10 Day You Challenge

I stumbled across this 10 Day You Challenge through Daily Visual Inspiration and decided to give it a shot. I am usually not much for talking a lot about myself so this will be the perfect opportunity to open up more.

10. My house is my domain; I have a hard time letting people into my own little nest unless I really know and trust you very well. Definitely trying to work on this!

9. I am a bit of a Conspiracy Theorist; and like to get to the bottom of things. You could call me a detective of some sorts. It’s very hard to keep secrets from me.

8. Nature is my drug of choice; without it I feel very confined and depressed. I need to have it close at all times. Which is one of the reasons I am moving to Bulgaria!

7. Even though I am Dutch, I don’t feel Dutch at all. The Netherlands is the last place on earth where’d I’d want to be.

6. Love LOVE videogames, especially RPG. But even though I love them, I very rarely finish them! I recently finished 3 games though (big grin).

5. Feel like I don’t belong in this day and age or planet for that matter. Constantly looking for that je ne sais quoi.

4. I really want to have my own huge salt water aquarium, but then I also want about 10 Sammies (dog breed) to go sledding and skijoring with.

3. I am an extremely private and complicated person. It takes me a very long time to open up and just because I act happy doesn’t mean I am.

2. Every now and again I need to retreat and not have anybody around me for a very long time.

1. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing in this life! 😉

It’s coming down to it… :)

So..the last night already in this cosy, beautiful apartment here in Cork, Ireland. I am not going to lie when I say I will miss it dearly, but I am not the kind of person to stay in one place. Unfortunately for my loved ones that means that they have to endure my restlessness and wanderlust when it arises (usually after 6 months the itching starts).

Either way, Cork has been such a great experience. The people are awesome, the city itself has great charm and is unique in it’s authenticity. So I am hoping that Veliko Tarnovo will have at least 1/3rd of that. I’ve met some pretty wonderful people, who will be in my heart forever.

This time packing wasn’t nearly as stressful as the times before, probably because I started about a week early haha. Sending things over beforehand was a big help as well.
Bulgaria, here we come. A little (okay not gonna lie, A LOT) nervous, sweaty palms, upset stomache but at the same time extremely excited! Not knowing the language is going to be quite the hurdle and it’s where most of the nerves come from. That and never been to the country before…well it’s all a little overwhelming.

That being said, I feel like this is going to be one of the biggest changes in my life. It’s hard to explain but it’s a gut-feeling I get.. and my instincts usually are quite dead-on.
I am lucky to be undertaking this adventure with the person I love the most in this world, without her it would be just be pointless.

Anyways, I’ll be spending the night at Dublin Airport tomorrow as we are on separate flights (she flies tomorrow-night, and I the morning after), don’t ask. I always enjoy and dread overnighting at an airport at the same time; just me and my laptop, kindle, mp3 and a quiet terminal, there’s just something about it. I won’t be able to sleep much but that’s okay. I am sure I’ll make up for it plenty on the plane ride.

This change couldn’t come at a more opportune time; I lost my dog who I had the most crazy bond with and even though people will probably laugh at me, it helped spiral me into a depression. That dog was the most awesome, happiest dog in this world. But things happen for a reason and I trust that things will work out. They always have :).

Thanks for reading and catch you on the flip-side ;)!

Велико Търново a.k.a. Veliko Tarnovo

Well since Veliko Turnovo is going to be the place to call home for hopefully some time to come, I thought I would post about it. From what I have read and seen, it comes across as the perfect place for me at this stage in my life. It’s beautiful and dramatic.

Велико Търново a.k.a. Veliko Tarnovo is situated in Central Bulgaria and is the country’s former capital city (Second Bulgarian Empire). It is one of the oldest settlements in Bulgaria and is known also as the ‘City of the Tsars’. Until 1965 the name of the town was Tarnovo, and this is still the common name. The old city is situated on three hills, Tsarevetz, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora raising amidst the meanders of the Yantra.  Tsarevets housed the palaces of the Bulgarian Emperors and the Patriarchate with the Patriarchal Cathedral, as well as a number of administrative and residential edifices surrounded by thick walls.  Trapezitsa was known for its many churches and as the main residence of the nobility. In the Middle Ages it was among the main European centres of culture and gave its name to the architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School, painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School and literature.

So there is a lot of history and culture there, two things I definitely am into. Combine that with stunning nature surrounding the city and I am sold.

Initially I was offered by my employer to either live and work in Sofia OR Veliko Tarnovo, needless to say the choice wasn’t that hard for me to make. I am very much a nature-lover and only moderately like big cities. Being a country-boy by heart I just couldn’t bring myself to live in such a place again. After having moved around a lot already in my life, I am really hoping to settle down. Bulgaria might just be it for me and my fiancee. Neither of us speaks the language but we have already started in learning. We will be opting for a teacher as soon as we arrive next week. Right now we are still living in Cork, Ireland and even though the country is gorgeous and grand, the weather is really putting us off and the expenses of every day life is so much higher compared to Bulgaria.

The choice to move to Bulgaria was one that came quite quickly, within the span of a week I was contacted, interviewed and hired by my new employer. I had hardly even heard of Bulgaria which makes this double the adventure. The people that know me, know I love adventure.

So even though I don’t speak any Bulgarski yet and I don’t know exactly what to expect, I just cannot wait!!

I am very open to meeting different expats and friendly Bulgarians. I will definitely not be one of those foreigners who refuses to learn the language and just stays in familiar surroundings.

3 days and counting till we fly! Whooo hoo!

Enjoy some pictures of Veliko Tarnovo on your way out :).

Packing up for a new adventure in Bulgaria!

Welcome all to this new blog o’mine. The name’s Alex, 27 year old guy from Dutchland, wandering all over this beautiful globe of ours. As luck and fate would have it, I am ending up in Veliko Turnovo by the end of this week. It’s exciting, and a little nervewrecking.

I don’t speak a word of Bulgarian and also have never set foot there.
So I predict a lot of funny situations and thrilling adventures.

Do come back for up for updates! To be expected by end of next week!