My Impressions

Photos by Sebastian Stumpf and Martin

It was not a particularly difficult decision to leave the Alps in this ‘winter’ of 2023, which was the second warmest on record and lacking precipitation. Although snow only seemed abundant in the far west of North America, or so Instagram and local sources were suggesting, another trip that way seemed out of the question. Meanwhile, Markus offered nothing less than a spot on a perfectly planned road trip east, through the two most recent members of the EU, and Turkey to Georgia. That was an opportunity not to be missed so skis and gear were quickly packed, and trains boarded in late February.

A short stop in Romania

Although the last three hours feel like an eternity, it is a mere 15h ride on the night train from Vienna to Brașov, located in the region of Romania that was once, legend has it, home to Count Dracula. Bleak landscapes and endless flats give way to a Soviet-style train station and apartment blocks that welcome visitors but belie the charms of city’s historic centre. The taxi driver who took Martin to the team’s first base was as welcoming but could not hide his amusement about the sight of a traveller with loads of skiing gear. All this way for skiing in Brașov? Ridiculous.

The way to Brașov and the Carpathian mountains

As ridiculous as the idea may seem to local drivers, a roundtrip to Lacul Bâlea in the Carpathian Mountains had already been completed by the time Martin joined Sarah, Markus and Sebastian on 27 February, three days into their eastward journey. That roundtrip had, however, ended without skiing. Although snow wasn’t exactly plentiful in this winter of 2022/23, there was in fact much to be skied in the area. The first day had turned into a failure because of a missing nut in a toe piece of Markus’ binding, which proved impossible to source from local hardware stores. The weather forecast looked promising for the next day and a second attempt was launched early morning. As any serious athlete would, Markus was traveling with backup equipment and switched the two blanks for a snowboard.

The Carpathian Mountains did not exactly offer powder conditions, but with blue skies, pleasant temperatures and ice-covered cliffs amid dramatic landscapes, that first day of skiing did not disappoint. A brief descent from the ridge east of Lake Bâlea was followed by an ascent of Mt Laita and a south facing descent in spring conditions. The climb back in baking sun was rewarded with cold and light snow on the north face above the lake. Rather than driving back to Brașov, a decision was made quickly to spend the night at Cabana Bâlea Lac. The Romanian food and Bergenbier were delicious and comfortable rooms resembled a hotel rather than a mountain cabin.

The first days at Bâlea Lac

Tours of various levels of ambition were in discussion for the next day, all of which were dashed after the first climb of Mt Paltinul. As clouds and poor visibility were moving in from the south, a second descent off the north face above the lake was followed by a final one down the icy slopes of the forest beneath the gondola.

Pleasant though as it was, the stop in Romania would be brief. While enjoying his well-deserved Apres-ski beer, Markus noticed that export plates fixed onto the team’s motorised means of transport had been issued with an expiry on 23 March, which would leave three days less than planned to cross the final border into Georgia. This fact, the weather forecast for the Carpathian Mountains and a number of other factors, not all of which were commonly understood, precipitated a decision to make quicker headway towards the southeast.

Leaving Romania

Shopski-Style Bulgaria

Bulgaria suffers from a demographic crisis, with a population having declined from nearly nine million in the late 1980s to a mere 6.5 or so million by 2020. After passing awe-inspiring architectural remnants of the Ceaușescu era and the outskirts of Bucharest, the Danube was crossed into the Bulgarian city of Russe, where we first encountered not only visual cues of Bulgaria’s dwindling population but also the extraordinary difficulty of reading Cyrillic script, as well as Shopski-style Cheese. The latter is an oven-baked dish featuring tomato and egg (always a winning combination), as well as a Bulgarian white cheese, apparently typical for the Sofia region but really a nationwide classic. ‘Shopski’ refers to something’s being done the way the ‘Shopi’, an ethnographic group of people from the Western part of Bulgaria, do it (see here). The drive from Russe under through grey skies and rain, passing abandoned villages and collapsing buildings, somehow conveyed an atmosphere of what life must have felt like in the backwaters of the Soviet Union.

Samokov

The overloaded VW Golf pulled into Samokov in time for dusk, a much-welcomed circumstance as driving at night would have made it significantly more difficult not to plunge a wheel or several into massive potholes, which would in turn have made the onward journey to Georgia significantly more difficult. Stefan, the owner of the house that had been identified as a base for incursions into the Rila Mountains, Bulgaria’s highest mountain range, advised that it was not ready yet. A short wait was sweetened at a small and welcoming bar off the main pedestrian street, which sported a Gösser flag and whose owner not only spoke German but was also a source of extraordinary wisdom. Upon inquiry about Samkov’s culinary scene, he provided the invaluable advice that it would be waste of energy to look for the best restaurant for dinner in Samokov, as the menu in all restaurants in town, or all of Bulgaria for that matter, would be the same: Bulgarian meat, cheese and bread – the usual. For as long as Shopski-style cheese wasn’t missing, we would not take issue with that selection.

Our Bulgarian mansion

We immediately felt comfortable in our new Samokov mansion, which featured a shower integrated into the toilet and an exceptionally cosy lounge with arm chairs dating back to the reign of Stalin. An abundance of historic artifacts and other items raised many questions that remained unanswered. Meanwhile, the weather forecast remained grim, with cloudy skies and wind, but also the prospect of some fresh snow. Amid light snowfall, a first reconnaissance tour was launched on Saturday morning from Мальовица Ски (read Malyovitsa ski resort) in the Rila mountains, past Malyovitsa hut, which serves excellent coffee and keeps a backgammon board ready for guests, for as far as wind and visibility would permit. That wasn’t all too far. The same conditions were encountered on the same route on Sunday, albeit without wind, which allowed for a further ascend towards Malyovitsa peak. Various other groups were touring in the area, including a friendly outfit of Sofiyanets who were excited about our next stop in Turkey and warned us about the itinerant population of Samokov, who apparently didn’t enjoy the best of all reputations in the area. Against all odds, the clouds cleared some 150m below the summit, revealing cold and light (or Shopski-style-) snow on most of the east and north facing descents back to the hut. A rustic bar at the bottom of the Malyovitsa drag lifts provided cold apres-ski beers and fries covered in cheese. It was now beyond doubt that almost anything in Bulgaria could be Shopski-style.

Two decent days at Malyovitsa

It also turned out that the friendly barman’s advice about Bulgarian menus was spot-on. Menus at Samokov restaurants were strikingly similar, with some parts, including a section with new creations and specialties such as Markus’ favourite Serbian burger, outright identical. There was, however, some variation in the quality of Shopski-style cheese. Little did Harald know about these peculiarities, as he only joined the team on Sunday evening, spare bindings and nuts in his baggage. Malyovitsa hut was passed again for Malyovitsa peak on Monday, this time under bluebird skies. But strong winds and incoming clouds tainted the descent somewhat. On a second ascend, Sarah and Markus rode an excellent north-facing couloir filled with powder, while Harald, Sebastian and Martin abandoned their attempt to do the same on the wind-affected crust of an adjacent east-facing one.

More Malyovitsa

A striking oddity of this beautiful part of the Rila mountains was that, despite what seemed like two days of snowfall, next to no fresh snow had accumulated on top of the mainly wind packed, or sun affected crust. It would be hard to leave behind Shopski-style cheese and the rest of the Bulgarian culinary delights but, with no further snow on the horizon, it was time to move on. After all, Turkey was a massive country, with massive mountains and a massively excellent cusine.