Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Hi there - now you have started me off on a right old story telling session.....

I went to Poiana Brasov - erm - gosh - about 14 years ago I think. It was the first year they had let down the 'Iron Curtain' (I think about 6 months after Ceasescu (excuse probably wrong spelling) had been overthrown) and they were not used to English tourists here much I gather. I stayed in the Hotel Sport. I have rather distant memories of it now but I do generally remember being very taken aback by it all, mainly the 'basicness' of it all

En route to the hotel our coach passed a man lying bleeding in a road (I think his car had veered off the road). They hauled this man on to our coach and laid him in the aisle - bleeding, moaning and groaning - I presumed we would be off to a local hospital. We in fact stopped at a garage (this was in the early hours of the morning) and he was laid out on the forecourt of this deserted, closed garage.....I have always wondered what happened to him..... Anyway that was a traumatic start to the holiday shall we say...

As I said, I stayed in the Sport. I recall the room being quite nice but always remember the turquoise blue plastic toilet seat cover.....funny the things you remember eh! The food was pretty awful - I dared to request a boiled egg one morning as that seemed to be a good option only for it to be served raw - yuck I also remember dining like a 'queen' and having champagne with nearly every meal and returning home to England having only spent about equiv. of £20 in one week and that was after buying souvenirs etc - unreal I don't think it's quite the same there these days.

The skiing was not that good as unfortunately there was very sparse snow cover at the time I went (early Jan) but again that can happen anywhere I guess. I just remember being told to be very careful as you did not want to injure yourself and have to end up in a Romanian hospital Again, I believe that was a sign of the times then because I read the other day about the hospital in Bucharest being a major leader in various treatments.

I took a local bus (now that's another story) into Bucharest one day and again that was quite a shock to me as a Westerner. The shops were bare, there were lots of people suffering in various states of disability and begging for money or help - quite heart rendering.

As I said - all of this was some 13 years ago. I often look up Poiana Brasov on the website to see how it looks as a ski resort now. It seems to have really come on and generally the country (I believe) is in a different position to 13 years ago. The same hotels are there but all refurbished etc.

I did a trip out to the 'Dracula Castle' (Vlad the Impalers former abode I believe ) which was interesting and brought some lovely wood carvings home (little pots and so on).

I recall it being a good holiday but a BIG culture shock. As I said though - that was a long time ago!

I would be interested to hear as to what it is like to go there now - but I am - of course - a dedicated Bulgaria fan now - in particular BANKSO

Sorry to have waffled on.

Cheers

Kim