One of the stops on my weekend out and about in Bulgaria was Belogradchik.

You go to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belogradchik_Rocks" target="_blank">Belogradchik for the rocks</a>. The rocks are amazing.

We drove into town about 5pm and the sun was beginning to set. So we drove up to the rocks to see what the hours of operation were. Maybe we would have gone to check out the rocks if the day was a little bit longer and we could count on the light but the site closes at 5:30pm these days so we figured that we'd find a place to stay for the night and go back the next day.

It turns out that finding a place was easier said than done. We didn't make a reservation anywhere because we weren't sure exactly where we'd end up for the night and we figured that because it's the end of November we'd have no problem finding a room. Ha, ha.

There are plenty of signs along the main street advertising guesthouses and pointing the way. We picked the first one because it had a cute name. This one turned out to be pretty far away from the town center and restaurants. Oh and it was 70 leva a night. We figured that we could find something better.

So we followed signs to a guesthouse named after a pasta dish. No one answered the door and we called the number only to find out: no heat. They were really friendly and recommended a guesthouse down the street.

We drove down a narrow little street and found the guesthouse at the bottom of the road. A. got out to investigate because it looked dark too. Then a very helpful baba leaned out of the third floor window across the street and told A. that the owner is in the hospital. She tossed in a little neighborhood gossip and then recommended another place around the corner

Following her directions, we had no problem finding the new guesthouse and guess what?! There were people there when we knocked, they had heat, wifi and they had a room for 40 leva. We snapped it up.

Later we had dinner in town but things seems strangely dead for a Saturday night. Then again it is a small town in the middle of November and I don't really know what to expect.

On Sunday morning I got up about 8:30 and looked out our 5th floor window: fog. Lots of it.

That's no good if you're going to see rocks. So I climbed back in bed and curled up with Catherine the Great--well the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345408772" target="_blank">Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman</a>, not the person. I don't remember who pointed me to this book but it's really good and I can't put it down. In fact if I think about it too much I might stop writing a blog post and pick up the biography--it's that good.

Anyhow we headed up to the Belogradchik Rocks about noon. The fog had more or less lifted and the day was grey but not too cold.

Entrance is 5 leva and you get a fancy electronic ticket and a paper ticket taped to the back. I don't know what the deal is with the additional paper ticket but it's there.

I didn't really know what to expect. Basically Belogradchik is a group of big rocks surrounded by a fortress. After paying your fee, you are then able to climb all over the rocks. At your own risk.

Now things like this make me nervous. I don't really like heights. In my old group house in DC I always convinced/made my roommate S. change the light bulbs in our stairwell. Sure I held the ladder for him but I wasn't about to lean out over the staircase to change a light bulb in what seemed like a precariously placed light fixture.

Anyhow, back to Belogradchik.

You can basically climb wherever you want. Only in a few places are there fences "protecting" you from the edge. Otherwise, the rules seem to be if you can climb it, it's okay.

A. was very adventurous. Me not so much.

I spent a lot of the time with my stomach tying itself in knots and a little sweaty. Yeah, it wasn't a very pretty picture. I did climb out to a few places that I wouldn't have gone without some encouragement but really this isn't my thing.

I am glad that I went. The views are spectacular and I've never seen rocks like this before.