Beach library in Albena: now bookworms can have holidays too

EVS volunteers chosing a book.

As I write this I am lying on the beach, skin still damp after a nice swim in the Black Sea. It's summer time, let's face it. Next month, in August, probably half of Bulgaria's population will be going on holidays.

But enough about my hard life now. What I wanted to share is that I have discovered a beach library - a real library with real books located in the open, right behind sunbeds and beach umbrellas in Bulgaria's white-sanded Albena resort, some 30 kilometres away from the 'summer capital' of Varna.

If we believe the enthusiastic promotional materials, Albena's beach library is first one of such kind in the whole EU.

 
The setup is simple: one long, curvy shelf, stocked from both sides with books and magazines in several European languages, including English, German, Bulgarian, Romanian, French, Spanish, and Russian. There is also a small section called 'other languages' so if you happen to be a speaker of a less represented language you may still be able to find something to dig into.

I have seen plenty of recent fiction to choose from, as well as random books about health, travel and money; gardening, birdwatching and sex; arts albums, self-help guides, and digital photography manuals. There are stories for children as well as encyclopedic-looking volumes of classic French literature.  

View from the resort side. The sea is just behind the books.

The collection is always changing. You can borrow all books for free (only the name of your hotel is asked for reference) - and even keep them if you don't manage to finish them before your holiday ends. In return, readers are offered to donate their own unneeded books to the library.    

Both the library's stand itself and most of its resources still looked fresh at the time of my visit; the baseball-caps-and-shorts-wearing librarians happy and sporty. It is the library's first season of life, and, I believe, it has good hopes for the future. The sharing and reusing ideas are always welcome; and I have witnessed some interested readers. 

The Albena beach library is open between 8.30 AM - 5 PM every day. Unlike to most of other libraries you may go to this one dressed only in a bikini. 

The librarians' office.

Happy birthday, Binar! Cake, balloons and swing in the park

Happy birthday, Binar!

Last week I attended a very special birthday party. Binar, the internet radio of the Bulgarian National Radio was celebrating the first year of life, and they prepared a great party. Well, actually, they celebrated TWO parties, both in the same day. I love birthday parties (no, really) so I expend a great time with them.

The first part was in the BNR building. There were a lot of balloons, country hats, wine and one of the best cakes I’ve tasted in my life. The people who run Binar made their speeches; they cut the cake (yummy!) and the brand Max Factor, one of the sponsors, gave us a birthday present: and small box with make-up and free make up sessions with a pro.

The best cake EVER 

Only with this would be perfect, but they had more surprises for us… Then, we were invited to move to Yuzhen Park and there was the second part of the party. When we arrived there was a surprise waiting for us… a swing party! There was Lilly of the West, a Bulgarian bluegrass and country music band, which played a lot of songs from their new album while three professional pairings of dancers. Really amazing!

So, we expend the rest of the evening listening great music, drinking, and partying with all the people. I met a lot of interesting people, and the grass in the park was perfect for seat and talk with them. I didn’t dance, because sometimes I am a bit shy (ehem), but a lot of people started to dance and was very funny.

Pretty people in the park 

Binar.bg it’s not only an online radio. There you can find a lot of news about culture, science, society and much more. They have a lot of programs about different topics (only in Bulgarian, I’m afraid) and, of course, you can listen a lot of kinds of music. And all of this in Internet, so you can play videos, see pictures and more..

I really enjoyed this birthday party. Not only for the cake, of course. The people were very friendly, the music was really great and the evening in the park, surrounded of dogs and kids was simply perfect. For my next birthday I want a party like this one!

More info | Binar.bg

'Don Carlo', Verdi en el parque

Nuestra entrada al paraíso

Para escribir este post tengo que remontarme al pasado. Poco más de una semana, tampoco os vayáis a creer que voy a hablaros de algo que ocurrió hace un par de años, pero con la cantidad de cosas que hacemos a veces me cuesta un poco saber en qué día vivo. El caso es que el pasado domingo 7 de Julio tuvimos la oportunidad de asistir a la representación de la ópera Don Carlo de Giuseppe Verdi. Todo un lujo que, además, se desarrollaba en el marco único del parque de la academia militar G. S. Rakovski, aquí en Sofia.

La ópera 'Don Carlo' fue compuesta por Verdi basándose en el drama de Schiller Don Carlos, Infante de España. Narra, como podéis adivinar, acontecimientos importantes en la vida del Infante Don Carlos, hijo de Felipe II de España. En concreto, el drama se centra en el amor que Carlos siente por Isabel de Valois, su prometida, pero que acabará casándose con su padre como parte del tratado de paz que puso fin a la guerra italiana entre los Habsburgo y los Valois. El amor de nuestros protagonistas será el principal motor de la historia, aunque no el único, claro.

Verdi nos presenta en 'Don Carlo' un singular juego entre política y religión, entre vencedores y vencidos, entre razón y corazón. La sombría figura del Gran Inquisidor, los terribles castigos de halo religioso y el hambre y la desolación en las tierras de Flandes suponen un magnífico contrapunto a la dramática (por imposible) historia de amor entre Carlos e Isabel. 

'Don Carlo' fue representada por primera vez en la Grand Opera de París el 11 de Marzo de 1867 y os tengo que decir que no fue especialmente bien acogida por el público. Por un lado, Verdi no respetó los estrictos cánones que se imponían a las obras estrenadas en París; por otro lado, el intenso debate que la obra presenta entre religión y política no fue todo del gusto de los críticos y el público. Poco importa eso ya, puesto que 'Don Carlo' es una de las óperas más populares de su autor y una de las más representadas año tras año en teatros de todo el mundo.

Ricardo,  con el escenario ardiendo (literalmente)

Lo cierto es que me encanta la ópera, pero no soy una experta. En absoluto, nada más lejos de la realidad. De hecho, le tuve que preguntar a una amiga (que sabe bastante más que yo del tema) cuales eran las principales diferencias entre un tenor, un barítono y un bajo, además de las obvias, porque a mí estas cosas se me escapan un poco. En cualquier caso, no tener ni idea no me impidió disfrutar muchísimo de una historia que me pilla de cerca.

Y es que, cuando una está tan lejos de casa, no puede evitar emocionarse al oir sobre la historia de tu país. La terrible Inquisición, la opresiva presencia de El Escorial, el dolor del amor entre Isabel y Carlos, la amistad que une a este con Rodrigo... Es hermoso, y os confieso que en un par de ocasiones estuve a punto de llorar de la emoción, porque yo soy de lágrima fácil, y porque, bueno, me sigue pareciendo increíble que se puedan hacer cosas tan bonitas con la música.

Y después de esta magnífica experiencia me estoy planteando comprar un abono para la nueva temporada de ópera porque sé que voy a tener pocas oportunidades como esta. En mi ciudad natal no es que haya precisamente muchas representaciones (aunque me consta que le ponen empeño, ojo) y, en cualquier caso, difícilmente podría compararlas con la sensación de asistir a la Opera de Sofía.

Así que... ¿quién se viene a la ópera conmigo? 

On last July 7th we went to the park of the military academy G. S. Rakovski to see the opera Don Carlo by Giuseppe Verdi. ‘Don Carlo’ narrates the sad story about the impossible love between Don Carlos, Infant of Spain and Isabel de Valois, who was his fiancée but finally gets married with his father, Felipe II, King of Spain.

The opera in the park was an enchanting experience that we really enjoyed. Not only the music or the singers, the entire environment was perfect. Even I’m not an expert; I really like opera so I want to go to all the representations in the new season. Do you like opera? Do you want to come with me? 

Five hours on the train, worth it: Going to Plovdiv

The Roman theatre of Plovdiv, now nearly two thousand years old, and still hosting performances.

 
Doing an EVS often includes a fair share of travelling. We have joined fellow volunteers from the Sofian SMART Foundation for a day trip to Plovdiv.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city and one of the most culturally important, surely cannot be all seen in one day but, as it was the first visit for most of us, it has been a nice introduction.

There is a big size difference between Bulgaria's capital Sofia and the next major cities, the former being at least 3.5 times larger in population than Plovdiv & Varna, and six times larger than Bourgas.

As one can expect, Plovdiv has got a more relaxed vibe than the busy capital, and feels green and refined like a typical university town. Rumours say, it also has got a nightlife of a typical university town, although this time we were unable to check it.

The city has got a significant population of cats, looked after by the locals collectively.

Plovdiv is among the oldest cities of Europe, being continuously inhabited since at least 4000 BC. Originally established by the Thracians, it later became known as the Roman city of Philipopolis. There are some remaining ruins from both Thracian and Roman eras in Plovdiv, as well as treasures in the city's Arhaeological Museum.   

Finally, Plovdiv's old town is also a good place to go and appreciate the so-called Bulgarian National Revival architeture of the nineteenth century, see a couple of my photos below.  

'Handmade Nation', Arts & Crafts in Sofia Design Week

'Handmade Nation', a great poster too

From June 21st to 30th we can enjoy the Sofia Design Week. But already before these dates there have been a lot of activities and events connected with the topic. For example, on June 17 there was a free screening of the documentary Handmade Nation at the National Polytechnic Museum. I'm a very curious girl, so I went to see  it.

Don't think that I'm a very enthusiastic about arts and crafts. Nope. On the contrary, my ability to do things with my hands (and I'm talking about beautiful things) it's not so remarkable. It's like I'll have two left hands so the arts & crafts universe is to me more like the magic land of Oz than  reality.

But I told you I'm a very curious girl and I always wonder how other people are able to do those precious things with their hands without losing their patience. Wonder and magic, for me. Hobbies and a fun way of earn money, for others.

'Handmade Nation' is a documentary about the rise of a lot of arts & crafts communities in the USA in the last years. A bit retro, a bit punk, a bit feminist, a bit funny... You can see a lot of projects from people who do it not only in their free time, it has become a way of living. From flea markets to online stores, from big spaces to a sofa and a blanket, this documentary show us how the DIY is now a very important part of the popular culture in the USA (and worldwide, of course).

This is the first film by Faythe Levine, author, artist and curator, who wants  to show this particular world to people like me, who only tried to knit something when they were kids and with forgettable results. Through interviews with artists, gallery owners, crafters and curators, we can peek to this wonderful nation and (in my case) feel a bit embarrased about my awful capability of doing nothing spectacular. Sigh. 

Here you can see a video about the film, it's only a few minutes.

 At last, if you are crying and burning in desire  to start your own arts and crafts project, GO ON! You can visit Etsy or Pinterest, for catching some ideas and take a look  at a few blogs like Dare to DIY (in spanish, very beautiful) or How About Orange (in english, pretty, too), among others. 

For me, it's time to die with envy. Pray for me, people. Or, better, send me beautiful things done by you ;) 

More Info |  Handmade Nation Facebook Page 

Playing chess in the park: Bulgaria's open air tournaments

Sofia City Garden, one of the busiest parks of the Bulgarian capital, is known as the place where informal open air chess tournaments take place.  

 

Strolling there on a nice summer day you will witness gangs of (mostly) elderly men engaged – or sitting and waiting to be engaged – in chess matches. 

Often they are surrounded by agitated spectators. An occasional open-mouthed tourist flashing his/her camera makes the atmosphere even more heated. 

After a few beers our fellow EVS volunteer Ricardo decided to challenge one of the players. Guess who won.

Chess in the park.