Flying Saucer Spotted in Bulgaria

OK, so maybe there aren’t any reports of flying saucers here in Bulgaria, but this monument nearly had us fooled.

This was one of the most intriguing sights we saw in our travels with James’ parents, and I thought it deserved a post all of its own. We were originally looking for the “Shipka Monument”, a mountain-top memorial to the Russian and Bulgarian soldiers who fought for Bulgaria’s independence from the Ottomans. We thought we had found it when we came to a parking area and spotted a trail-head across the street. The fog was so dense that we couldn’t quite see what was on top of the mountain. From the parking lot, all we could see was a portion of the tower and “flying saucer”. We just figured that the Shipka Monument was up there somewhere in all the fog. James and his Dad went to go check it out, while his Mom and I waited down in the car. We weren’t too excited about all the climbing, so we sent them off with the cameras to take lots of good pictures.

As it turns out, the monument we were looking for was elsewhere. This “flying saucer” was apparently some kind of former Communist monument that had been completely demolished on the inside. We did a little research when we got back to Sofia, and found that the monument is called “Buzludzha” and was a former Communist meeting place, housing gatherings of 30-40,000 people. It has been basically destroyed since the wall fell. The only way to enter is through a broken glass window.

The next day we all went up there, since James and his Dad had figured out that we could drive up to it. It was still shrouded in fog, which just added to all the eeriness. Here are some pictures of the outside and inside.