I am surprised that nobody has mentioned The Shipka Pass in Bulgaria, as I know that some of you lads went over it, at one time or another.
There is loads of information about the place on the internet now and after the lifting of The Iron Curtain, it looks like somebody is cashing in on tourism around the area.
At the top of the pass there was a large cobbled area where we used to park up to let the engine cool down. I never saw any of those cannons that are there now but there was a monument to say that there had been a war there years ago between the Bulgarians and the Turks. All the sign posts were in the Cyrillic alphabet so you sometimes struggled to know if you were on the right road.
There were some great views near the top of the pass and I think that there is now a 22 ton weight limit on this road.
As you passed Shipka village on the way home, there used to be a handy layby on the right at the bottom of the pass where you could see the onion shaped, golden dome of a church through the woods.
It was one of those places where I always said to myself, the next time that I am passing then I shall have a look at that church but of course, I never did get to see the place.
youtube.com/watch?v=WJm4OAymYSQ
