Last December Sasha and I made a trip from Bulgaria to Hungary, where we visited our friends Daniel, Erika and Martijn.

Daniel and Erika bought a new house a year ago and it was great to see their new place. Martijn had the same idea as we did to visit Hungary between Christmas and New Year's so this was a nice opportunity for all of us to meet.

When we arrived at Daniel & Erika's place Erika had cooked a delicious dinner and we spent our time talking and we had a very good time.

We stayed one night in Szolnok. It was short (never long enough!) but it was great to meet in person; much better than by phone or online. We left the next day around 3.00 pm to Budapest, and while we were planning to meet the next morning, that didn't work out due to a sudden illness.

Still, it was a very nice visit. Some pictures of our visit to Szolnok.

Yesterday I went for a walk in the William B. Umstead Park.

This State Park is located between Durham and Raleigh. The entrance to the park is actually from the highway I take to work, the I40, but I had never really paid attention to the signs. The other day my colleagues recommended the park.

I started at the Reedy Creek entrance and I walked the Company Mill Trail, a little under 6 miles. It was cold but sunny and a great day to go for a walk like this, and I enjoyed it.

I walked for two hours and 15 minutes. Some pictures.

Yesterday we went to see Dreamgirls in Southpoint's cinema.

The movie won 3 Golden Globes last week. One of the awards went to Jennifer Hudson, and deservedly so because her performance was stellar.

It was a pleasant movie to watch with beautiful camera work and great acting. The movie is based on a Broadway musical and there is a lot of singing in the movie.

On the 2nd last day of 2006 we went to Plovdiv to see Vladi and meet his girlfriend Irina for the first time.

We went to the Vienska Salon in the main street in Plovdiv. We had coffee and it was nice to spend time together and chat.

Today we went for a hike on Pilot Mountain.


The mountain is located in a National Park about 25 miles north of Winston-Salem and about two hours from our house. We arrived in the park at 1.30 pm and we had lunch at the picknick tables there. It's fantastic that we can have lunch outdoors in January!


We walked 2 trails; the first one was the hardest. It was 2 miles and classified as "strenuous". The first 15 minutes weren't very interesting, but when we were deeper in the wood it became beautiful and it was great to walk through nature. The second trail was much easier, about a mile long, and made a circle around the top of the mountain.


On the way back we picked up some really nice vegetables at a Farmer's Market near the highway.

The park office. The flag is half-staff because of the death of President Ford.

The pick nick area in the park.

The beginning of the trail.

The first 15 minutes of the path weren't very exciting, but that changed quickly.

Sasha on the mountain.

A beautiful view, looking up.

The entrance of the second trail. In the background the characteristic Big Pinnacle of the mountain.

Today I went for a bike ride, for the first time since we moved to Durham.

I spent an hour cleaning and checking the bike and realized in time that fixing a squeaking break with oil would not be a good idea.

I went to the American Tobacco Trail. The trail is nice, but it takes a while to get there as it starts in downtown Durham. All in all I spend about 2,5 hours on the bike. The weather was nice.

In the evening I went to a bike shop near Wholefoods to ask about bicycle maps, but there aren't any for this area. Bicycling is less popular here than in Washington.

We are back in the US, and slowly but surely getting adjusted to our regular live again.

The trip from Perushtitsa to Durham took 24 hours, and we arrived Sunday night around 10.30 pm at RDU airport. We picked up the car and made a quick stop at the supermarket for some essentials and we were home around midnight. Since then it took a couple of days to get adjusted to the time difference.

It's strange to realize that we visited the Red Church only a week ago.

Last week I visited the museum in Perushtitsa.

After having seen the Red Church and the church that was attacked by the Ottoman army, it was interesting to see the museum that talks about these two things.

The museum also describes the general history of the city of Perushtitsa.

The museum in Perushtitsa. The canon is a replica on one that was used to defend the city in the late 1800's, particularly in the uprising against the Ottoman rulers.

A few of the paintings that were taken from the Red Church to preserve them.

An impression of how the Red Church may have looked liked.

A painting of the attack on the church in Perushtitsa in April 1876.

Just before Christmas Svetlio and Tsetsa came to Plovdiv. We met in the Vienska Salon, a cafe (сладкарница) in Vienna style in the main street of the city.

It was good to see them again; the last time I met them was 3 years ago.

In front of the Vienska Salon.

Waiting for the bus to Perushtitsa.

The city of Perushtitsa is famous throughout Bulgaria because of the bloody uprising against the Ottoman occupation that took place in April 1876.

The uprising was the first step towards the liberation of Bulgaria, but the particular event in Perushtitsa ended in a dramatic murder of close to 600 people who were hiding from the Ottoman army in the church in the city.

Two years after the April uprising Bulgaria became a free country again, and the Saint Archangel Michael church was designated as a memorial.

The outside of the church. I had visited the church once before, I think in 1999 when I came to Perushtitsa for the first time.

In the middle of the church is a commemorative tomb, with fragments of Ivan Vazov's poem about the events in Perushtitsa.

Statue of a defender of the church. In the background, next to the small round window, is list with names of the people that perished in the church.

The roof of the church was destroyed by the Ottoman cannons during the attack. The survivors later added a wooden roof and decided to preserve the church to commemorate the uprising.