Our Bulgarian meal was Bulgarian Cucumber Soup with Walnuts, Bulgarian Moussaka and Shtrudel (Apple Strudel). The cucumber soup was cold, creamy and delicious with little chunks of cucumber. The walnuts added a nice flavor and texture. The Moussaka was similar to Shepards pie. It was beef, pork, carrots, onions, tomatoes, celery, peppers and potatoes topped with a mixture of egg, yogurt, flour and baking soda. It was good but a little too spicy so we topped it with the cucumber soup. The combination was delicious. The Shtrudel was made with apples and dried cranberries. This was only my second time baking with phyllo so I was pretty happy with how it turned out. And of course, it was delicious for breakfast.
Bulgaria is a small country in Southeast Europe which is known as the oldest country in Europe. The city of Plovdiv was founded 8000 years ago. Bulgaria has many beautiful areas such as the Balkan Mountains, the Black Sea Coast and is known for it’s hot springs. Sofia, the capital, is a combination of European and Communist-style architecture and has many beautiful orthodox churches. Bulgarians nod for yes and shake their heads for no.
We watched Under the Same Sky, the story of a fifteen year old girl who cut her hair and dressed as a boy to travel from a small town in Bulgaria to Turkey to find her father who had left three years earlier in search of work. Because there were no English subtitles we had no clue what was being said but could follow along since we knew the story line. Rob tried to get his phone to translate but it only caught random insignificant words here and there. Pretty funny.
While cooking dinner we listed to some traditional music played on Gaida, the Bulgarian bagpipe.
City of Plovdiv 
Balkan Mountains 
Black Sea Coast 
Bolata Beach 
Iskar River Gorge 
Sofia – Capital of Bulgaria 
Bulgarian Bagpipers 
