Bansko Ski Resort Bulgaria

Redenka Palace Bansko Rear View

Here’s a short video of the rear view of Redenka Palace Bansko. This is just beside the Grand Redenka apartment block which you can also see in the video along with some chalets that are also part of the Redenka Golf and Ski complex.

Again, do not expect great quality footage – it was starting to rain too and I didn’t want to be hanging about

Tags: redenka lodge, redenka palace, grand redenka, bansko, ski bansko, bulgaria

Redenka Palace Bansko Videos
Here’s a couple of videos of the pool area around Redenka Palace, Bansko. hey are not the greatest quality videos as they are taken with a digital camera but they are better than the usual still images.

Redenka Palace is due for completion at the end of 2007.

Tags: redenka palace, bansko, razlog, ski, bulgarian property, bansko property

Searching for Apartment Furniture in Blagoevgrad

My hired driver and translator Chris and George arrived 10:30am sharp as arranged to take me the 1hr drive to Blagoevgrad to suss out the furniture there and possibly transport it back to our apartment in Redenka. Chris and George asked me not to post their photo on this site so I have blatantly disregarded their requests and although they are nice blokes who treated me to the nicest meatballs in Bulgaria(According to Chris) I’ve decided to publish their pic(See pic).

Chris speaks perfect English even understanding my Northern Irish accent which most English people struggle to accomplish . Without his help in translating, the trip would have been a complete nightmare. George will be learning English soon

I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the road that had been a nightmare to travel just 3 days ago has been almost completely tarmaced except for a few metres which were barely noticeable.

The road down through the mountain road give me an opportunity to see the breathtaking views that I have missed in the darkness when I had arrived Tuesday night.

Our first stop when arriving at was at Blagoevgrad was Stil Dom. This is a large furniture store with a selection of furniture for the whole house or apartment in different styles. They do not have a massive selection but they certainly have everything you need if you are prepared to mix and match colours throughout the apartment.

I was trying to chose items that matched furniture I had already bought through FurnishBG. Plus I know if I make a b&^*s up with the selection, my wife is going to arrive at this apartment in January and want to change everything . So much for remaining unemotional and detached when selecting for the rental market.

You know how when a woman walks into a room she can walk out and describe everything that was in it AND the colour schemes to match? Well, men cannot do that or at least this one can’t. So, I found a few items that I thought matched my apartment and living-room furniture(Turns out they are darker wood) and said to the sales assistant, through Chris, after checking prices that “I will take one of those, those, one of those with that but not that, and 2 of those”.

These items were actually a coffee table, T.V unit, wall mirror with coat rack and matching bottom drawer for the hallway(there was a seperate part to the entire unit which I thought would be too big and I declined), and two single wardrobes.

I also needed a single bed which I couldn’t find because there were none there that matched the two double beds I had already purchased – in style or colour.

Anyway before I could swiftly pay for the furniture and get the hell out of there because at this stage I was sweating at all the choices I had to make, Chris reminded me that we had another shop to visit.

Now can you imagine the scenario. Here I am in Bulgaria trying to get the job done as quickly and painlessly as possible and I have this Bulgarian guy who I’d never met before reminding me to be sensible. In most other places the guy would be encouraging me to buy so that he could get paid and get home. He was right of course so we headed over to Mr Bricolage.

This shop just reminded me of B&Q back home. They sell all sort of household goods, lamps, carpets, cushions, bathroom furniture, garden furniture, pictures, etc etc etc.

I decided against the furniture in Mr Bricolage because it was of lower quality than that at Stil Dom. If you want less expensive furniture then this may be the place to visit. I didn’t hang about too long here either so decide for yourself, but it is definitely worth a visit for the smaller items you can pick up.

I came out with 5 bedside lamps, 3 blue cushions – which my wife has been torturing me to buy, to match the blue nicknacks she sent me to the apartment with. I know I purchased the wrong ones(Too small, wrong shade) but I bought them anyway because I can tell her I’ve got them plus they were cheap – and two small hall mats.

We then went to TechnoMarket which sell all your electrical goods that you will need. There would be no need to go anywhere else for these as they have everything from coffee machines to camcorders, Tvs, microwaves, the lot. I picked up a coffee machine here which is the last of the electrical items I need for Redenka.

We then headed back to Stil Dom. On further conversation we discovered that the wardrobes that I had chosen could only be ordered in which would take one month. So, I declined and will look for other options for my wardrobes. They did offer me other models that were available in store but I was set on the darkwood style and would not be swayed

I will not go into the nightmare I had with my Credit Card during the day after stupidly entering the wrong pin but thankfully Stil Dom will take a small deposit and agreed to pay the rest on delivery of my furniture. I gave them 100 Leva with 795 Leva to pay when they are delivered next Tuesday. This price includes delivery and installation/assembly of the furniture. I presume they will secure mirror to hallway wall, assemble T.V unit if need be. I will know come Tuesday.

The most expensive item I bought was the coffee table at 299 leva. You can buy them much cheaper at Stil Dom if you are prepared to sacrifice quality.

One other note, when Stil Dom guys deliver they will not carry the furniture into your apartment. So someone will have to be available to do this if you cannot do so yourself. I don’t know the reason why but that’s the way they work.

After heading for lunch with Chris and George where we got the ‘best meatballs in Bulgaria’ we headed back to Redenka.

Tonight I had a great meal in a small restaurant about 50 metres above the Kempinski hotel. This is a house turned restaurant with a mountain stream running through the garden(Too colol to eat outside now though). After being recommended it by Victor from Bulgarian properties we decided to try it out – myself and John, the guy I met from outside Belfast. The food was beautiful and the staff very friendly.

We were turned away when we first arrived to come back in one hour as the place was packed, as were at least 6 other who came behind us – all Bulgarians. You know when you eat out foreign you always look for where the locals are eating? This is definitely one of those spots.

A couple of things I learnt from today is that it is probably better to buy everything from the one source as that way you can get the colours to match. This is a more difficult process if you are buying from different sources.

Now the thing is, can you find the right source at the right price. Unfortunately the big names in Bulgarian are charging way over the odds for their packages.

I hope this short report gives you an idea or some ideas on how to proceed.

By the way, if you would like to get in touch with Chris for a furniture run when you get to Bansko I can give you his phone number. George also runs transport from Sofia airport which is 150 Euros for up to 6 people with luggage. I can highly recommend these guys. They were a pleasure to be with and really went out of their way to help me out at a very reasonable price.

For these details or any other questions contact me at mal@[REMOVETHIS]skiinbansko.com

Oh I almost forgot, the second thing I discovered is for the guys – If you are going to go furniture shopping in Bulgaria, make sure to bring your wife

I’ve to meet Frank Nadler tomorrow to look at some furniture brochures. Frank is a frequent poster over at the Talk Bansko forum. I contacted him today and we have arranged to meet tomorrow.

Til next time.

Tags:bansko furniture, buy furniture bulgaria, bulgarian property, bansko, skiing, redenka lodge

Visiting Razlog and Struggling with Log Fires

I visited Razlog today which is a much different town to Bansko – from what I saw of it. I didn’t venture too much outside the main centre but I imagine Razlog to be much more like a typical Bulgarian town than Bansko. I say ‘imagine’ because I have nothing to compare it to.

Razlog, about two kilometres from Redenka Lodge, with not a half finished apartment block in site. The centre is littered with cafe bars. I tried hard to find somewhere to eat but either I was there at the wrong time of day or all the Bulgarians were having liquid breakfast/lunch.

I risked asking for a menu in one cafe only to find it was totally in Bulgarian(Funny that, in Bulgaria of all places ). So I gave that up as a bad job and bought some pieces of fruit in a nearby store. Two each of apples, pears, plums and peaches for 3 Leva(Around £1).

I must have stuck out like a sore thumb. Not another tourist in site. Well, I didn’t see anyone else taking photos.

Rather than try to describe the town – probably in a really non descriptive way – here are a few photos:

You can get a load more photos by downloading the files here. If Windows does not automatically open these images to a folder on your PC you will need Winzip to unzip the folders which you can download for free here(Click the “Download Evaluation” button)

I spent around an hour in Razlog – having a coffee and coke in one of the cafe/bars which cost 2 leva. It’s embarrassing handing over such small amounts of money. I suspect some of you may not have this problem with this though

On the way out of Razlog I discovered a small electrical shop, where you can buy coffee machines, electrical kettles, microwaves, TVs etc. From the looks of the condition of some of the items they are second-hand but many of the goods are boxed and appear to be new – at very reasonable prices. Incidentally, a T.V bracket similar to two that Furnish BG sold me for 73.34 Euro each can be bought in this store for 42 Leva.

Hint: If you are buying furniture of the Furnishing companies via the web, ask for pictures. What was listed as a T.V stand was actually a bracket for attaching the T.V to the wall. You live and learn.

I decided to walk the 2 km back to the main road which links Redenka Lodge to Bansko and try to thumb a taxi from there to Bansko. Fortunately after finding no taxis in site I was picked up on the road by Maria from PropertyManagement BG who informed me that there are very few taxis available in and around Bansko at this time of year.

I spent a couple of hours in Bansko, had lunch, had more of a look about town and up towards the Gondola. You can see photos in the download above.

On arriving back at our apartment I was delighted to receive a phone call from a fella from just outside Belfast, who has bought an apartment just below me in Redenka Lodge, who happens to be in Bansko – staying in his other fully furnished apartment. Unbelievable coincidence!

Anyway I met up with John, we had a two course dinner in a nice Bulgarian restaurant in Bansko(Begins with ‘V’, can’t remember the name) – no more Lions pub cheese burgers. A two course meal with two drinks each cost 23 Leva(£8.21p).

We discussed tactics and our experiences so far. He is over to scout the place out before he embarks on his furniture buying expedition next month.

As I went to the toilet I discovered why men and women in Bulgaria have such strong thighs – the toilet was a hole in the ground. That’s right boys and girls, you don’t get to read the sun while relaxing on the bog. Thankfully I didn’t have to squat.:shock:

Later I met up with Victor from Bulgarian Properties who has arranged a man with a van to take me to Blagoevgrad tomorrow morning to buy some furniture. Apparently there is a place there called Stil Dow(:?: Spelling) in Blagoevgrad which sells all types of furniture. There is also TechnoMarket – an electrical goods store and Mr Bricolage – which is Bulgarias answer to B&Q.

The man with the van will relieve me of 60 Euros for the privilege. Considering he doesn’t speak any English and is bringing someone along who does, I thought this was a great deal. Presumably he is paying the ad hoc interpreter.

I will save a fortune for my remaining furniture by buying direct from the stores – much, much more than 60 Euro. The van may not hold all the furniture I need to buy so I will check for delivery options at the furniture shop and post about this tomorrow.

The greatest challenge of the day came in trying to light the fire in my apartment with logs. I bought a large box of logs, delivered by Maria from PropertyManagementBg today. These guys have really gone out of there way to provide everything I have asked for. Anyway, you ever try to light a log fire with kitchen appliance booklets? Here’s a tip, buy some fuel or firelighters with your logs. I eventually got it going after the fourth attempt(See pic). Nice!

George, Bulgarian properties IT manager was also here today and connected the cables to my apartment to give me internet access. Thankfully I don’t have to go to the lobby anymore to access the wireless connection there and can plug my laptop straight into the net connection – in the wall socket.

The internet service will be available to all residents once the Lodge offically opens to the public.

Tomorrow I will report on my attempts to get the furniture I need to Redenka Lodge.

Tags: redenka, redenka lodge, razlog, bansko, furniture bulgaria, furniture bansko, bansko ski, visit bansko, bansko property, bulgarian properties, bulgarian property management