August 19, 2019
We took the morning train up over the Balkan Mountains (1) (2). The train was crowded, so we gave our seats to a grandmother and we stood in the corridor leaning on the open window (3) while enjoying the mountain air (4). On the steep descent on the south slope, we could smell the brakes, which even emitted plumes of smoke as we stopped at one station (5).
Changing for the express train to Burgas at Dabovo, we entered a very stuffy compartment on the south/sunny side of the train, the window of which would not stay open (6). I leaned on the window to let in some fresh air and mimed to the other passengers in the compartment (7) whether it was OK to hold the window open. One woman shook her head and it took me a second to remember that gesture means "yes" in Bulgarian.
My clever wife rigged some straps from her bag so that the weight of the backpack would hold open the window; we got an OK finger sign from our compartment mates. Soon an older woman pulled some plums out of her bag, which we all shared, throwing the pits out the open window (8).
The peninsula and ancient port city of Appolonia was occupied by the Greeks by the 5th century B.C.E. Today, it is the Bulgarian city of Sozopol, which is mainly a touristy/beach town. Unlike Nicopolis ad Istrum, Appolonia has been continuously occupied since its founding. Most of the ancient structures, etc. have therefore been lost (or at least built over) down the millenea. The existing town and architecture appear to date mainly for the Ottoman period.
In the evening, we saw a group of people in traditional Bulgarian dress near a small outdoor stage. They played on accordions and drums, and danced for a few minutes. Next up were kids of varying ages from what appeared to be a local dance school, who were being judged as part of some local competition. They were of varying quality, but the parents all seemed enthusiastic.
(1) While the entire area/peninsula is called the Balkans, the mountains themselves are only in Bulgaria, where they are known as Stara Planina (Old Mountains in Bulgarian).
(2) We had bought a small sugar wafer cookie with chocolate filling infused with rose essence (Bulgaria produces most of the world's rose oil). We ate as much as we wanted and still had more than half to share with the birds.
(3) The windows can be pushed down about a foot and a half from the top.
(4) This is a common practice on Bulgarian trains (especially today, with good weather and a crowded train), despite the pictograms warning against the practice posted on every window.
(5) At some of the stations, there are short dead-end sidings that veer in a slightly uphill direction. A train would presumably be switched over to use gravity to stop a train in case of brake failure (a).
(a) There is a runaway truck ramp similarly structured at the end of a long downhill in the Berkshires on the Mass Pike. Instead of pavement, there is gravel to slow down a runaway truck even more.
(6) The rail cars date from the communist era and the windows are frequently troublesome: stuck closed, stuck open (b), refusing to stay open without leaning on, etc.
(b) One March day, I was in a compartment in which the window was stuck open. I was the only one in that compartment that late winter day.
(7) 8 passengers fit into a second class compartment.
(8) The older woman three seats from the window had good aim and distance; the pit went flying through the open window. The young guy across from us shrugged his shoulders and said "biodegradable."
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