Author Archives: inasearchofbalance

the unexpected moscow

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  On the way to climbing mount Elbrus, we decided to spend a couple of days in Moscow. My dad lived there back in the late 60s & early 70s so I’d heard plenty of stories from those times, but nowadays the public image of Russia is quite different so it’s hard to make up …

don’t go to iran

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  “… you might just fall in love”. That’s how I thought I’d start this post (inspired by this video) after buying the tickets for my 10 day trip and reading up on this otherwise atypical tourist destination. That’s what my research showed me — that it was a country that took you by surprise, …

not an ordinary morning

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  Back at the end of July we headed to the little town of Kromidovo (near the border with Greece) to celebrate my buddy Metodi’s birthday. It’s a beautiful little village nestled at the foot of the mighty Pirin mountain and offers a nice break from the sometimes crazy Sofia. Not being a drinker, I …

pushing through or climbing elbrus (5,642m)

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  After climbing Kilimanjaro in 2014, the supposedly easiest of the 7 summits, I started thinking about potentially tackling some of the remaining ones. This is a daunting (not to mention costly!) task and I’m not quite sure whether I’ve completely settled on it, but I figured it’s worth trying out Elbrus, which ranks as …

hidden istanbul

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  I’m saddened by the recent political developments in Turkey. Istanbul has always been one of my favorite cities to visit and now I find myself avoiding going through it like I normally would on my way east, as I’m sure many others do. It remains one of the most interesting and vibrant mixes of …

kovachevitsa

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  I realize now I must have pressed “Publish” before completing my post 🙂 Note to self not to write when super tired late in the evening. What I wanted to say is that one way or another each summer I somehow find myself in the Rhodope mountains and often in Kovachevitsa — a small …

never forget your past

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  One of communist Bulgaria’s most famous remnants is the Buzludzha monument, sitting atop the historical namesake peak. The UFO shaped building, opened in 1981, is little more than a ruin nowadays, but it still attracts thousands of people with its unusual architecture, unique location, and the symbol it’s become to how we handle our …