My mission which I chose to accept: to find my roots; to publicise the little known story of the salvation of most of the Bulgarian Jews from the Nazis. My expectation: to walk through a romantic little story I'd heard as a child. In this tableau Orlando Bloom lookalike jews like my grandfather run through bombed out train stations looking for my grandmother (aka Salma Hayek) and end up in each other's arms. Orlando Bloom gets malaria in a labour (but not death) camp but after some tough negotiation in 1943 by politician Christian Bale, Bishop Liam Neeson and King John Hurt they save the jews from the Nazis, supported by a brave and kind populace. In the epilogue they all stand on the quayside in 1948 waving the jews goodbye as they board rickety old boats leaving for Palestine to build a new land.
Ok, there is some truth in the story. In fact quite a lot but Hollywood hasn't come to the Balkans just yet. Despite finding a relative who looks a lot like Angelina Jolie this is a living breathing country. It is full of cracked pavements, dilapidated facades, heroic old women, professionals working standard 10 hour days and surly shop assistants. Underneath it all, sometimes, there still lives a famous Bulgarian smile, a nod for no, and a shake of the head for yes (really).
And Vitosha? it is the blue black mountain that stands majestically overlooking Sofia. It is where there was a meter of snow one day and warm autumn sunshine the next. Where there is also a nouveau cuisine restaurant called 'Lazy' at the foot of a ski lift which was closed on the day there was Autumn snowfall.
Come join the journey..
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