I got a big kick out of these two street signs in Varna on my recent trip.  First off, this is about one of the hardest Bulgarian town names (or street names) to say and I had to practice and practice before I could get it right earlier this year.  Second, the two different transliterations into English make me laugh and laugh.  Finally, I found each sign on the same block--one at each end and that just really tickled my funny-bone.   But surprise, surprise my mom and aunt didn't find it just as humorous as I did.

[caption id="attachment_1027" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Um, where did the the &quot;W&quot; come from?!"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-1027" title="Street Sign " src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/dsc09823.jpg?w=300" alt="Um, where did the the &quot;W&quot; come from?!" width="300" height="225" />[/caption]

This sign above is the first one that caught my eye.  The "W" seems misplaced in this word.   But I do like the "STIZA" ending of the word. I think it helps with pronouncing the name but the "W"--really I don't understand what the "W" is doing in there.

[caption id="attachment_1028" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A different spelling!"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-1028" title="Street Sign 2" src="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/dsc09824.jpg?w=300" alt="A different spelling!" width="300" height="225" />[/caption]

This sign just made me laugh because it was the second one that I saw and I thought it was much more helpful in terms of actually being able to pronounce the street name (or the city name).  I also got a huge kick out of the fact that the sings were literally a block apart from each other and so different. It kind of makes you wonder who's in charge of signage (and spelling).

Oh and for the record, I think that if I were in charge I'd write out the name as: KOPRIVSHTITSA.