A scenic train ride through the mountains to Bansko, and my first attempt at finding accommodation on the fly

My last morning in Plovdiv I woke up early and took a taxi to the train station. Taxis in Bulgaria are unbelievably cheap compared to the United States; I’ve never paid more than $3 USD for a ride. This time, it cost about 2.5 lev ($1.38). My train was at 8am, and I got there about 10 minutes early. I thought about grabbing a coffee from one of the stands or automatic machines (price for an espresso ranges from .40 lev to 1 lev- 22 to 55 cents), but decided to hold off until my connection. Maybe I would doze off for a bit for the first hour, and I would want to be awake for the second leg of the trip.

I took a train to Septemvri, where the narrow-gauge rail line starts and where I’d be taking a 4 hour train ride through the mountains to Bansko. Early on in my research I came across a list of scenic train rides in the Balkans and Central/Eastern Europe. I like traveling by train; it’s more comfortable than a bus and easier to take in the scenery. Whenever I can combine transportation with tourism, it’s a success.

I arrived in Septemvri with about 20 minutes to spare, so I took the traditional wander-around-until-you-find-the-bathroom path (no luck) and bought a coffee at the stand (.50 lev). The narrow-gauge track was farther out than the rest of the rails, so I took an underground tunnel to get there (I freaked out a little when the translated sign read “take the subway.” It brought me back to the first time at MSP airport- “what? I have to take another tram to get to the terminal??”). When I emerged from the tunnel, a little green train was waiting for me:

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I boarded and hoisted my backpack up onto the luggage rack when about two dozen children started pouring into the car. Nope, not today. I grabbed my bag and went to the first car, where there were still plenty of seats. The train is narrower than normal ones, so on one side of the aisle there’s the typical two seats next to each other, and on the other side just one seat. Enjoying my solo traveler status, I snagged the one seat side, and set my coffee down on the little table in front of my seat as I went to find the train bathroom.

Tip to all those traveling, anywhere in Europe: always have tissues or extra toilet paper stashed away in your bag. I’ve learned this the hard way a couple of times, but now anytime I find a bathroom with toilet paper I grab a few sheets extra for next time, just in case. This was appropriate for this train, as the bathroom had no paper, and the toilet no flush- it just empties out onto the tracks below. Fine by me, it seemed clean enough compared to what I endured last month on a 6 hour train to Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

After about a ten minute delay, we were on our way- I think the Septemvri-Bansko train waits for the last trains from Sofia or Plovdiv so that no one misses their connection. It’s a very relaxed system- you can’t be on a time crunch when you’re traveling this way. We began our journey towards the Balkan mountains, and I snapped a few pictures through the dirty train window:

After the initial excitement of being on this route, I settled in to work on some emails, constantly glancing out the window to take in the sights. The fall colors were beautiful- most trees still had their bright leaves, and the evergreens mixed in made for a pretty sight. We stopped several times along the way- the train horn blew each time we approached a new station. Sometimes we would only pick up one passenger standing along the tracks. We stopped in Velingrad, a town known for its healing thermal baths and spas. Several elderly women settled in across the aisle from me. About an hour later, one of them said something to me in Bulgarian- I did the typical “sorry, I speak English” shrug, but a woman behind us knew a little English, so the four of us cobbled together a conversation. The women were shocked that a girl from the United States was traveling alone in the middle of Bulgaria. All I could respond with was “Adventure! Something different!” They smiled and told me (according to our translator) “may health and happiness be with you.” They were very sweet- another man in our car gave them a container of foil-wrapped chocolates when he left, and they shared with me. They were called mountain tops, or something like that...larger than a Hershey’s kiss, but similar shape, with milk chocolate on the bottom, white chocolate on the top, and hazelnuts on the inside. Yum.

A stop on the way

At some point during the journey I decided the dirty window wasn’t cutting it for pictures, so I hung out of the door where the cars connect and snapped some pictures of the mountains, trees, and occasional train stop.

We arrived on time in Bansko, despite leaving later than planned. This is where the second part of the day’s adventure began. I had no place to stay for the evening when I stepped off the train. Couchsurfing was a bust, since Bansko is a major tourist town known for its ski trails. Actually, when I told other Bulgarians they were spending a night in Bansko, they were like, “...why?” Good point. It’s the off season, meaning no snow, and typically November is not the best for hiking. However, one girl I met on a walking tour in Plovdiv said “Oh! You must go hiking!” So I found a purpose, despite not having a bed for the night.

From talking to other travelers I know that this is normal in the backpacking world- you get to a new city, then you book a hostel or whatnot. I’ve mainly been using Couchsurfing, meaning I put up my trip at least a week in advance so I have time to find a good host. When I spent a night in Veliko Turnovo, I booked a hostel bed a few days prior. However, the only hostel in Bansko closes in the winter, so that wasn’t an option. My plan instead was to find the tourist office and get recommendations for a pension or guesthouse to stay in for cheap, and hopefully get some hiking advice as well.

I left the train station and made my way towards the city center. I had saved the map of Bansko and the address of the tourist office on Google Maps, so I was able to access it offline (a must-do before I arrive in a new city). I found the information center rather easily, as it sported a giant red sign that said TOURIST OFFICE. But, it was closed. It made sense, because it was Sunday, but my Lonely Planet guidebook said it was open every day, which may be true in the offseason. Regardless, I pulled out my Lonely Planet Kindle book once again to look up accommodation in the area. The first one on my list seemed pretty cheap- 20lev ($11) for a night, including breakfast. Perfect. Using the Google Map, I tracked down what street it was on, and headed that direction.

I found the place pretty easily, and the wooden door was open to the courtyard, so I went in. No one was around, but I found a small doorbell in the frame and rang it. Soon enough a man emerged from part of the building. I found out quickly that he didn’t speak a lot of English. I asked him about a room for the night, and mentioned the guidebook’s description of 20 lev.

“No,” he said. “30 lev.”

This was out of my budget. I was planning to ask the tourist office for a place that was 20 lev or less, assuming there were plenty of rooms in the off season. I tried to ask, “do you know of any place where I can get a room for 20 lev.” He thought for a second, then shrugged and said, “Ne.”

Well damn. I subconsciously thought if I left, he might negotiate with me down to 20. It did not seem like he had any other guests. I said “Okay...well thanks anyway…” and left. As soon as I got out the door, I freaked out a little bit- what if I don’t find a place with better pricing? This was the cheapest in the guidebook. What if everyone else changed prices, too? How am I going to find anything else? Anxiety kicked in, and 30 seconds later, I was ringing the doorbell again. “At least I’ll get breakfast,” I thought to myself as I said “I changed my mind- 30 lev is fine.”

Svetislav (the owner) led me up to my room, which was pretty nice. A double bed, a separate room with a couch and television, my own balcony. Not bad. I asked about breakfast, and he told me it was 10 lev more, not included like it says in the guide. Meh, I gave up.

That evening I walked around Bansko, which was a ghost town without the buzz of tourists. Shops were closed, and the ones that were open, selling souvenirs and winter accessories and the like, were empty. I walked up to the base of the Pirin Mountains, past the ski lift, to check out the hiking potential. I saw several markings for paths so I made a game plan for the next day. On the way back I stopped at the Carrefour market near some of the giant, empty hotels. The market itself was practically empty. The only aisles fully stocked were the alcohol and coffee. I managed to find a big tub of yogurt, and stopped at a smaller store on the way back to my pension to pick up bread and bananas. I still had peanut butter and muesli left over from my time in Plovdiv, and together I had enough for dinner, breakfast, and lunch the next day. I decided not to eat out to offset the extra cost of the pension. I probabably spent about 4 lev ($2.20).

Scoping out hiking trails for the next day

That night, I took a long shower, washed my hair for the first time in four days, and settled in to watch some television. I entertained myself by flipping through channels for a while- they have Adventure Time with Bulgarian dubs! I used the water glasses in my room to mix the yogurt and muesli together, and ate that for dinner. I read for a bit, wrote some more emails, researched for my Balkan trip some more, and spent a few minutes in child’s pose before heading to bed. Ah, the backpacker life.

The next morning I woke up at a decent hour, packed up all my things, ate some more yogurt and muesli (I put the yogurt on the balcony so it would stay cold in the night), read a little bit, and then headed out to see if the tourist office was open so I could get some hiking advice. It wasn’t, so I bought a map at the newsstand (5 leva, not worth it) and came back to the pension. I used my Google Translate app to ask if I could leave my bag there while I went hiking before my bus in the afternoon. Success, and I went on my way with my overpriced map and a pair of peanut butter sandwiches and a couple of bananas.

I spent a few hours exploring the base of the Pirins. I took one of the ski trails up until I found some paths into the forest, and had a nice time wandering through the pines. It was perfect weather- I was in jeans and a t-shirt most of the time, and a breeze would blow every now and then. I didn’t see any wildlife, and only heard birds chirping and the murmur of construction from the town below. After I got off the main path I did not see another person on my trek. It was nice, even though I’d been on my own for over a day already.

I made it back to the pension with plenty of time to spare. I thanked Svetislav, grabbed my bag and headed to the bus station, where I would pick up the next bus to Blagoevgrad, my final stop in Bulgaria.