Day 98: Rila

I went out on a day-trip with some others from the hostel to visit the Rila Monastery, which is about a two hour drive away in the Rila Mountains. The monastery was founded in the 10th century by Saint Ivan (aka Saint John of Rila) who came to the area to live as a hermit in a cave and live a life of solitude and prayer. On our trip we first visited his cave, which was a nice little hike from where we parked. He lived in it for 15 years, and it certainly wasn't very roomy. I'm better at maneuvering in dark confines than most, and even I found the exit a tight fit.



Next we went to the actual monastery. The church itself has some vivid, bright artwork that really stands out, and the surrounding living quarters (you can actually book a room and stay at the monastery) has deceptive black and white designs and architecture that make it look like a scene from an MC Escher picture.





After checking out the monastery to my contentment I wandered around in the surrounding woods for an hour or so before returning to the car for the ride home.

I made some new friends over dinner and afterwards we headed out for some drinks while we looked for a spot to watch the Euro Cup final. We ended up in a park that was playing the game with a projector and sat in the grass eating french fries and drinking our big bottles of 75 cent beer. As you all know, the game wasn't terribly exciting, but the crowd was pretty pro-Spain so it was a good time out.