Author: Bilyana Mihaylova
It's not just Bulgaria - in 2025 and 2026 Elisabeth Fuchs is undertaking a large-scale undertaking that can easily be called an adventure on two wheels. For ten months, the young German woman is touring 13 countries by bicycle, reaching as far as the Caucasus.
She gives Bulgaria a high rating - the country is among her three favorites. Although there are also things she didn't like. For example, the attitude towards the Roma and the conditions in which they live. Or the loneliness and poverty in which the elderly in small settlements are mired.
The German woman is impressed that quite a few Bulgarians feed themselves with agricultural products that they produce themselves. She also likes that in Sofia there are fruit trees between the blocks of flats, from which one can pick fruit and have breakfast. Elizabeth inevitably found that there are no bike lanes, but despite this she has not been in any dangerous situations.
How did you come up with the idea for such a complex and long journey?
Elizabeth Fuchs: I wanted to do it five years ago, after I finished school. I got to Greece, but I had to interrupt it because the pandemic broke out. I didn't know much about the Balkans - Bulgaria, Serbia or Romania, but I wanted to see these countries. On my first visit to Bulgaria, everything seemed very bleak - along the abandoned villages I passed through. Then they explained to me that this is the poorest part of the country - around Montana. That was when I saw Sofia for the first time, which I liked. And I definitely wanted to go back there.
What are the advantages of cycling? It's definitely not for everyone when it comes to such a scale.
Elisabeth Fuchs: I just really like moving at the speed of a cyclist, because you're not very fast and you can see a lot - how life goes in other countries. You can also get in touch with the locals. I usually rode 70-80 km a day. I love this kind of travel - when you spend a lot of time outside, outside and sleeping. It's not associated with big expenses - you only need food. It's important that the bike is good. And to have a sleeping bag.
There are options for arranging overnight stays through platforms that I had researched in advance. And although I traveled mostly alone, I wouldn't say that I had any problems - quite the opposite: when a woman travels alone, many more doors open for her and it is much easier to get in touch with people. They feel like they have to take care of you – and I can immediately tell if the person you are talking to is well-intentioned.
You say that you rank Bulgaria among the top three countries out of the 13 countries you have visited. Why?
Elisabeth Fuchs: Mostly because of the pleasant encounters with people. I really liked the Rhodope Mountains, the mountains, I participated in three interesting festivals – such as Buzludzha, where acquaintances took me, and also Beglika and Veliko Tarnovo. There was live music, a laser show and a lot of information about the monument.
The festivals were full of young people from Sofia, many of whom knew English. Otherwise, I used Google Translate a lot, but I also met quite a few people who spoke German. I also learned a few words of Bulgarian – Hello, thank you. At one of the festivals I worked in the kitchen and that's how I learned the names of all the vegetables.
Apart from its people, what else did Bulgaria win you over with?
Elisabeth Fuchs: With the ripe grapes and figs, with the numerous public fountains, including in the mountains. I am very impressed by the folk costumes and choir songs that I heard at the festivals. And also the mountains around Sofia, which can be reached so quickly. On the other hand - the inflation, which I have been complained about more than once. Food in Bulgaria is just as expensive as in Germany, if not more. But the markets I saw were wonderful. I am very pleased with the fruits and vegetables.
I understand that your friends in Germany are interested in the "little stories" that happened in Bulgaria. For example?
Elizabeth Fuchs: I was looking for a place to stay for the night - in the area of the town of Septemvri - and I spoke to a girl on the street, who suggested asking her grandmother if I could sleep at her place. I stayed there, but after a few phone calls, my grandmother found me another place - with a family who had spent several years in Vienna before returning. They told me a lot about the region, full of hot mineral waters. They even shared that they would soon have their own mineral water source at home.
I also have a "material" memory from Bulgaria. At the festival in Beglika, where I worked, there were many artists and they gave me a painting. I brought it to Germany on my bike and now it hangs at home.