Monthly Archives: February 2022
remembrance
This post is about a 21km walk from Lyubimets to Harmanli. It’s cold and grey, and there are a few reminders of the finitude of existence. I woke up to the sound of rain on a tin roof. Beautiful. I lay there, listening to it, then I drifted back into sleep. I dreamt of snow […]
really a prison
This post is about a 17km walk from Svilengrad to Lyubimets. I cross a historical Turkish bridge and see my first refugee camp. And then I walked. It was a warm day, and I took off my hat and my gloves and opened my jacket. I crossed the historical Old Bridge in the center of […]
hornyphon
This post is about a Hornyphon Prinzess in Svilengrad. It keeps me company while I’m having some very good Bulgarian food. Another day of rest. I left the hotel and walked around for a little bit. Found an ATM and got some Bulgarian money. The exchange rate of Lev and Euro was about two to […]
the Grand Corona
This post is about a painful day of rest in the former Grand Corona Hotel in Svilengrad. The Grand Corona Casino is right next door. I woke up late, and when I did, I confusedly remembered a scene from the border crossing the night before. my turn It had happened in the Bulgarian part of […]
no kalimera, no kalispera, and no kalinixta
This post is about a 47km walk from Edirne to Svilengrad. I fail to enter Greece and decide to walk directly into Bulgaria instead. Greece, Hellas, the cradle of Europe. Homer and Alexander, Socrates, Aristotle, and Rotting Christ. It sounded like a promise. I had been pondering over the map for months and years, and […]
and here’s to you, Turkey
This post is about a toast in Punto Shot Bar Pizza in Edirne. It’s also about a visit to the Grand Synagogue, and about cats. I wanted to say goodbye to Turkey today. It had taken me a long time to walk from its eastern end to the west, from Hopa on the border with […]
soup kitchen
This post is about a day spent at the Complex of Sultan Bayezid II in Edirne. We also visit the Selimiye Mosque, but it’s under renovation. This morning I took a taxi across town to have breakfast with a family I had met the day before. They had spent a long time in Germany, and […]
mosques and horror
This post is about a 13km walk within Edirne. I visit a bunch of beautiful mosques and see something disturbing. Today was going to be easy. I wanted to walk from the southeastern edge of Edirne to its northwest, to a location that was in the old town and a bit closer to the border. […]