Kutrubes Travel planned an exquisitely complicated tour for me through “eastern” Europe, helping me to make the most of seeing the highlights of these countries in the most meaningful way, without just zipping through.
In 2015, I started out in Romania, flew to Bulgaria, then drove through Serbia, next to Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Boznia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, and ending in Venice, Italy.
You’ll see me in pictures above and below next to lion statues, and they’re all over Bulgaria. Lions are an important animal to Bulgarians. According to Vagabond: “A symbol of bravery, the lion was featured on the Bulgarian coat-of-arms, pieces of jewellery and the clothes of aristocrats as early as the 13th century. Curiously, the animal was cemented as a part of Bulgarian heraldry after the country fell under the Ottomans. When the Bulgarians started their movement for national independence, the lion became not only a symbol of bravery and strength, but also of freedom.”
