A decade ago, while filming the “Surprising Bulgaria” show for my TV series, I met Lyuba Boyanin in Sofia. She was assigned to our crew by her country’s tourist board. She and I clicked, and I knew we’d someday work together. (But back then, Bulgaria wasn’t quite ready for prime time as a tour destination.)
Now, for 2010, we’ve added Bulgaria to our tour program, with Lyuba as our guide. It’ll be our worst seller — and that’s fine with me. I love Bulgaria, and it will be fun partnering with an enthusiastic local to introduce travelers to this southeast European enigma.
As a follow-up to the annual tour alum reunion and guides summit we had here in January, I got a thank-you letter from Lyuba, written after she returned home from her first visit to the USA. The wide-eyed enthusiasm of her letter (with all its fun little language quirks) charmed me and reminded me how rewarding it is to work with travelers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Dear Rick,
I am finally back to Sofia and do not believe that everything what was happened was real.
Visit to Edmonds change me a lot — now I am feeling as member of great family. Like the World is different now. Like I am not anymore alone but with so many new “relatives” and friends. Thank you very much for your hospitality and friendship. Everything we did in Edmonds was so interesting and important for me, but the warm relationship make me to feel very comfortable and to be proud to be a member of your team. Hope we will have successful many more new trips to Bulgaria in the near future and our Bulgarian crew will be bigger and bigger soon (maybe one day at least as big as the Turks!).
My visit was very fruitful and good for the work. Now I am familiar with American style of life, habits, breakfast, pizza, McDonalds, restaurants, museums, tours… This will make me a better guide.
And I received a lot of help from colleagues from your office and Rick Steves’ guides. Looks like the baby (our dream that started so long ago to make tours together) has been really born! Thank you so much making my opportunity to be part of your family real. I have not a patience to start the trips to Bulgaria soon.
It will be great if you come here again to make a new show on Bulgaria and its people. This year in August (6-8) we are going to have big authentic folk festival, which is one of the unique festivals of Europe with over 10 000 participants from villages all around Bulgaria.
When you come to visit here we can do American Eve trying to prepare ribs and other food I have tasted in Edmonds. The Rick Steves Cooking book is still missing.
Have a good and successful day and let’s hope this year marks great success for the tours. Think always white not black.
With love and many hugs to you and all the Rick Steves Crew!
Lyuba
Rick and Lyuba, we are so looking forward to visiting Bulgaria with Lyuba in September this year. Reading her letter makes it seem more real. Hopefully we can also provide her with ideas of the Australian way of life as well.
I have never considered or looked at Bulgaria. Maybe you can put more info in your Newletter so that we can see what is there. It may not be you lowest tour after all. Get Bulgaria out there and it is funny how people get so excited over new things.
It might be worth a tour of Bulgaria just to visit Lyuba Boyanin. In Rick’s Bulgaria blog he mentions Bulgaria was not ready for prime time 10 years ago. Those reading his Thursday, 4 February 2010 op-ed about Haiti published in USA Today will realize that primitive place may Never be ready for prime time. Rick’s op-ed made the case for more liberal U.S. trade policies to help Haitians lift themselves by their bootstraps. It was revealing to read reader comments. Some felt that Rick was in effect asking the US to give up jobs to support a population they perceived to be less than deserving. Read Rick’s op-ed and then other readers’ comments to reach your own conclusion. Maybe compassion is at a low ebb right now because of US unemployment and other losses US citizens have suffered because of feckless legislators and financial institutions? Regardless, it’s pretty obvious from the comments we have some people in the US who have no interest in contributing further to the less fortunate. We are sad we have no shoes till we see children with no legs.
I wish I had the vacation time in August to visit Bulgaria during their big festival. Lyuba’s enthusiasm is infectious!
I posted my comment on Facebook but have to repeat here that Lyuba is marvelous. The smile on her face visiting the US and her debut at RS ETBD on Satureday 2/16 was priceless. Great addition to your staff.
Hope the Bulgaria tour does well-the participants will have a great time. Inspired by Rick’s episode several years ago, my wife, my Mom, and I planned a Central European trip in 2005 including Bulgaria. Before leaving the USA, my wife took a ski lesson in Breckenridge from an instructor who works here in the winter and heads home to Bulgaria in the summer. We planned to hook up with him when we arrived. Alas, when I went to board our connecting flight in London to Sofia, I was turned away. My passport had 2 months left before expiring, but Bulgaria required a 90 day window before admitting travelers. I hadn’t verified that beforehand! The check-in crew in London caught it but the USA staff didn’t, and had checked me thru all the way to Sofia. The next open flight wasn’t for 4 days, so we had a serendipitous mini vacation in England while I got a passport extension. That cut our Bulgaria itinerary short and we didn’t hook up with Rumen in his country. Once we reached Sofia, we picked up a rental car, a 12-year old VW with bald tires and an underside panel that scraped the road. The potholes were insidious, but the countryside and people were fabulous. We rented a house thru the Internet from a Brit, who asked if we’d need a real estate advisor. Turns out that the cheap land prices (compared to, say, Southern France) made Bulgaria attractive to Brits looking for second homes or a chance to buy land, build a house cheaply, then sell it for a quick profit. She didn’t understand why anyone would go to Bulgaria on VACATION. We saw several large, out-of-place houses under construction, all with swimming pools that would appeal to ex-pat Brits. We toured Veliko Tarnovo, the old capitol, and many mountain villages. Food was absolutely fresh – probably the finest salads in the world; outstanding yogurt and thick katak. Lots of smoking,though. Breakfast for many Bulgarians is coffee, cola, and a cigarette. If still hungry & needing a bigger buzz, have another cigarette/Coke.
Rick– During World War II, Bulgaria has a proud and unique place. It was the only Jewish population under the Nazis which actually grew (Denmark and Finland also have very proud and moving stories, but for much smaller populations). The story is well document in several books, and on the internet. I hope more people learn and draw inspiration from the heroic stories of the oft-forgotten within the World War II Bulgarian government.
More on the story of the Bulgarian Jews during WWII: http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/b/bulgaria.htm
Being a tour guide myself, one interesting part about the job is to learn from my clients. Communication is both ways. I showed my city and culture while learning about theirs, like how it works in the States or what it is presented in UK… Understand your clients culture and customs really help to make a better guide. A guide can talk in the client’s language (not only the language skills) to better introduce one’s own city in a short time of stay. http://www.OurExplorer.com Travel through the eyes of a local
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I’m from Romania but I never visited Bulgaria before, now with a lot of improvemtents in last years, I plan to go to AlbenaBulgaria. Thanks!