To visit after the TSU

Tsarevets is a mediaeval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and is a popular tourist attraction

At night, when tour groups shell out the bucks, an extravagant 'sound and light show' illuminates the citadel (and town). Locals love it, and watch from all over town for free.

Koprivshtitsa is a historic town, which was one of the centres of the April Uprising in 1876 and is known for its authentic Bulgarian architecture and for its folk music festivals, making it a very popular tourist destination.

Rozhen Monastery - this hilltop monastery was originally built in 1217, but most of what remains was redone in the mid-18th century. It's an atmospheric place, with woodcarvings and a mural-filled church. It's an inspiring reward if you've hit the hiking trail that leads for several kilometres between Melnik and this site.

Rila Mountains - the highest mountain range of Bulgaria and the Balkans, with its highest peak being Musala at 2,925 m. The massif is also the sixth highest mountain in Europe (when each mountain is represented by its highest peak only), coming after the Caucasus, the Alps, Sierra Nevada, the Pyrenees and Mount Etna, and the highest between the Alps and the Caucasus. The larger part of the mountain is occupied by the Rila National Park.

Ruse is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of 170 000. Ruse is situated in the North-eastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube River, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu. It is situated 300 km from Sofia and 200 km from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is the most significant Bulgarian river port, known also as “Little Vienna”, because of its architecture. The city is particularly famous for its Neo-Baroque and Neo-Rococo architecture. Other places of interest are the National Transport Museum, the Battenberg Palace (built in 1892, which now hosts the Ruse Regional Historical Museum), the Pantheon of National Revival Heroes, the Kaliopa House (a museum depicting the old urban lifestyle), the Dohodno Zdanie (an old theatre and one of the most beautiful buildings), the Monument of Liberty (built 1908–1911), the Ruse TV Tower (the tallest TV tower in Bulgaria and one of the tallest buildings on the Balkan Peninsula), the St.Trinity church, the Catholic church. After the opening of the Rhein - Main - Danube canal which covers 3,500 km and connects thirteen European countries with the Middle and Far East via the Black Sea, the river becomes the longest inland waterway on the planet!

The true "home" of meat

In Seerbia it could have many words for the dishes but the most important for sure would be "pleskavitza". This marvelous meat magic would make your stay unforgetable for sure. It is the bigger sister of the Bulgarian "kjufte" but we are not competing....but just eating.

Bulgarian food does not particularly differ from the traditional European cuisine. The basic food products of the traditional Bulgarian cuisine are beans, sour and fresh milk, cheese, tomatoes, paprika, potatoes, onions, apples, water-melons, and grapes. Food products can be purchased in all food stores and supermarkets, as well as on the direct producer-consumer market. Cooked food is served in catering establishments, pizza stands and restaurants, the prices depending on the category of the catering establishment. The most frequent meat specialities are kebapcheta (minced-meat rolls) and kyufteta (meatballs), shish kebab (grilled meat) on skewers, steaks, and loukanka (salami); tarator (cold summer soup), cheese a la Shopski, breaded yellow cheese, beans soup cooked in a monastery manner, banitsa (sheeted pastry with cheese), paprika stuffed with eggs and cheese, Russian salad, aubergine puree, Shopska salad and caramel custard - of the meatless dishes. Bulgarian sour milk is worldwide famous – cow’s milk, sheep’s milk and buffalo-cow’s milk – all of various taste and cream content. A breakfast in an ordinary restaurant costs about 3 Leva, a dinner - 8 Leva, and supper - around 10 Leva. Alcoholic drinks are on sale in most food shops, and in numerous specialised pubs. Bulgarian wines are famed for their exceptional quality; indeed, Bulgaria is one of the world’s major wine exporters. The price of one bottle of 0.75 litres of good dry wine varies between 3 and 5 Leva. Alcoholic concentrate traditional for Bulgaria is called rakiya. The price of a 0.5-litre bottle varies between 3 Leva and 15 Leva, depending on the quality of the product, the manufacturing technology and the region of origin.

The new world of the Balkans....

Once you survive to cross the Bulgarian borded BE AWARE that:

§ Be aware when people say YES (shake) and NO (nod) – most of the people do it like that !!!!!!!!!!!!!

§ Be aware of thieves, pick-pocketers; never leave you stuff out of sight, especially in public places such as transport, parks, bars and discos; don’t leave open any doors or windows of your dormitory when you are out.
§ Be careful with taxis – check the tariff on the windshield or on the back doors – should be around 0,59 lv daily and 0,79 lv night.
§ There ARE bed sheets in the rooms.
§ Have some small change when you arrive or be prepared to withdraw from an ATM or change at a bank or bureau cause you’ll need it for the transportation. Better at a Bank.
§ You can prepare a presentation about your country/university/town/interests which you’ll present here.
§ One ticket costs 1 lev for one journey and one transport. You can buy it from a kiosk or from the driver/ sometimes they don’t have or if they do you have to give them exact amount -1 lv/ or in trams there is a machine. Always validate your ticket otherwise if control comes they’ll give you a fine. To validate your ticket you have to put it inside the rectangular orange/metal machine/or a yellow validator in trams/ and punch the ticket out and make holes in it!
§ 1 euro=1,95583 leva
§ Be careful when crossing the streets as a pedestrian even the traffic lights for you are green and you are standing on a zebra.

§ When you change money always know - buy - 1 euro= 1,95583 lv – no less! And it’s better to go to a bank or to a recommended change.

§ Emergency phone number – 112 – police, ambulance, fire brigade, everything.

§ Country code here is +359 and city code - 02

TSU Catch The Balkan Rhythm 2012

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Most of the dances start with one-two-three. Not if you are on the Balkans. Here we dance on 7/8 and on 15/16. Are you curious how? Come and experience with the amazing Travelling Summer University "Catch the Balkan Rhythm" that will show you the unique "kafana movements" combined with mystical kolo steps. Or just will lead you through amazing mountains, lakes and seaside of Serbia and Bulgaria.

This summer, AEGEE-Novi Sad, AEGEE-Niš and AEGEE-Sofia are inviting you to join in this fantastically loud, dancing, shaking event - a Balkan Wedding! The Groom from Novi Sad will go through Beograd and Niš in order to take his bride from Sofia. All of you are invited to the honeymoon at the seaside, in Varna. Follow their dancesteps or if you don’t know how – we will show you. Become one of the 35 members of this big, loud AEGEE family that will explore the Balkan cultures. You will get the chance to taste famous Balkan food and drink even more famous rakia. See how we, the Balkans, raise a toast, how we make a party, catch our rhythm and check out why is the Balkan energy so famous. Don't miss the craziest, the biggest, the loudest AEGEE wedding journey!

APPLY NOW on www.aegee.org/su