Rila Monastery was founded in the 10th century by St. Ivan of Rila who was the famous Bulgarian saint and hermit. Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria’s most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and it is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe as a whole.

Rila Monastery has been destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 19th century and it was rebuilt later (from 1834 to 1862). It is a characteristic example of the Bulgarian Renaissance (18th–19th centuries), the monument symbolizes the awareness of a Slavic cultural identity following centuries of occupation.

View The Rila monastery – the most popular tourist site among all monasteries in Bulgaria in a larger map

The post The Rila monastery – the most popular tourist site among all monasteries in Bulgaria appeared first on Europe Explored.

Official language is Greek, which used Greek alphabet. It is the oldest still in use alphabet in Europe (since the 8th century BC). Majority of Greeks speak also English and German.

If you love nature and do not like excessive heat, the ideal time for you to visit Greece is June (or May, but the sea is still quite cold) or September and October. The water temperature is pleasant and it is also possible to plan your trips and hiking. However the main tourist season in Greece is July and August.

Greek cuisine
Greek cuisine is typically Mediterranean, and famous worldwide. The food must not miss olive oil, fresh vegetables, fragrant herbs and seafood. Greek Restaurants are called taverns.

Hors-d’oeuvre
Everyone will certainly be surprised by a number of appetizers, which mostly consists of various salads, spreads or light sauces. The most famous are the tzatziki appetizer, or roasted peppers. Tzatziki is a spread made ​​of thick Greek yogurt, which is often from sheep’s milk, shredded cucumbers, garlic, olive oil and salt. Tzatziki spread is usually served chilled with Arab bread or as a flavoring for food. Greek salads of fresh vegetables are excellent. Another interesting appetizer is dolmades, which are young leaves of cabbage, filled by rice, pine nuts and minced meat.

Main Dishes
Very popular local delicacy is gyros. Another popular delicacy is grilled souvlaki. If you do not like gilled meat, be sure to taste musaka. Muska are slices of eggplant baked with minced lamb, onions, tomatoes which is covered with béchamel sauce. Among the most popular vegetarian dishes you can find saganaki, which is a fried slice of feta cheese coated in bread crumbs.

Desserts
After the meal it is definitely a good idea to taste some desserts such as baklava, galaktoboureko.

Alcohol
Greece offers a wide range of delicious wines. Greek favorite drink is Metaxa, which is a good cognac. The local traditional drinks include Ouzo.

Greek Islands
Greek Islands, which are more than 2000, will welcome you with their unique culture (pure white houses with blue shutters and roofs), its history and pure nature, remote from the industry.

The most famous islands of Greece include Corfu, Lefkada, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Crete, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodos, Samos, Kos, Lesbos.

Greek cities
Among the most important and best Greek cities you can find such as Athens, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Patras, Sparta, Heraklion and Corinth.

The post Greece – Metaxa and olives appeared first on Europe Explored.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Aleksandar Cocek

The landscape of Romania is formed mainly with mountains and forests. You can find numerous mountain ranges here, in all the northern, central or western part of the country. If you like the beach life, Romania has several great seaside resorts to offer.

Romania has recently been a popular destination mainly for tourists from Central Europe. They are coming here due to low prices but also for a wild, beautiful and vast nature. With the rising standards of living and quality of service, Romania is becoming an interesting travel destination also for the people from UK, France and other Western European countries.

In Romania you can explore the original culture and respect for traditions.

Many residents of this country are still very faithful, and in some small villages you may find women in traditional costumes, hurrying to Sunday mass. In these villages can be seen the original wooden architecture with beautifully carved gateways. The Romanian uniqueness is associated primarily with the size of the country and with a relatively high percentage of rural population living in isolation deep in the mountains sometimes over 2,000 metres above the sea level.

If you come to Romanian cities, you can no longer expect so cheerful and happy people, but here is perhaps more interesting to watch the remains of one of the worst and most specific European dictatorships of the 20th century. Everything is still evident in the ruined monuments or monstrous apartment buildings, next to which you can often see cows or other livestock.

So if you are interested in exploring the magical mountain ranges and the life in the villages Romania is the right choice for you!

View Romania – country of Dracula in a larger map

The post Romania – country of Dracula appeared first on Europe Explored.