welcome to valiko turnovo everybody Ivana and I are very excited to share this video
with you guys because this place is seriously beautiful seems like everywhere you look you
have another awe-inspiring View and there is a lot of history to uncover which will
require Ivana and I to go on some Adventures so it should be a full day of exploring but
first things first this is the accommodation we've booked it's called rooster hostel as
you guys know this is not a sponsorship Ivana and I are paying customers only here to serve
you better but the place is super nice and Ivana and I actually have a private room which
is very convenient and I believe we have the only private room with a balcony which was
a very lucky booking for us so we would really recommend rooster hostel especially if you
want to meet some people because there's lots of hiking and lots of Adventures to go on
and it might be more fun in a group but with that being said it is time for breakfast Ivana
and I are hungry I'm sure we can find a restaurant with a view because they're is seemingly an
infinite number of views all around this place yeah beautiful place so let's eat
introducing fried bread how could that be bad Andy Han has got an open face sandwich
here in the morning the low angle Sun making Ivana look absolutely radiant and her dress
is fitting in with this beautiful scenery here lovely morning and actually to our left
you can see the Fortress which we will be adventuring to later which is pretty exciting
for us uh should be a great day let's eat Ivana and let's hit the streets
yo pretty darn good fried bread although could go for some maple syrup
you can tell these roads are old because the water drainage is right down the middle this
sort of concave road is at least 500 years old
wow this is my dream balcony there is mulberry trees all around it and you can just pick
up the fruit and eat it off the balcony love it
[Music]
wow check this place out right beside the main road here we have this beautiful viewpoint
and I guess this type of artwork is traditional for this area because we've seen three or
four of these really massive murals with this really distinctive style it almost looks Egyptian
sort of the way the hands are like that and it's just sort of the style of the artwork
but really beautiful and really sort of iconic and distinctive but the star of the Viewpoint
of course is this view here where you can see this Monument as well as this building
which are positioned sort of inside the Horseshoe of the river seems to be the focal point of
the whole city and I think the next move that's right to make is to venture down there and
get an up close look at that Monument because it packs a serious punch in terms of historical
significance so let's see if we can find a way to cross the river and make it to that
Monument I guess we'll hop on that bridge over there what a beautiful city seriously
photogenic every way I look awesome
[Music]
and so the year is 11.85 and the Byzantine Empire has just declared it is going to increase
taxes on the region now known as Bulgaria and so enter the Aston brothers because these
three brothers get together and they say yo I am sick of these taxes and so they lead
the Rebellion against the byzantines and they build the foundation for what eventually becomes
the second Bulgarian Empire which lasted for a hundred years and actually had its capital
right here in valiko Chernobyl so this place is super historic and sort of unmatched if
you're looking for the history of the second Bulgarian Empire this is where it all began
and where it all started so this is why the monument is here and this is why there is
the massive Fortress because any medieval Capital needs a good Fortress and this particular
one almost looks like something out of Lord of the Rings kind of goes up and up and up
into the mountain it's almost so medieval it looks mythical so we're here to admire
the statue there is uh this building here which unfortunately is an art museum so Ivana
and I are gonna skip it but from the outside it looks spectacular and uh our next stop
will be the Fortress which should be an adventure for some nice history as well as some really
good views because with the Fortress you get the Viewpoint right The High Ground okay let's
go
I tell you what from the outside of the city you have a great view of the monument but
from the monument you've got an incredible view of the whole city it's like a 360 degree
panoramic view of the beautiful city uh really a special place [Music] thank you
all right so evidently it's 35 degrees right now which is hedging for us so in an effort
to freshen up we've stopped for a beer and some food by the way the prices at this particular
restaurant are very good the best we found in this whole city all right so let's see
if the food is any good but we feel grateful to have found this uh sort of quiet place
right with the shade yeah and then Fortress coming soon
my new favorite restaurant Dash I think we're getting close to Romania best coffee I've
had in all of Bulgaria Beach
just missing the mustard yeah that's good right
and I tell you what a good way to fight the Heat probably be to drink some of this fresh
water coming out of these what I guess is a spring
and they're all over the city now to be clear this is someone's house it's possible this
is his toilet water but I think it's just drinkable water where you could fill up your
bottle right there because there's more than 5 10 15 20 all around the neighborhood so
I think it's probably fresh water from the mountain
[Music] thank you all right so we've made it to the main entrance uh Fortress this is
a beautiful Recreation of just how big it was nowadays we see the church on top of the
hill and sort of the remnants of the wall all around keep in mind this whole stronghold
was around in 1185 when the asson brothers revolted against the byzantines so seriously
historic the trouble with stone architecture is it's very good for walls right very strong
right but not so good for roofs so I'm not sure how much shade we're going to find in
there but it's something like an 800 year old right stronghold we've gotta check it
out let's go
good [Music]
Tower it's called Baldwin Tower who is Baldwin Crusaders they're going to Constantinople
now Istanbul and go to Jerusalem but they like areas here and they established try to
establish Kingdom okay Baldwin was the king of the Crusaders uh Kingdom on the Balkans
and our King took him as a hostage after he defeated his army and put Baldwin and that
power as a prisoner okay then the the most funny part that let me stay home in the shade
sure sure thank you for the story it's helpful but then uh the queen Glimpse there and likes
Baldwin very much he fell in love really yeah and propose him to organize uh Escape
honor and refused then she get and tell some bad things about him to the king and he was
beheaded wow what a story yeah the story nobody will told you this but yeah there is a song
about this my father and his friends when I was a child they think about this events
but when you read about the Crusaders you will you will find this Baldwin and his story
okay nice to meet you what's your name nice to meet you he is from Portugal so we are
very International okay okay very International nice to meet you thank you bye-bye okay so
maybe our first stop today can be Baldwin Tower for uh some interesting information
that I picked up from that fella about uh a crusader who was captured and eventually
beheaded although he had the chance to escape with the queen and said no Amazing Story [Music]
thank you [Music]
[Music]
I tell you what I have a friend who is a fellow traveler and he says if you've seen one fort
you've seen them all and I told him bro hard disagree because for me these places never
get old and I say that with the pun intended because the history is unique in every one
of these forts we've seen and the views they offer are just spectacular and I love in my
mind going back in time to a place where your entire survival depended on a massive stone
wall and without the walls of the stronghold you were sort of doomed and when you get out
and walk through the rocks and the stones of the fort you might get lucky and bump into
someone like Nikolai who tells you the very interesting history of Baldwin Tower which
is evidently right here so big shout out to our new friend Nikolai who told us something
without him we would not have possibly known because there are no signs saying this unique
history and so let's go check out the uh the tower
what do you say Ivana could you stay captive here I tell you what this much square footage
in Toronto cost you 3 000 bucks a month this is not so small for a place come on not the
worst place to be held captive I'm sure it wasn't in a much worse condition back then
maybe right maybe right maybe flies and probably no AC yeah no running water let's say no hot
shower
five star six star let's be clear pick a number that many stars experience here at the Fort
we're up on top of Baldwin's tower now where we have a really great view of all of the
remains and we can even see the church that's right up on top now my understanding is the
church on top has been recreated in 1981 and it's not exactly in the same style of the
original church that was here for 800 years but the rest of all of these rocks are more
or less in the exact same place that they were for hundreds and hundreds of years and
so with this in mind you can really go back in time because archaeologists have discovered
something like 470 residential buildings as well as the king's quarters and the palace
and the Royal area and so coming to this fort is really like going back in time and it is
such a great experience I absolutely love it you've got some guy down here cranking
music I'm not sure if you guys can hear it there's a little thing here called mini Bulgaria
where it has a bunch of miniature buildings and the viewpoints all around the history
the heat is part of the experience Ivana so I don't think we're going to make it up to
the church on top because it is just a modern building and quite honestly it's a long ways
up in this heat but let me tell you if you're coming to valenco chernovo it's a must to
come to this Fort and evidently there was a 90-day Siege the Ottomans waged against
the local bulgarians where ultimately the Ottomans won and so with this in mind you'll
notice a bunch of Lights All Around the fort and I guess tonight there is a light show
that is going to somehow tell the story of the 90-day Siege where unfortunately the bulgarians
lost but what an experience it would be living in this place for 90 days constantly at War
and just fighting for your life in this massive Fortress above the whole city with the river
flowing right through it uh great experience but let's uh let's go back to the town and
maybe we can cool down for the light show sounds good let's go [Music]
what do you think the red or the blue and I like the red the red is super duper nice
by the way can you tell the difference between your shirt Romanian yeah from Romania and
that shirt I dare say it's the same but it must be different a bit so all along the streets
here in vilico Chernobyl there are these souvenir shops naturally a lot of the items are sort
of similar whether it's key chains or postcards or what have you but trying to convince Ivana
to buy one of these shirts they look so good on her
maybe the Bulgarian and the Romanian style is the same because these styles predate this
could be a dachshund thing or a thracian thing so it's like the style is bigger than the
country because I'm looking at that red shirt and thinking it is the exact same shirt you're
wearing yeah this is the same shirt you're wearing and we were told the one you're wearing
is Romanian and by the way the Romanians were happy and proud of it so I my my idea is the
style predates the country and it is Romanian as well as Bulgarian it's almost like dachin
or Threat thracian all right I'm having trouble choosing the colors I also like the black
one black what do you think for me it's the red one red one but the black is good too
actually but in the summer you're gonna sweat like an animal on that thing I think it's
the red one red one is better I think it's a red one okay red it is red it is good idea
good one Ivana
for me I love it on you babe yeah for me it's good the thing is it really fits your body
type it really makes you look beautiful so I like it for that it also reminds me of travel
reminds me of our memories together I mean for me
for me it looks amazing I love it but it's up to you but I love it sold good purchase
Ivana good purchase Ivana so I keep asking the shopkeepers what is the blouse called
here in Bulgaria no one knows
listen you guys know for us because of our backpack size the best souvenir is a shirt
I'm wearing a souvenir right now this shirt so I'm really glad you got a shirt from here
because we had a good memory and we should have a good souvenir from valiko Chernobyl
great day so far [Music] [Applause]
[Music] in advance [Music] tell you what the Late Show last night was okay but this morning
we wake up to this beautiful wow
[Music] bye guys [Music]
[Music]