Bulgaria

Bulgarian is a southern Slavic language, closely related to Serbo-Croatian, Russian, Polish, etc...; so if you know any of these (or another Slavic language), you shouldn't have much problem getting by. As a matter of fact, ancient Bulgarian (also known as Church Slavonic) is considered the "Latin" or mother language of the Balto-Slavs. Some words or/and phrases might even be understood by Westerners since Bulgarian has a number of loans from other languages(most notably French, German,Turkish, Italian and increasingly English). Modern Bulgarian is difficult to Westerners, especially English-speakers, as it has three genders, no infinitive, and articles are appended to the end of either the noun (if no attribute is present) or the first attribute (example: kuche = dog, kucheto = the dog, dobro kuche = good dog, dobroto kuche = the good dog). However it is actually easier than the other Slavic tongues as the other Slavs almost never use articles nor prepositions, but have noun cases instead, which makes them more difficult. It takes a short while getting used to the Cyrillic alphabet, an writing system of which the Bulgarians are justifiably proud (it having been invented by two Bulgarian monks,Cyril and Methodius). Be sure to be in Bulgaria for the celebrations of the "Den na Bukvata" ("Day of the Alphabet"). The Russian/East Slavic version of the alphabet is almost identical to the Bulgarian one. It is also important to remember the fact that many Bulgarians - contrary to most nationalities - shake their head for Yes and nod for No! It is better to rely on the words da for yes and ne for no than on head movements. Bulgarians often use ciao for good-bye and merci for thank you. Be careful when you bring up the subject of Macedonian language; many Bulgarians insist that it is a dialect of their own language, which has some merit: spoken Macedonian sounds very similar to Bulgarian. They view Macedonian as merely a political classification made by Yugoslav leader Tito after 1944. Secondary languages, including Turkish and Romani, closely correspond to ethnic breakdown. Most young Bulgarians have at least a basic knowledge of English or/and a second foreign language (usually German, Russian, French or Spanish) and will often even take up a third one. Those born before the mid-1980s are most likely to speak Russian, German or/and Serbo-Croatian and usually have a limited or no knowledge of English at all.

General

Bulgarian food is similar to Turkish and Greek cuisine, with lots of grilled meats and powerful stews; in addition, they have a large choice of salads available, usually based on tomatoes and cucumbers. Feta cheese is prevalent and can be used by a Bulgarian as a topping on virtually any food. If you do not speak the language or understand the Cyrillic alphabet, a restaurant can still be easily located by looking for the "РЕСТОРАНТ" sign. Figuring out the menu will still be an adventure! In tourist areas you can expect to have an English version of the menu, but sometimes the translation is a bit rough and hard to decipher.

Cheese

In Bulgaria, there are only two native kinds of cheese: the yellow-colored Kashkaval (Кашкавал) - more or less akin to the Dutch Gouda - and the more popular white Sirene (Сирене) - a kind of Feta cheese, similar to Greek Feta in taste. Originally made from sheep milk, it is available from cow or goat milk, or mixed. "Sirene" is also the general word for "cheese" in Bulgarian, so it is used to refer to foreign cheeses too. The word Kashkaval is derived from Caciocavallo, an Italian provolone-style cheese.

Yoghurt

The native Bulgarian yoghurt contains Lactobacilicus Bulgaricus, a bacterium which serves as the basis for active culture "plain" yoghurts in other countries. Normally made from cow or sheep milk, it can also be prepared from buffalo milk, with a remarkably stronger taste. Being a staple, and quite favourite around the country, Bulgarian yoghurt also is an ingredient to many dishes, the most famous one being Tarator (Таратор), a cold soup made from yoghurt, water and cucumbers. A drink called "Ayrian" - a salty yoghurt-water mixture - is also very popular.

Fast-Food

Traditional bakeries prepare different kinds of pastry products. Banitsa and mekitsa are the favorites. Pizza, dyuner (Döner) or hamburgers are also very easy to be found at the streets. There are also many local and international fast-food chains.

There are more than six hundred mineral water springs around the country, so this is something you'd better taste and drink. Ayrian (yogurt, water and salt) and boza (millet ale) are two traditional Balkan non-alcoholic beverages. A powerful (40% vol), clear grape brandy, rakia (Ракия), is the Bulgarian national drink and is served neat, usually at the beginning of a meal with salads. Especially in the smaller cities, some families still distill their rakia at home; it is then usually much stronger (>50% vol). Another quite popular drink is Mastika (Мастика) (47% vol), a drink closely related to Greek Ouzo and Turkish Raki. It is usually drink with ice, with water in a 1:1 mixture or with peppermint liqueur, called Oblak (cloud). Bulgaria has several well known local wine varietals. These include Melnik, Mavrud, Pamid, Gamza (Гъмза) (red dry), Kadarka (red sweet) and Keratsuda (white dry). Local lagers like Zagorka, Kamenitza and Shumensko are very good, inexpensive, widely available and drunk in copious amounts.

Generally, prices in Bulgaria are at least twice lower than in Western Europe, and good bargains are to be had on shoes and leather goods as well as other clothing.