Clik here to view.
Saturday with Aliosha in Plovdiv
Yesterday we all went for a walk into town and had a good time.Some more graffiti for uncle Howard Gribble:The Plovdiv Spiritual Seminary of Saints Cyril & Methodius (Пловдивска духовна семинария...
View ArticlePlovdiv video
Here's a short video about Plovdiv and the surrounding area. It's in Bulgarian but has English subtitles. Everything it shows in the city of Plovdiv is 5 to 10 minutes' walk from our house! Plovdiv @...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Небет тепе (Nebet Tepe)
It turns out that our house is at the foot of one of Plovdiv's three main hills, Nebet Tepe. From our front door, we walk less then ten minutes up stone paths and stairs ... ... to this: It's hard to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plovdiv miscellany
Here are a few assorted things I've seen here in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, during the past week.A house in suboptimal state of repair:Another Islamic mosque a little off the beaten path (compared to the one...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Asen's Fortress (Асенова крепост)
On Monday, we went with the missionaries to Asenovgrad, a 25-minute train ride from Plovdiv. In the train on the way, we met a nice couple who were delighted with our large family. They were happy to...
View ArticleProtests in Ukraine and Bulgaria
This is sad to see. In Maidan (Independence Square) in Kiev where Phin and I stayed just 4 months ago, violence has broken out. People are protesting the decision of Ukraine's president Viktor...
View ArticleClik here to view.
International Relations
We talk about the European Union as if it were one thing, but it really isn't just one thing. It's a number of overlapping treaties that each affect a different set of countries. Overlay that with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plovdiv Armenian Church of St. George
Just around the other side of the hill Nebet Tepe from our house, about 5 minutes' walk, I came across an Armenian area with a church, a couple of schools, and an Armenian holocaust memorial.The church...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thanksgiving in Plovdiv
We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner made mostly by Erin, and Jacob made rolls from scratch. We had mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken, gravy, stuffing, rolls, and water. For dessert we had apple...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another week in Plovdiv
Mira made her own mock MP3 player, headphones, and charger out of cardboard, tape, and yarn:On Wednesday the whole family went to see the new Thor movie in 3D at a movie theater. The audio was in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cold Plovdiv days with some sun
The days have gotten colder here. One day we had "freezing fog", which felt just like you'd expect. We bundle up with scarves and sometimes gloves. But when the sun's out for an hour here and there,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Graffiti on Taksim Tepe (Таксим тепе)
For my Uncle Howard, here are pictures of some of the plentiful graffiti in and on the long-abandoned building on top of one of Plovdiv's main hills, Taksim Tepe. The building looks like it might have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Our Christmas in Bulgaria
Even under normal circumstances, I don't decorate a ton for Christmas. I love other people's well-decorated houses and trees at Christmas time, but I haven't ever put in the time or money to do...
View ArticleEpiphany in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
According to the internet, Monday was Epiphany, which in Eastern Christian churches celebrates Jesus' baptism. In Bulgaria, the Orthodox church has a special service next to a river or lake. A priest...
View ArticleNew Year's Eve!
Yep, I'm late putting this up. We're already a week into 2014! But better late than never, I guess. Everyone told us that Bulgarians go all out on New Year's Eve and that it's a bigger holiday than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plovdiv's Roman Theater
Get ready for pictures! Yesterday the sun was visible for the first time in a long time, so we got ourselves out of the house for a while. Our intention was to go to a museum with an original Roman...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plovdiv street sights
Here are a few things we've seen in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, over the past couple of weeks.Two cats keeping warm in a cardboard box with some food provided by the people at this pastry shop:Huge McDonald's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Our Weekend In Sofia
We spent the first weekend (3rd and 4th) of 2014 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Usually I'm not one to take pictures, but I thought that I owed it to everyone else to share my amazing photography...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sunny January Plovdiv panoramas
Yesterday was an amazingly beautiful sunny day here in Plovdiv. Not typical for January. The skies are also much clearer than usual — no smoke or haze. I took a few panoramic photos with my mobile...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plovdiv Pet Cemetery
Today I visited the Рогошки гробища (Пловдив), a cemetery on the northeastern edge of Plovdiv. It's a large cemetery, with graves mostly from the past 50 years from what I saw.I was surprised to find...
View Article