Rila Monastery – Рилски манастир

I talked about hiking the Rila Seven Lakes in an earlier post. You can find that here. Our group was supposed to be off the mountains and meet the van by 3:00 for the second half of the tour, a trip to the ancient Rila Monastery. Jake and I made it down the mountain and even though we had gotten a bit lost a few times, we miraculously still had some extra time, so we opted to grab a beer for a successful trip up and down the mountain. Out of all the decisions we made that day, going for a beer may have been the worst. This was my first Bulgarian beer, and well, it was pretty rough I must say. Maybe it was the empty stomach. Maybe it was fatigue. All I know is that the Pirinsko beer just did not hit the spot. Neither Jake nor I were able to finish the can and dumped them before we hit the chairlift to the van.

We made it to the van at about 3:15 and our driver, the infamous Vlad, was not impressed. Well, I assumed he wasn’t too happy with our tardiness. He looked a bit unhappy, but maybe that is just the way he looks all the time. One thing for sure, I knew Vlad would do his best to make up the lost time by tearing up the roads.

Vlad didn’t disappoint. Passing on blind curves seems to be his specialty. Once again, I was tossed around in my seat as I tried to catch a few zees on the way to the monastery. At one point I decided it was about time to fasten the seat belt and to my dismay, there was something wrong with the seat belt. Something was jammed up somewhere and I could not fasten the damn thing. Just my luck. Why do I always choose the wrong seat? Well, I’m in your hands now karma.

We made it to the monastery in record time. I’m convinced that Vlad probably times trips and tries to beat his previous best time. I’m willing to bet that if this wasn’t a personal best, it was damn close.

To be honest, I didn’t know that the monastery was part of the tour so I didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The monastery, which dates back to the 10th century, is nestled deep in the valley of the Rilska River in the Rila mountains. The ornate frescos and the black and white striped main church are a feast for the eyes. The monastery is still active and there are about 60 monks there today.

If you do ever make it to the monastery, you have to give the donuts a try. We were told all about them at the morning briefing and they were highly recommended. Now I’m not going to say that they are the greatest donuts in the world, but they are cheap and tasty, so give them a try.

At 6:00 Vlad told us to get back in the van. Here we go again. I was expecting more terror on the roads on our way back to Sofia, but I was pleasantly surprised and relieved. Vlad actually drove like he was hauling around a bunch of paying customers instead of chickens to the slaughterhouse.

Now that I am home and can reflect on all of my trips during my time in Europe, I have to say that day was probably my favorite. I had a lot of great days during my travels, but the beauty of the Rila Mountains left a strong impression on me. What a great day.