Right after Armenia, I went for the Basic Synergy Training Course which took place in a beautiful village in the mountains called Ravnogor. Before I came I didn’t know much about the Synergy Trainings. I just knew that it is life-changing. However, people say about many things that they are life-changing and than the reality looks different. I tried to come with no expectations and it was exactly the best I could do. I don’t want to talk about details because it would not be fair to spoil it. I just can share what the training course brought to me: 

1. Confidence – I came to Bulgaria kind of really broken and confused. I had a broken heart and low confidence and was demotivated. I didn’t know what I want, who I am and why I am so incapable to build relationships (friends and romantic as well). What the training course gave me is confidence. Satisfaction with myself. Now I feel that around me could happen whatever but no one and nothing can destroy my luck. 
2. Relationship understanding – I understood that my last relationship (which was very intense, powerful, passionate but also short) was not about love but rather about addiction. I thought that I loved the person that I was with but the only thing that happened was that I was victimizing myself. From the very beginning. I realized this after many many pages of letters that I wrote to the guy and have never sent. I also found out that for relationship is fu⋆king important to have a common base (longer time living together, common friends, a place to live) and than from that build something. We didn’t have any of these. No base. No common friends. No longer time together. No place to live together. In any case I am happy for everything that happened and I am grateful for it that I had the chance to learn from it. And one more thing – I cannot wait that someone will love me and that it will work if I do not love myself and am not ready give as much to the person as I expect to get back. 
3. Focus on what is and not on what is NOT – I suffered so many times because of being focused on things that I lost, that I don’t have, that I miss… and why? Because of nothing! 
4. How we use language matters – Can you? Do you have the ability? I try (Do you try or do you actually DO anything?)
5. Time alone is AMAZING – I have always been afraid of spending time alone but here I learned that it can be so valuable and meaningful for our thinking processes. 
6. I can achieve whatever I want if I set the right goal and plan in the right way. 
7. It is amazing to be a human being 
8. Universe applauds … not … (can be different for each of you)
9. Digital Nomadism is not my dream anymore – I consider this as one of the biggest realizations that I came to in last 10 years. I always thought that the biggest dream of mine is just to travel, find some job with which I can travel from place to place and that it will make me happy. But step by step I came to the conclusion that I was just lying to myself. I always flew away from myself and thought that some other place will make me happier. And it did. But always shortly and when I came back to Prague i felt again that I was missing something. What I actually want is to find my own balance and when I find it, share it out of love, care and cooperation with all people around me. 
10. I am my own inspiration and can inspire people around me. And as much as I learn from others, as much learn others from me. And it feels great. 
11. I still DO NOT know what is LOVE (and I am ok with that!)
12. I am not ALONE! Never.

And about Bulgaria… I took 3 days to explore Sophia and Plovdiv. 

Sophia 

I arrived around 1 a.m. to the airport because my airplane was 2 hours delayed. So there was no metro anymore available so I asked for a taxi. The woman in the taxi was pretty scared that I am traveling alone and called her husband to tell him. The hostel that I was in was actually pretty scary and dirty but for one night it was ok. Surprising thing was that I woke up and instead of some young guy sleeping in the bed next to me who I expected was there some 70+ years old guy with his wife or whoever she was. It was a little bit shocking. But otherwise pretty OK sleep. I went for the Free Walking Tour at 10 a.m. and later on for some meal (to  Billa – money saving). Sofia was for me not so exciting. The city is very busy and doesn’t have a very big historical center. It has rather many Soviet buildings and sometimes some churches and mosques. One day is definitely enough to explore this city. I also bought a raincoat in H&M because I lost mine in Armenia (probably while drinking the last night with our taxi driver).

Ravnogor and surrounding

During the project, I had the chance to go for a run a few times and discover the beautiful landscape in Ravnogor. I don’t know what it is but everywhere there are really beautiful huge yellow flowers. We also went to Nova Mahala (Turkish village) and Batak. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures because I didn’t take my camera on that trip. So at least a few pictures from Ravnogor. 

 

 

 

PLOVDIV 

Since Sophia didn’t amaze me that much, I decided to spend my last days in Plovdiv. We had a bus arranged from Ravnogor to Sophia and I asked the bus driver if it was possible to drop me off somewhere on the train station so I could take a train to Plovdiv (because it was much closer than to get there from Sophia). He dropped me off in Pasardzik. And what happened? I forgot my wallet with EVERYTHING (money, ID..) on the bus. So I accepted the challenge. I explained my situation to some people and they were luckily pretty understandable so on that day I got “invited” for: the train to Plovdiv (3 leva), coffee, ayran (1 leva), apricots (1 leva) and cottage cheese (2 leva). Luckily, Ricsi and Danijel arrived around 2 p.m. to Plovdiv and brought with them my wallet. We went together to the Smokini restaurant for lunch (and it was not a coincidence that we chose that restaurant – it has the same name as the hosting organization of our project – Smokinya). We stayed there for 3 more hours just talking talking talking and after me and Ricsi went to the free walking tour. We didn’t really pay too much attention but we both fell in love with Plovdiv. The city is so beautiful and living. You can find there ancient buildings, young people, shops, mosques and also huge wide boulevards. And what is the best in the place? Almost no tourists. While I was walking in the ethnographic museum (which is an open-air museum of old houses and buildings), I met maybe 2 or 3 people. In the center. Really amazing. After the tour we went to drink wine and beer on the Nebet Tepe – one of the hills in Plovdiv (there are together 6,5 of them) where the ancient town was founded. We completely forgot the time and stayed there till 4 a.m. We talked for hours. About the training, life, people. And we enjoyed the amazing view. 

The next day I just went for a walk, bought a coffee and checked some shops. I took a bus to Sophia (which is highly recommended – never take a train in Bulgaria – Ricsi waited for 3 hours to catch it), Ricsi picked me up at the train station and went with me to the airport. There we met Danijel whose flight was canceled so he stayed one more day in Sophia. 

 

And about flights… my flight to Vienna was AGAIN delayed so I needed to overnight in Vienna. But it wasn’t that bad. I got privat room, dinner, breakfast and could sleep finally. 🙂