Warm Welcome at SOS Children's Villages in Tryavna, Bulgaria

Day 9: Piatra Neamt (RO) – Tryavna (BG)

Early in the morning we crawled out of our rally cars near Bucharest in light rain. Well rested and fortified with a coffee at a petrol station, the wheels were rolling again towards Bulgaria. We would probably reach the border in about two hours. In Bucharest we experienced the morning traffic, which didn’t allow us to make very quick progress.

Arriving at the border at around 11:00, passports were checked and we were asked about the PCR test. The customs officer, however, didn’t want to see it — he trusted us, and we were allowed to cross the border. Welcome to Bulgaria…

Shortly after the border we were hit by a ravenous hunger and had to find a restaurant. One was quickly spotted along the road. First impressions don’t always tell the whole story, and the Google rating looked positive too. We did in fact end up eating in a rather shabby place, but the food was acceptable.

Fortified, we drove on over bumpy, pothole-ridden roads through hilly terrain towards Tryavna. Arriving at SOS Children’s Villages in Tryavna, we were given a very warm welcome and greeting by the director and his staff. Over a coffee we got to know each other and the director told us about SOS Children’s Villages. About 30 children currently live here. In turn, we told them about the humanitarian charitable project of Judo goes Orient.

Afterwards, together with the children, we unloaded our last horse trailer and parked the donated trailer in its designated spot. With the donated children’s clothes, children’s shoes, bed linen, toys, notebooks etc., we are supporting not only the children’s village itself but also families in a care project in the surrounding region. The director, the staff and the children were extremely grateful for the relief supplies we delivered. It is worth noting that the children here at SOS Children’s Villages are doing very well and are in the best of hands.

The director offered us a guesthouse called “Luxemburg” for our exclusive use for as long as we wished. We felt very comfortable on the two floors with showers and lovely rooms. The hospitality we experienced here was simply wonderful.

Here too we presented a donation cheque in the amount of Euro 11’000.-, made possible by you, as a generous supporter of our project. Many thanks. A lovely photo with the children was taken on this occasion. After a refreshing shower we set off into the nostalgic little town of Tryavna and enjoyed a traditional, delicious Bulgarian dinner.

Brief summary:

The ninth day went smoothly with the border crossing into Bulgaria and the arrival at SOS Children’s Villages in Tryavna. Another highlight was the generous cheque handover with the donation of Euro 11’000.-. Overjoyed, we enjoyed the hospitality at SOS Children’s Villages and were very glad to see the children doing so well here.

Your Judo goes Orient – Team