Heading to Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is known as the ancient capital of the Bulgarian Empire. We will study over there in two universities : The Popov university of Sciences (where we will have our lessons of computer science) and 5th Corps (where we will have our English courses).
Key information
There is the website Veliko Tarnovo Info, which allows one to get practical information to visit the town, to entertain and to eat... About the food, it is really close to the greek-style food (there are many dishes made with yoghurt, tomatoes and cucumbers...). The money over there is the Bulgarian Lev. One Bulgarian Lev is worth 0.5 euros. The country is the second cheapest one in Europe, after Romania, according to the website NUMBEO (which compares the costs of living in different countries).
There is a jetlag of one hour between France and Bulgaria : when it's 3.30 pm in France, it is 4.30pm in Bulgaria.
Veliko Tarnovo is one of the country's hottest places in the summer and one of the coldest in winter.
How to get there
From the airport Marignane in France, there is Ryanair, which offers direct flies from France to Sofia (2 and a half hours). Déborah will take that flight to get to Sofia. Nicolas and Firmin are going to travel to Bulgaria by plane. They will take off in Nantes and land in Sofia. Then, we will all take a bus to Veliko Tarnovo.
Transports
Buses can get you nearly everywhere in the town, even though these buses seem to be old ones, as they are connected to an electric cable through an antenna.
UPDATE
Finnaly, the bus are not so old as you can see :
There is also a lots of taxis in the city. It looks like New York !
The accomodation
Nicolas and Firmin took the dormitories offered by the university. For as to Déborah, she will try and find an apartment to rent in the center of the city.
University St. Cyril and Methodius
The university is devided in several campus scattered in the city. The administration building (5 mins by foot from the dormitory) contains also the FACA (Faculty of fine arts). The faculty of mathematics and computer sciences is located in the old town so, we have to take the bus (only 1 BGN = 0.5€) for 10 mins.
Student's Life
According a feedback on the website erasmusu.com, as a student, there are many discounts. The life can be calm or adventurous depending on the person. In the city, it shouldn't be difficult to find something you like. You can also enjoy many bars in the center of the city.
ESN (Erasmus Students Network) provides ESN cards which give some discounts in Shops, Bar and even RyanAir. The card is about 10€.
You can also buy an International Student Card (13€) which give some discount. You can find it here.
Good tips
Veliko Tarnovo is a peaceful city with beautiful places such as the views from the castle. Also, the hiking trails are superb. The first tip is to eat at the bakeries because there is a wide range of inexpensive food. Another tip to get around Veliko Tarnovo, bus and taxi are inexpensive.
With your mobile phone plan, you will certainly not have enough data connexion in roaming so, we recommande you to take a 4G plan : (pre-payd card : 30 GB at 25 BGN for 1 month at Telenor) or (75GB at 24 BGN for 1 month at A1 with a routeur, not a SIM card).