Eastern Europe is opening up at a rapid rate. Kelly Foat ventured into Bulgaria to discover a unique destination emerging from behind the Iron Curtain.

Bulgaria is a fascinating convergence of old and new, hidden for many years from the world and now nearing inclusion in the European Union. We braved the challenges of limited English and the Cyrillic alphabet to discover this mysterious destination.

Veliko Turnovo is a hidden gem: a cosmopolitan haven of restaurants and boutique shopping on narrow, romantic streets. An Old Town filled with quaint terracotta cottages and bars hugs the banks of a quiet S-bend river.

We wandered through town to the impressive medieval ruins of Tsarevets Citadel overlooking Veliko Turnovo and spent the afternoon exploring the ruins of hundreds of 5^th Century homes and churches surrounded by steep fortress walls.

Later, we found a riverside bar with 80c pints and a million dollar view, only to discover that gypsies are not merely the stuff of fairy tales over here. Bent and bejeweled under her robes, one of Eastern Europe’s real-life Gypsies hobbled over demanding spare change - and probably cast a curse at our refusal.

From Veliko Turnovo, we travelled via the capital city of Sophia, then south through rolling countryside to the winery village of Melnik. With less than 300 inhabitants, Melnik is Bulgaria’s smallest village and a real slice of rural life. Literally overflowing with wineries, every household seems to produce its own wine and old women stand by small tables in the street selling delicious red wines in four litre plastic bottles at a rock-bottom price.

The whole town is surrounded by bizarre sand pyramids stretching as far as the eye can see in formations resembling towers, mushrooms and golden curtains of sand. We took off on a day hike to the medieval Rozhen Monastery, which has been restored to its 9^th Century glory and remains a centre for Orthodox Christianity.

We rounded off the day by venturing up semi-concealed steps to a small winery and relaxing in their cool cellar enjoying sweet red wine and spiced feta. This is what lies off the beaten track in Bulgaria.