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| Stara Zagora Train Station |
STARA ZAGORA "Why are you here?" is the most frequently asked question followed by, "Tourists don't generally come here." - no guided tours, no tourists shops, but people eager to talk. Stepping out of the hotel, a man with his two kids quickly approached us and in good English, "Is there anything I can help you with?" Seeing that we weren't sure why he would be volunteering his services, added, "My wife works at the hotel and told me you were here." The man had returned to Stara Zagora, his home town, after living in Houston, TX, for seven years and seemed excited by the opportunity to talk to a couple of Americans. A retired woman sharing our compartment on the train, after twenty-two years of living in the Queens, had just moved back to Bulgaria. "It's not as expensive here," she said. She too was surprised that we had picked Bulgaria to visit. Actually, when we got off the train, faced with a desolate and delapitated train station, I wondered what the heck had we gotten ourselves into and was glad that Nick was with me - no hotels or signs of a city or old town to invite us, just a park across the street and a few buildings on the train side of the street. A clerk in a fast food joint next to the station gave us the names of the "best" two hotels in town and for $2,50 a cab driver took us there, where, to our surprise, we found a very nice three-star hotel with wifi, breakfast, air-conditioning. There was no old town but we were in the downtown area, from which we could comfortably stroll the pedestrian walkway - a relaxed friendly atmosphere prevailed. It wasn't such a desolate place afterall.
