Bulgaria is one of Europe’s great roadtrip secrets. In places like Veliko Tarnovo, you can rent cars for as little as $25/day. Roads cross mountain ranges, and buffalo yogurt stands and woodcutter towns and weird monuments like the one below.
Years ago I bought a great old Soviet 35mm camera for about $20 at a flea market in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sometimes I remember to use it. I did most recently a year-and-a-half ago, guessing at shutter speed and whatnot, while driving around the Black Sea Coast in a 1972 Moskvich. On Shipka Pass, I took a few of Buzludzha, an old communist site that looks like a UFO in ruins, with battered mosaics and chair stuffing and open windows. It’s creepy, inside and out. This blog has some interesting before/after shots.