A while ago, I wrote on here about being sick and traveling. Since then and for about a year and a half, I have been lucky to have problem-free trips and stress-free travel.
However, on my latest trip to Bulgaria, I was out having a coffee and planning my next move when my phone shut off. Weird, I thought, because the battery was nowhere near dead–it was actually charging from an external battery. I waited a few minutes, trying to turn it on, becoming more and more frantic as the minutes passed and nothing happened.
Backstory: I had a 5C iPhone, which I realize is really old. So when my phone refused to turn on, I feared the worst had happened. Now that I can recount this story with a smile, I will give you a comparison: you know those nightmares you have when you are running and running to try to get somewhere, but not moving at all? Yeah, it felt like that.
I asked someone if there was an iPhone store nearby, and they directed me to a shop on the main pedestrian street, about 10 minutes away. It was 8:30p.m. by this time, and I knew the store would be closing soon. Off I rushed, only to find that the store had closed at 8p.m. I went into a different store to ask if there were any other stores nearby, and the guy told me that there was a resell shop (there are actually only resell shops in Bulgaria) in a mall, but I would have to take a taxi, as of course, everything was closing soon. I jumped into the next cab I saw and by 8:55p.m., was rushing through a 4-story mall trying to find the Apple resell shop. Hence the nightmare where you’re running but not moving.
As the door was closing, I stuck my head under and, near tears, asked the man if he could help me. I can only imagine what he was thinking. Long story short, he got it to turn back on but with the warning that it could happen again. So after having my phone back, I went to an electronics store and bought a cheap digital camera (what year are we in?) to take pictures with in the case that my phone died again. Which of course it did, and this time, I had to face the facts and I bought a new phone.
Telling this now, it seems much less stressful than it actually was. I was in a country where I had never been before, where I didn’t speak the language–and couldn’t even begin to understand it (not only does Bulgarian use the Cyrillic alphabet, they shake their heads to mean yes and nod to mean no; one of the only countries in the world to do so…think about that for a second), and I was alone. For me, a phone was not a luxury, it was a necessity.
All in all, I probably spent half a day getting everything sorted out, which really isn’t that much time at all, and I still managed to enjoy myself for the large majority of my time in Bulgaria. Which is my main advice to anyone who finds themselves in a stressful situation that they didn’t plan for: take a breath, figure it out, and go from there. Someday it will be a (funny?) story you tell to your friends, and you will realize that it has only made you stronger and more capable to deal with anything that comes your way. That’s what it for me, anyways.
Now here’s the best part, photos from my old phone AND my new digital camera 😉
My first day I spent completely in Sofia, which is a beautiful city nestled in the Balkans, as all of the sites I saw were. I stayed directly in front of the Sofia Synagogue and Central Market, and also saw the History of Sofia Museum, several churches and mosques (including the Russian Church and the Orthodox cathedral), a statue to the goddess of wisdom (my favorite thing about Sofia!), and of course the National Art Gallery and Ethnographic Museum. Pictures below.
My second day, armed with my now-turned-on-phone and my new digital camera, I went to Rila Monastery, now my favorite place that I saw in Bulgaria. Nestled high in the mountains, it was such a peaceful place (no cell coverage) and was breathtakingly beautiful, with paintings on nearly every surface.
On my third day in Bulgaria, I took another day trip to Plovdiv, the second-largest city in Bulgaria and chosen as Europe’s capital of culture for 2019. The guided tour was too short and I wish I could have spent more time there, because it is a wonderful city with many sites to see, including an old Roman amphitheater, a Roman stadium, an art gallery, and of course churches and mosques. The city also features 7 small hills, called tepes, from which you can get a good view of the city.
All in all, I had an amazing time–I always do. Although I stressed and had my freak out in the moment, the ability to move on and enjoy yourself in spite of the stress is key. In a few days I’ll write about the second half of my trip, which was definitely less stressful, but equally enjoyable. Until then!