the party train

I walked onto the 730 Express Train at Sofia this morning, and found a party in full motion: the train was packed to the rafters, and the only people on it were in their 20's. Most of them were either talking loud and swigging at bottles of every type of conceivable alcohol, or had passed the moment of no-return and where collapsed on the seat, or even worse, the doorway. or even worse (given the stench), collapsed on the toilet seat.

It turns out that ALL of Bulgaria's University Students are doing the same thing: December 8th is Bulgaria National Day for University Students. The plan as Nikolai pointed out is not a very elaborate one: DRINKING. I asked him to elaborate: DRINKING IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH FRIENDS, THE GIRLS COOK, WE GUYS JUST DRINK. (At this point, his girlfriend butts in: MEN ARE IDIOTS)

I was heading to Veliko Tarnovo (which is where I am now). It's Bulgaria's former capital, and conveniently half-way between Sofia and Bucharest. It also has to be one of the most dramatically-situated towns I have ever been to. The town is cut into 3 by a large meandering river, the mountains rise on all sides, and there is a huge fortress overlooking the whole place - beautiful.

I think I managed to find the only empty bed in town - with the university students having taken everything else and on a mission of never sleep, getting some rest is going to be tough.

Hope you're all well...