After visiting the Rila Monastery and poking around the village of Rila, we drove to the base of the Seven Rila Lakes. From the base of the lakes, you take a serious chair lift up the mountain and then you get to hike the rest.
<a title="Rila Mountains and a lake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062139895/"><img alt="Rila Mountains and a lake" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7374/10062139895_b3258c06e8_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
We got off the chair lift and put on sunscreen. Then we got ready to hike. I didn't think that the hike was going to be very hard but it turned out the first stretch was definitely the hardest--mostly because it was the steepest.
<a title="Me at Rila by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062671096/"><img alt="Me at Rila" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7290/10062671096_eae9e73ca3_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
I'd listened to the family in front of us ask the chair lift guy which way to go. He'd pointed out the trail along the side of the mountain/large hill. So I figured that we'd follow them. We followed up them right up the steep path.<!--more--><a title="Rila by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062191046/"><img alt="Rila" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7386/10062191046_51d954e2b6_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
The hill was steep. Very steep and this was the part where my dAd and sister thought I was trying to kill them. I wasn't. But my sister did get an asthma attack on the way up and this delayed our hike a bit. <em>Sorry</em>.
<a title="Rila Seven lakes and me and Char and dad by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062619885/"><img alt="Rila Seven lakes and me and Char and dad" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3730/10062619885_f6d03ae374_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
Once we were up the very steep hill, we took some pictures, found a place to make and eat our lunch (what makes a mountain made sandwich taste so much better than kitchen made sandwiches?!), and then we explored the lakes.
<a title="Me and Charlotte at Rila by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062600184/"><img alt="Me and Charlotte at Rila" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5448/10062600184_91ed6ee435_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Dad and Me at Rila by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062661396/"><img alt="Dad and Me at Rila" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3725/10062661396_9428e4f4aa_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
I'd actually never been to the Seven Lakes. I've wanted to go for ages but it's the kind of place that's more fun to go with friends. My friends would go and invite me to join them but then I would be busy or I would already have plans. So it was my first trip to the Rila Seven Lakes.

I loved it.
<a title="Seven Rila Lakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062213066/"><img alt="Seven Rila Lakes" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3684/10062213066_a85969e78f_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Rila Seven Lakes and me and Dad by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062299843/"><img alt="Rila Seven Lakes and me and Dad" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/10062299843_e6df811560_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Rila Seven lakes and me and Charlotte by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062182644/"><img alt="Rila Seven lakes and me and Charlotte" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/10062182644_1ea18326ac_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
We went in the middle of the week early in July. I think on the weekends during June, July and August the lakes are packed with hikers and day-trippers. We were lucky that during the middle of the week we didn't have to wait for the chair lift and we basically had the lakes to ourselves. <em>Amazing</em>.
<a title="Dad and Rila by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062133715/"><img alt="Dad and Rila" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3701/10062133715_151850d83c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
I don't think this will surprise any of my friends, family or long time reader but I am much more of a city-museum-cafe person than a mountain-sunscreen-hiking person. This said, I thought the Rila Seven Lakes were one of the most beautiful places I've been in Bulgaria and if there'd been more time I'd have loved to hike all of the lakes. This said we got to the mountains late in the morning so we didn't have a ton a time if we wanted to take the chair lift back down (which we did). So we did what we could do given the time constraints.
<a title="Rila Seven lakes and me by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062659186/"><img alt="Rila Seven lakes and me" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3809/10062659186_d205418050_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Rila Seven lakes and me by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062588964/"><img alt="Rila Seven lakes and me" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5483/10062588964_467d54ca4a_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
My sister C. gave the lakes the most ringing endorsement. About half way into our hike she said: now I get why people like hiking!
<a title="Rila Seven lakes and me and Char by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062189654/"><img alt="Rila Seven lakes and me and Char" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3774/10062189654_6e15a072d5_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Rila Seven lakes and Charlotte by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062254196/"><img alt="Rila Seven lakes and Charlotte" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7454/10062254196_590235c48c_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Little flowers and things by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062254903/"><img alt="Little flowers and things" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3703/10062254903_6dcff862fd_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
After our hike we drove down a number of winding roads and found our hotel. The Hotel Panorama.  Now the Hotel Panorama isn't very fancy and nobody speaks Bulgarian but the rooms were clean, the food was good and cheap, their wifi was pretty decent, and everyone who worked there was super nice.
<a title="Tables in front of our Hotel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062284703/"><img alt="Tables in front of our Hotel" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5520/10062284703_0fea1ffc8d_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
We changed our clothes and shoes and went for a beer on the patio of the hotel's restaurant. Why is it that beer tastes so much better after a long hike?
<a title="Drinking with dad by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062163724/"><img alt="Drinking with dad" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3719/10062163724_036a48de5e_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Beer and Rila Seven Lakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062229646/"><img alt="Beer and Rila Seven Lakes" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3677/10062229646_2de56c60bd_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Enjoying beer by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062161304/"><img alt="Enjoying beer" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5344/10062161304_4887093fdd_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
One beer turned into many beers. Then we ordered salads, friend things and grilled meat. We washed this down with some more beer. It was the Fourth of July after all.
<a title="Dinner after the hike by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062179415/"><img alt="Dinner after the hike" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3745/10062179415_9b3731ca33_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="After our hike by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062178305/"><img alt="After our hike" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3786/10062178305_44c71eb013_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Our hotel in the Rila Seven Lakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062220216/"><img alt="Our hotel in the Rila Seven Lakes" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7385/10062220216_d63ac5c507_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
The grilled meat and french fries were a big hit.
<a title="Eating dinner after our hike by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062674906/"><img alt="Eating dinner after our hike" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/10062674906_199c066dda_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Eating dinner after our hike by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062635915/"><img alt="Eating dinner after our hike" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2892/10062635915_dc0749b635_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Eating dinner after our hike by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/10062615824/"><img alt="Eating dinner after our hike" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7370/10062615824_806d328768_z.jpg" width="640" height="427" /></a>

To top the whole day off we had dessert.