[Apr. 2022] After visiting Bachkovo Monastery in Bulgaria, we had a light lunch at one of the cafeterias along the approach.
The name is Bistro Abdera.
The reason I chose this one among the cafeterias along the road was that the red tablecloth was inviting.
Since Bachkovo Monastery is a famous tourist destination in Bulgaria, I thought that they were accustomed to foreign tourists, but that was not the case at all, and we could hardly communicate.
Most of the tourists who visit here are probably groups, and they come and leave by tour bus, so they may not stop at the cafeteria along the approach.
There were some pictures on the menu, so we made choices by intuition.
I chose something called “Kebapchi”.
I thought it was like a kebab, but what came out was a sausage with a strong Middle Eastern spice.
I could just about put up with this taste.
When you think about it, the name of this cafeteria, “Abdera”, sounds like Middle Eastern.
My husband ordered “Tatarsco Kofta” (probably meaning “Tatar-style hamburger”), and it was something that cheese was sandwiched between hamburgers with the same taste as mine.
On top of them, Shopska salad, a round fried bread-like thing called Palenka, and two bottles of local beer, totalling 17 Lev (about 8.70 Euros).
It wasn’t particularly delicious, but the outdoor environment was interesting under the clear sky, and I think it was a simple and good lunch.
However, it was difficult after that.
From the time we got here, we were worried about the return bus as we could not find any information.
When we asked the person in this cafeteria about the bus time to Plovdiv, all we found was “one per hour”.
There was no timetable, but there was a point that seemed to be a bus stop, so we waited for a little over an hour there.
In the meantime, a young beggar approached us, and my husband was tanned and turned red because the sun was shining brightly, which was an unpleasant time.
We started waiting around 2:45 pm, and after an hour when I started thinking about alternatives, a phantom-like bus appeared.
When we came over here from Plovdiv, it was a minibus, but this time it was a decent large bus, and the destination was Sofia.
It was almost full, but we could manage to find seats for my husband and myself.
If the end is good, everything is good.
We were relieved to be able to return by bus as planned, but those who go to Bachkovo Monastery individually should be prepared.
