In a Nutshell - Bulgaria

Belogradshick, Bulgaria - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Most local guides reside in the area of interest and speak English as a second language.  After selecting bus #4 quite by chance for the day tour, it came as quite a surprise when our guide spoke as if he were from England, and he was!  It would be difficult to find a better day guide than Dennis–articulate with a clever sense of humor and an encyclopedic knowledge of Bulgaria.

“Ten years ago,” he offered, “I was rich and slowly drinking, smoking, and working myself to death.  My marriage failed, and I was miserable.  One night after a soccer game I was drinking with my mates at a bar and spied a beautiful woman.  She lived in Sofia and was attending a conference in England.  We had a jolly good time and exchanged email addresses, but to tell you the truth I was so hammered I don’t remember much.

Belogradshick - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Over the next year my life only got worse, and then one day I received an email from the woman from Bulgaria.  She had a son and was recently divorced from an abusive husband.  On a lark she invited me to visit her in Bulgaria.  I had nothing to loose, so a couple weeks later I booked a flight to Sofia.

On the flight I realized I didn’t remember what the woman looked like, but hopefully when I arrived something would jog my memory.  After clearing customs I surveyed the crowd in the terminal and saw nothing familiar until I spied a woman waving at me with the biggest smile one can imagine.  I knew then and there I had made the right choice to visit Bulgaria.

We married a year later.  I am a very happy man–no longer rich, but in love, playing soccer for fun, and in good health and spirits.” 

 

Vidin, Bulgaria - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Being the closest European country to Turkey did not bode well for the Bulgarians.  From 1398-1878 they were subjected to 500 years of ruthless Ottoman domination.  Punishing taxation and capricious governance were the order of the day.  Five centuries is a long time to make up, so the next 66 years of self rule proved difficult.  To matters worse Bulgaria backed the losing side in both WWI and WW2.

In 1944 with the Germans retreating from Eastern Europe, the Communists instilled the People’s Republic of Bulgaria which lasted until 1990.  For most of this period Todor Zhivkov, a Soviet stooge, served as head of state and attempted to transform Bulgaria from an agrarian to an industrial society.  In typical Communist fashion the apparatchiks arbitrarily decided where to locate the industrial centers, usually based on political patronage and without regard to economic considerations.  For example, a cigarette manufacturing facility was constructed on the Danube 200 miles away from where tobacco is grown in the country.  All these inefficiently produced goods were highly subsidized and sold to the Soviet Union.  As soon as the Communists lost power, these industries failed, unable to compete with the West.  Scores of enormous, dilapidated factories sit unused in the Danube industrial district, selling for $1 apiece.

Communist Architecture Vidin - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Bulgaria, a country of 7.5 million people, is a member of NATO and the EU, and has one of the lowest birthrates in the world.  Like most countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, birth control is widely available with high abortion rates.  Good medical care is available, particularly in the capital Sofia, but one has to pay for it.  Despite national health care, most doctors expect financial incentives for appointments and services.  As our guide Dennis put it, “If I have more than a runny nose, I’m on the next flight to England.”  Unfortunately, other than the very wealthy, Bulgarians do not have this option.

What do Bulgarians do well enough to compete in the world of nations?  Other than tourism and producing 70% of the world’s rose oil, the country has not found its niche.  For the time being with open borders among EU countries, Bulgarians will be heading to Western Europe in search of jobs and a new life. 

  Iron Gates - photo by JoAnn Sturman