Bulgaria
participants
The main goal of the event was for Erasmus students from different sections to get to know each other while exploring the history and the nature of Velingrad and travelling with highest narrow gauge on the Balkan Peninsula.
The two groups gathered together at the central rail stations at the respective cities. Then we meet at the train station of Septemvri where we had a private wagon to Velingrad. Inside the train we had provided snacks. We did a short introduction into the history of this specific train. The date of the event was not chosen on accident – it was exactly on Saint Nicholas day and few days before the 80th anniversary of the narrow gauge ranked in Top 10 autumn destinations in the world according to JR Pass ratings.
Inside of it we had a bistro wagon where all the students could go and buy whatever they like. Also we announced a photo competition with a secret prise they were about to understand in the end of the day. It was a notebook where they could write down all the positive things that happened on the event and use it to remind themselves of this unforgettable experience.
When we arrived in Velingrad we went on a short walk to the historical museum where we had a short but deep introduction about the history of the town and its famous Easter eggs decorated with wax. We took some pictures of ourselves in the centre on our way to the museum which you can see in the pictures of this post and one of the volunteers held a brief introduction of the history of the town.
After the museum we went to a local restaurant where some of the participants decided to order fish according to the local tradition on Saint Nicholas day and had few hours of free time up until our train on the way back when they could explore the town even better.
Throughout the whole event every participant was had a secret friend whose day they were supposed to make unforgettable and full of surprises. As appreciation of the participation everyone received some traditional mint candies called Likcheta.
On our way back we had some games prepared but we saw that all the people were in mixed groups and telling interesting stories so we decided not to interrupt them. This proved that our event was a total success and everyone felt included.
