After our stay in the traditional house last week, we decided to have an afternoon somewhere with the kids. We had two possibilities - one was the Etar Architectural-Ethnographic complex, and the other was the city of Tryavna. They both have similar architecture, but Etar is more focused towards the traditional Bulgarian crafts while Tryavna is like a museum of The National Revival architecture.
Our decision was Tryavna, because we haven’t visited it for about three years and we thought there would be a lot less people there. After all we wanted a peaceful Sunday afternoon.
It took us about an hour to reach the place and luckily the kids were able to have a nap in the car.
Although there weren’t so many people, the place was still a bit stuffed and there weren’t many vacant spaces to park the car. It took us about 5 more minutes and we were already walking towards the center where is the street with all these traditional houses. But first we saw the tourist information center. It still has some traditional architecture, but still from later periods.
The streets in this area are paved, so a baby stroller would be difficult to push. It was more suitable to carry the young man on my shoulders and he was quite happy with that. Experiencing the world from high point of view is definitely something exciting!
The street with the preserved National Revival architecture starts with the famous clock tower, which is maybe the most iconic place in Tryavna. It’s the image that you’ll usually see on postcards and magnets. There’s barely a person who would not know that this is in Tryavna, when looking the photos.
But there’s still a lot more to see in this picturesque city center. The traditional buildings are just everywhere around. And they are pretty well preserved. I think the municipality does a very good job in keeping the traditional spirit of the place.
One detail made a great impression on me… It is the unique way that all the electrical switchboards are drawn. All they had traditional motifs and folklore costumes presented on the doors, which adds even more impressive look overall.
And what will a weekend be without some sugar rooster lollipops? They are a great tool to make kids calm, at least for some time, while the little mouths are busy!
Along the street there are some traditional goods and crafts presented. Wood carvings and production of traditional costumes is something that Tryavna is well known for, since a lot of time back in the past. So if you like wooden chairs and tables, this is the place to buy them.
A lot of cafés offer to serve you traditional Turkish coffee. This was made back in times when Bulgaria was under Ottoman Empire rule. Nowadays this is a unique way to consume your coffee, although it’s not my favorite way of preparing it.
Overall, Tryavna is a very nice place to spend some hours and experience some of the Bulgarian traditional architecture and crafts. Tryavna and Etar are very similar in their spirit that they bare, but still are very different. If you don’t know which one to visit, I’ll say both! They are really worth it and are really close to each other. You’ll need no more than three hours each, which can be made in less than a day.
Have a nice Sunday and stay positive!
Bye!
