of Pleven was a nice respite on a warm day. It had countless fountains that we spread over the park and, as it became evening, some of the fountains danced with colour and water displays making the busy park more exciting.
Around the park was a number of restaurants, a mausoleum commemorating the Second World War, and a church that had been converted into an art gallery with art from a Pleven-born, former National Art Gallery Director who had bequeathed his personal collection to his home town. This latter gallery was interesting to look through with its array of art from Bulgarian artists, but also a range of art from more famous artists of the 19th and 20th century like Manet and Picasso.
We had chosen Pleven as a stop to check out their War of Independence Museum. Set at the highest point of the city, a location that also put it in the midst of the battlefields that engaged the Ottoman, Russian, and Bulgarian troops in 1877 during the Siege of Pleven. This ended up being one of the major wins for the Bulgarians that helped set them on the path to Independence from the Ottoman Empire. The Museum included a number of large art pieces including the 360 degree panorama that covers the circular walls of the fourth floor of the Museum and gives a perspective on what the battle may have looked like at its peak.
In returning to Bucharest we took a different route that allowed us to cross the Danube by ferry. It was an interesting way to see a different part of both Bulgaria and Romania.
BorealHiker 