We’ll begin the day with an immersive walking tour of the Bulgarian capital, from Roman ruins and fourth-century churches to impressive works of modern architecture. We’ll admire imposing monuments to the Soviet Army, and learn about Sofia’s numerous communist-era heritage sites and the precarious status they find themselves in today. After lunch we’ll visit the Museum of Socialist Art to explore some of the statues and monuments salvaged from scrapyards around the country. The museum houses Bulgaria’s last Lenins, along with an extensive collection of political artwork and paintings. Walking back to the city center, we’ll stroll through Sofia’s "Borisova Gradina" park, taking in sights including the Russian Embassy and Hotel Moskva, the Astronomical Observatory, and the Fraternal Barrow: a Socialist-realist memorial complex that watches solemnly over the park. Finally, we’ll head to a unique communism-themed restaurant for dinner and drinks. 

Our day starts at the Banner of Peace memorial complex, where we’ll ring the ornamental bells that hang from this uniquely Brutalist monument. The bells were each donated by different nations, and we’ll spot a few from places that no longer exist, including the USSR, Yugoslavia, and the GDR (East Germany). Driving into the foothills of the Balkan Mountains, we’ll stop at the town of Koprivshtitsa to learn about a local revolutionary hero and to sample a local culinary specialty. In the afternoon, at the highest elevation on our trip, we’ll find the Arch of Liberty, a massive monument situated at an altitude of 1,520 meters (4,986 feet) in the Beklemeto Pass. Later we’ll reach Troyan, a town famed for its fine wines and brandy. After settling in at our luxurious hotel here, we’ll meet a Bulgarian sommelier for a curated wine tasting session.

Stopping at a couple of interesting monuments along the way, we’ll drive to Bulgaria’s medieval capital: Veliko Târnovo. Veliko Târnovo is easily one of the most beautiful cities anywhere in the Balkans. Here, we’ll  learn about the resilience of the Bulgarian Orthodox faith as we explore the Preobrazhenski Monastery. The monastery, established in the 11th century, is still standing in spite of both religious persecution and dramatic landslides. After a tasty lunch you’ll have some free time to explore the Old Town area with its flea markets, craft workshops, and the historic Tsarevets Fortress. We’ll meet back up for dinner with a breathtaking view over the river valley. Afterwards, we can retire to our hotel: a wonderfully bizarre work of abstract Modernist architecture.

After breakfast, we’ll drive to Shumen and visit the Monument to the Founders of the Bulgarian State. Prepare to be blown away by the sheer size and intensity of this unique, cubist memorial complex, which sits on a plateau overlooking the city. For lunch we’ll drop in at their local cultural center for a traditional Armenian feast. (You’ll find that this region is home to a sizable Armenian community.) Afterwards, aiming for the Black Sea, we’ll head east to Varna and visit the imposing Monument to the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship. After checking into our hotel for the night, we take a walk down to the beach and finish the day with cocktails and a seafood dinner at the waterfront.

This morning is yours to sleep in, wander, or relax. Feel free to explore the city, see the Roman baths, visit the museum and see the oldest gold jewelry in the world, or simply unwind on the beach. You’ll also be provided with a map, detailing some of Varna’s architectural highlights. We’ll reconvene for a Turkish lunch; Bulgaria has a long and complicated relationship with neighboring Turkey, something that manifests not just in culture and politics but also in food. After lunch, we’ll hit the road again, traveling south along the Black Sea coast. We’ll stop at the Burgas Aviation Museum for a hands-on investigation with some of the retired craft of the Bulgarian Air Force. Arriving in the sleepy port city of Burgas, we’ll investigate a number of unusual communist-era memorial sites—before finding our cozy hotel, freshening up, then heading out for a group dinner.

Saturday is our busiest day, featuring some of the largest memorial sites you’ll see this week. Our first stop will be the Monument to the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship, which shares the same name as the one in Varna. This one exists as a concrete obelisk situated on a hilltop near the city of Yambol. Heading west, we’ll stop again at the impressive "Defenders of Stara Zagora" memorial complex, which commemorates the sacrifice of the Russian and Bulgarian soldiers who fought here during one of the bloodiest battles of the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War. Lunch today is a rustic meal at a rural watering hole, an old-style mehana complete with folk instruments, taxidermy, and framed portraits of communist leaders. Ascending the mountain in the afternoon, we’ll visit the Buzludzha Memorial House: a remarkable concrete structure designed in the shape of a flying saucer, once a lavish memorial museum but now left abandoned to the elements. We’ll discuss the complex history of the monument, the reasons for its current decline, as well as learn about new developments towards a potential preservation plan. At the end of a day packed with striking sights, we’ll arrive in Plovdiv, where we’ll settle into our comfortable hotel for dinner and a well-earned drink.

Plovdiv is one of the oldest cities in Europe, with a history dating back 5,000 years. Exploring the city, we’ll see everything from Roman ruins to contemporary street art. Upon departing, we’ll stop to investigate the Fraternal Barrow memorial complex: a huge Brutalist structure that commemorates the local soldiers lost in Bulgaria’s wars for independence. Though the monument has been largely abandoned since the fall of the communist regime, it was cleaned just recently for its upcoming appearance in a Hollywood blockbuster. Continuing to Perushtitsa, on the edge of the Rhodope Mountains that separate Bulgaria from Greece, we’ll see the Monument to the Three Generations: a beautiful stone crypt overlooking the plains. Traveling deeper into the mountain range we’ll visit Batak, the site of a terrible massacre in 1876. We’ll walk up to the monument overlooking the town, as well as visit the church that contains the preserved bones of massacre victims, as we learn about this difficult chapter in the history of Bulgaria. After that we’ll return to Sofia, stopping at one more site along the way, to share a final farewell dinner in the capital.

This morning, we’ll bid our farewells and begin our journeys home. One last breakfast at the hotel is included, and your guides will be on hand to help recommend transport routes or provide you with suggestions for extra things to see and do in Sofia, if you have more time. Until the next adventure!