Day 53 - Day in Ruse

Today I relaxed until gone 10am before heading off to explore a little of Ruse. It was a half hour walk to the centre: I had chosen the accommodation location more to do with reducing the distance when I backtrack tomorrow rather than proximity to the city. That half hour was mostly along one long, straight road of low rise socialist housing and it seemed to be surrounded by others just the same.

Just before I reached the centre I passed 'The Pantheon of Revival Heroes', a large white cube of a building with a golden dome. This monument is an ossuary with the remains of famous nationalists who fought for Bulgarian independence. Inside it has clean simple lines and there is an animated video of Bulgaria's history but everything is in Bulgarian so other than noting that there seemed to be a lot of fighting involved in their history I was not really any the wiser.

If the Bulgarians describe Ruse as 'little Vienna' then I think they must have a low opinion of that city. There is a nice central square with cafes and restaurants where I relaxed over coffee and beyond are some streets with some nice architecture. However, some appeared to have had a facelift while others looked badly maintained; the general sense I got of the city centre was a mix of scruffy modern mixed with run-down and refurbished historical. I wandered the streets, saw the river and visited a very ornate Orthodox Cathedral. It was then that the thunder started rolling overhead, four hours earlier than forecast. I decided to miss out on lunch in town and head back before the heavens opened.

Freedom Square

Freedom Square 

Many buildings are in a poor state

I am now back in my accommodation and all I can hear outside is heavy rain and thunder; I am grateful to be in the warm and dry. If I can face the downpour (it looks set in for the evening now) then I will go and do battle with another Cyrillic menu later but for now I can repack in readiness for tomorrow and catch up on those tasks that daily cycling seems to allow to slip through the net.

Sveta Troitsa Cathedral