Crashing an Album Release Party in Bulgaria

As I have already written about, this summer I am spending this summer in Romania working in a summer camp. Whilst being here there have been very few restrictions regarding COVID; in the cities you only must wear a mask in shops and public transport, whilst on the camp itself it feels like the pandemic is a distant memory - at least until one reads the news.

Getting to Romania was another matter however. With the Romanian government adding the UK to their red list due to the Delta variant, it was required for all non-Romanian travellers from the UK to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival. As a result of this, I was told that I could still come to Romania and be supported through the quarantine by Cool Camp, and begin working later in the summer.

Whilst some people may have resigned to their fate - or even enjoyed the idea of 10 days all inclusive in a hotel in the Romanian mountains - I knew I would struggle to stay sane and quickly found an alternative option.

I was visiting friends in London at the time and discovered that if I were to fly to Bulgaria and stay for two weeks, I could then cross the border into Romania with no quarantine requirement. To begin working on schedule, all I needed was a rapid antigen test and to be in Bulgaria within two days. Consequently, with just the bag I had with me and many cancelled plans, I found myself with two weeks to kill in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is a wonderful country which I have visited once before two years ago. Then I saw a lot of the highlights: from the historic city of Plovdiv (the oldest continuously settled city in Europe and with a still functioning Roman theatre), the majesty of the Rila Mountains, and the vibrant atmosphere of the coast.

This time I was here more out of necessity and consequently saw less, instead choosing to work and study remotely. Two of the three places I visited - Sofia and Varna - I had already been to; the other was new, and turned out to be a highlight of my time in Bulgaria.

Veliko Tarnovo is a small town in the centre of Bulgaria, a collection of picturesque buildings in the traditional Bulgarian style surrounding a large valley that runs through the town. Beyond the architecture one can also find an impressive fortress and a fair selection of museums. However, as ever, I do not intend to write about the attractions, instead about some of the people I met during my four day stay there.

First, I must mention Christina, who was a volunteer at the hostel I was staying at. Christina is from Uruguay and in her sixties. She has spent much of the past decade solo travelling around the world whilst volunteering and working in many different capacities. Whilst simply a lovely and chatty person (perfect for an empty hostel in COVID times), her story is also a very interesting one. In fact she has even written a book about her adventures (Backpacking - My Style) - which I am currently reading through - and I suggest you check out her Instagram (@grandmaswanderlust).

During my time in Bulgaria, Euro 2020/2021 began and was my main source of entertainment for much of the fortnight spent there. Football - despite the many negative traits it can bring out in people - is still a wonderful device for bringing people together. Countless times I have walked into a bar alone to watch a match and been talking within minutes to fellow supporters. As a traveller it is often the easiest way to find company outside of a hostel environment.

Here was no different. Having found a bar showing the match I made myself comfortable. There were only two other groups in the small bar: one was the middle-aged owner and his friends who spoke no English; the others I was invited to join very quickly. I watched the match with Georgi and two friends, all of whom were artists. Both the match and the conversation was entertaining and I got their numbers before leaving with promises to watch more matches together in the coming days.

That moment was to arrive two days later, with France playing Germany in a much-anticipated match. Myself and Steeven (a friend from the hostel from France) met Georgi and some friends at a nearby bar. The match itself was an entertaining but not particularly memorable one and the real excitement was to follow.

Throughout the match more and more of Georgi's friends had arrived and by full time there was a decent crowd of ten or so people. Georgi himself is an artist and as is so often the case, many of his friends were also creative and interesting people too.

As it turned out, one of those friends was in fact a musician and that very night his first album was being released on Spotify (you can find his album here). What started as some drinks with the football had turned into an album release party. With Steven gone I found myself drinking with a crowd of Bulgarian musicians and creatives in what was a wonderfully sociable and friendly atmosphere.

There was one brief drag on that atmosphere that is worth mentioning. One guy from the US had also been in the bar and we invited him to join us, much to our instant regret. I don't know whether it was due to drunkenness or just his normal personality, but our new addition to the group was not pleasant.

Most memorably for me, midway through a conversation he stopped to whisper in my ear that he was 'going to punch me in the testicles' before immediately returning to the same, menial small talk. Luckily Georgi knew the owners of the bar and quickly told them that 'if you don't kick this guy out, then I will.' They quickly complied.

We drank into the early hours and by around 3am, with the bar running low on supplies of alcohol the night was called to an end. In the small, quiet town of Tarnava I expected to spend my time either bored or relaxing in its peaceful tranquility. Instead I met a whole crowd of interesting and exciting people, and I thank them for being so welcoming to me.

Posted: 15/08/2021
Written by: Tom Taylor (@tomtayloor)