Raising a glass to Bulgaria

A few days back my wife and I spent 10 days in Bulgaria. It was our first visit. Knowing virtually no Bulgarian, it was like an oasis to see The Sofia Echo in our hotel shop. We took to it immediately and Bulgarians to whom we spoke said it would give us a useful picture of what was going on.

We have been expats for 10 years, living in Cyprus, where the expat community is somewhat different from that in Sofia, which would seem to be mostly professional. Ours is largely retired, and there are more than 25,000 British people living there. It seems Bulgaria's expat life revolves around the long established and quite fascinating background of an attractive mid-European city, as well as an interesting countryside. Thus you have many more cultural activities than we do; but we share things like golf matches, bridge parties, clubs, associations and affinity groups.

Apart from an interest in seeing the country, I came to taste its wine, some of which I have been quite familiar with over the years, because I write on this subject for various newspapers and magazines in Cyprus and elsewhere. To say that I was impressed would be something of an understatement. One could not only see highly experienced oenology in wineries such as Melnik, but also the future in the shape of the incredibly large and modern plant of Boyar Estates at Sliven. We had some excellent food, too, particularly when staying for a few days at the Hebros Hotel in Plovdiv, where the chef, Assen, strove very hard to please, and amply succeeded.

One difference between our countries that a professional gentleman accompanying us reported was the degree of corruption and crime in Bulgaria, ranging from high levels of car theft and illegal vehicle sales to the grander activities of various gangsters. Sitting in the cafe of a noted Sofia hotel one evening, groups of rather sinister black-clad people were engaged in earnest conversation. We were told that this man was heavily into drugs, that man was in protection, and those people over there were bodyguards. Indeed, as the two key players left, they were immediately surrounded by the bodyguards. My wife was quite aghast at this cameo, but one supposes these people are "having their day" and that as the new order of things gathers ground they will eventually be washed away.

Returning to the matter of wine, we were delighted at one custom. It seemed that, in whatever hotel or restaurant one goes to, the wines on offer are sold inexpensively by the glass, and there is no complaint if you want three glasses of three different wines, and three new bottles will, if necessary, be opened. I know of few other places where this practice exists, and certainly not at the same price anywhere.

The best display of wines I saw during my visits to supermarkets, wine shops and other locations was in the Duty Free area at Sofia airport. There, most attractively, is arrayed a hundred or more varieties of Bulgarian wines. Mouth watering indeed and, awaiting the delayed flight from Sofia to Larnaca, Cyprus, I wanted to purchase several I had not tried. Alas, the shop was closed.

Despite this and the "mob," we met enough nice people and saw enough interesting sights to warrant a return, soon.