Vacation above 2000 meters

Diary

day 1–2
- 1: night train (~20 hours)
- Serbia (from train, another ~12 hours)
- 2: Sofia hostel
day 3–7
- Rila
  - track map (together with Pirin)
  - 3: sleeping on a meadow under Musala hut (~2270 m)
  - 4: Granchar hut (~2190 m)
  - 5: Ribni Ezera (~2230 m)
  - 6: above Makedonija hut (~2320 m)
  - 7: camping Predel (~1050 m)
day 8–9
- Pirin
  - track map (together with Rila)
  - 8: Javorov hut (~1750 m)
  - 9: Banderitsa hut (~1800 m)
day 10–11
- 10: bus back (~21 hours)
overall: ~53 hours in vehicles, ~48 hours hiking

medium comfort in Serbian sleeping carriage (with smokers)
very slow (<40 km/h) Serbian railway (and no guarantee on (seat) reservations)
very long waiting on (Schengen area) borders (both directions)
European level hostel in Sofia (Hostel 123, Iskar street)
limited supply of water while climbing Musala
- crazy Bulgarian gifted us a bottle of water
descent is harder than climbing (also depends on tightening the boots)
- down to Makedonija was the worst
- later tried sandals on grassy surfaces
indistinctive/obsoleted marking of the hiking route on descent to Predel
various intensity of sweating + demi/dehy effect on power and strength
Predel
- hut (the janitor doesn’t like Czechs and rejected us)
  - luckily, there’s also a camping
- shop by the road
Koncheto was packed with tourists and slightly dangerous (if one was dizzy or exhausted)
climb to Vichren (from Kutelo saddle, some technical parts with chains (allegedly UIAA.I)
long way back in luxurious bus
- the worst road surface was between Brno and Prague (and Sofia southern ring)
squat toilet (in most huts)
huts are operated either by the national park or Bulgarian hiking club (tension between them)
- recommended: Granchar, Makedonija (food only), camping Predel, Javorov, Banderitsa
- huts to avoid: Musala hut, Ribni ezera, Predel hut

canyon from Serbia to “Bulgaria”
horses
- in cities (workhorses)
- in mountains (wild?)
Musala (highest peak of Balkans)
- up there is cold and windy
landscape with green/brown grass and islands of dwarf pines
many lakes (water systems in mountains?)
picturesque sleeping by lakes above Makedonija
relative sunset (occluded by mountains), brown mist on horizon
sudden change from granite to lime (Rila to Pirin)
descent to Banderitsa hut through a field of large round limestones and grass + chamois
clouds and interesting turbulent streams (Рибни езера)
vast grazings (border of Парангалица) with many cows (including cowpats and abundant flies), we even found a preserved skeleton

seen Visegrad (from train)
Serbian facades (none)
Belgrade looks very poor (just neighborhood of railway station (which is quite small))
- affected by migrating refugees? (Farsi/Arabic labels in park)
Sofia
- compact center
- no river in Sofia
- orthodox church, mosque (open), synagogue (closed)
  - first time in mosque
  - tactile icons
contrast: office buildings with cobble stone roads, housing estates, restaurants, wild dogs and horse-towed carriage
Borovec, Bansko – tourist crowded locations for skiing
everything looks overengineered for much greater load (Musala hut, Granchar,…)
- perhaps used earlier
- camping in Predel
Predel – spring of Ivan the Tshudotvorets
truck loaded with steel rods (looked almost empty but hardly climbed to Predel)

people smoke more in Balkan (cigarette ends even on mountain paths)
contrast of EU/nonEU (nice Sofia arrival)
Bulgarian socioeconomic situation
- 100, 300, 500 (pension, average salary?, good salary??)
  - sorry, I forgot the context
- EUR/month
Bulgarian symbol of lion (church, currency)
not many marks of Turkish influence (cf. Czechia and Austria-Hungary)
buses scaled to traffic (marshrootka?)
meeting Czechs
- experienced Alda
- sharing experience
  - shoes
  - food (travel lunch)
  - maps
  - canyoning
- Czech scouts, German group/tourists
meeting Bulgarians
- silent guide and his band
- talkative attractive ecologist girl
- sisters at Granchar hut
low morale in misty/cold morning + sudden change after clearing the clouds
- it’s actually same in real life
Bulgarian nodding (it’s inverse!)
Predel pronunciation
animals at Javorov hut
- cat, fox, hunter dogs (poacher dogs?)

Big thanks to my friends for the photos.