I love Bulgarian pottery in an almost unhealthy way. I mean, it’s not like I want to cover myself in Vaseline and roll around on a set of plates while listening to Sade. But … almost.
The in-laws came to stay recently, so we took them on a day trip to Troyan Monastery. The monastery is very pretty and blah blah, but my main reason for going there was to visit the nearby craft museum and ogle (and, I may as well be honest, fondle) some pottery.
Is it just me? Do other people have pottery fetishes? Is there a name for freaks like me? (Potishists? Ceramadists? Or perhaps BDSM really stands for Bowls Dishes Stoneware and Mugs.)
It’s worse than my Ikea rug habit.
Anyway, if you should ever find yourself at Troyan Monastery, head to the craft museum about 100m up the road. It’s not just for potishists. It’s got stuff for wood carving addicts (whittlewhores?), leather enthusiasts (hideheads?), and metal lovers (blacksniffs?). And, after you’ve been around the exhibition, there’s a huge shop where you can buy beautiful stuff to take home and worship on a sheepskin rug. Ahem. There’s also another pottery shop, with less of a selection but with silly cheap prices, just over the road from the museum. *Squeals*
Well, I clearly need a lie down. While I’m gone, here are some pictures of our various adventures with the in-laws.
Troyan Monastery
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| Some saint or other. |
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| There were lots of repairs going on, hence the scaffolding in the background. |
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| The bells! The bells! |
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| Bell tower. |
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| We went on laundry day, clearly. |
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| I love the traditional slate roofs in Bulgaria. |
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The resident cat. He’s called Satan. (He’s probably not called Satan.) |
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| Wonderfully safe scaffolding arrangement. |
Craft museum/porn palace
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| It looks so innocent from the outside. Inside it’s a hotbed of ceramic sin.
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| I think this wood carving looks a little rude. But my mind is basically a cesspit.
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| I managed to purchase this lot before I was forcibly removed from the premises. |
Teteven waterfall
A different day trip, with no pottery involved (probably for the best).
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| The walk up from Teteven. |
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| Giant haystacks. |
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| Into the woodland. I don’t remember it being quite this yellow… |
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| At least I got to indulge my other weird obsession: moss. |
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| So, so yellow. |
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| Yosemite Falls it aint, but we liked it. |
Litter hall of fame
Because it wouldn’t be a day trip in Bulgaria without a few piles of litter…
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| Dozens of wet wipes strewn by a layby. |
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| Next to a bus shelter. |
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| Back in the town. Right next to some houses. Very close to a big metal bin. |
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| Indeed. |
Hi – I just realised I never replied to your message about the gas cooker, about 2 months ago! Thanks for the helpful info, we did manage to find one on OLX in the end. I still enjoy reading your blog, and let us know if you're ever over Plovdiv way and perhaps we can meet for a beer! Take care xx
Yes, we definitely will do. Same goes if you're up Sofia way… xx
Awesome traditional place to stay and discover, i've never been there but it looks amazing! If you are interested in aluminum scaffolding take a look Antuie, take care