Travel Bite: Bulgarian boza for your bosom

Rachel Stewart: Welcome to another Don't Drink the Milk Travel Bite episode, where we look back at the weird and wonderful bits of our travels that didn't quite make it into the final episodes from season one. I'm Rachel Stewart, your 82% Scottish and 18% Irish and very lactose tolerant host. I found all of that out from a DNA test that I did back in episode of the podcast, when we dug into the origins of why people actually drink milk. Nutrition, colonialism, government subsidized stuffed crust pizza, it's all in there, so do give it a listen if you haven't already. The episode took us all the way to the Bulgarian countryside in southeastern Europe. And very luckily for us, we had our colleague with us, Rayna. Thank you very much for joining us today.

Rayna Breuer: Thanks for the invitation, Rachel.

Rachel: How many languages do you actually speak?

Rayna: I speak five languages.

Rachel: What?

Rayna: Yeah, but to you, I can even say that I speak seven because you probably don't know that Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian are actually the same language. Not to be honest, just five.

Rachel: Can you give us what they are?

Rayna: Yeah. Okay. So, um, German, English, at least I try, no. Bulgarian, Russian and Croatian because I lived in Croatia as well, but it's almost the same like Bosnian and Serbian. So–

Rachel: That is impressive!

Rayna: I can survive in the Balkans with my languages.

Rachel: Okay. And what is your actual connection to Bulgaria?

Rayna: I'm born in Bulgaria, so my parents are Bulgarians, but quite early we went to Germany, but still my mom lives in Bulgaria, my grandmother lives in Bulgaria, so I'm quite often there, so this is actually my, my birthplace.

Rachel: It was really, really amazing to have you with us on the trip because I'm not quite sure if we would have survived in the countryside without you, because it's actually quite hard to use English to get around outside of the capital city.

Rayna: Yeah, it is. Not many people in the countryside understand English, but they tried, really. They tried to explain to you, they were not shy. They tried like with hands and foot and so on. So, I think, this is my opinion, that the people are very nice and they try to help you even though they don't speak English.

Rachel: Yeah, they were absolutely lovely, and I think we communicated through things like food and stuff as well, so it was fine. And we talked to the animals, that was great as well. How would you describe Bulgaria to somebody who's never been there and doesn't have really any idea about it?

Rayna: Yeah, you mentioned actually the food. The music is also very unique, very interesting. The people, as we said. The tomatoes! Of course, this is an ex-communist country, so you see kind of remains from that era, like buildings, monuments. So, it's a kind of a mixture now between the modern West and, old East. So, this is what is very interesting to Bulgaria. There, of course, I mean, I have to be honest, there are some things that I don't like, like the not dealing with the past. But as a tourist, you can enjoy Bulgarian mountains, you can enjoy the seacoast, you can enjoy the food. So, there are a lot of things for you, especially as a tourist.

Rachel: Definitely, and it's actually really nice to get a bit of both, so like the fun travel stuff, but also to really find out about history, which is not always an easy topic.

Rayna: No, not at all.

Rachel: I think most of my memories from the trip are dairy-based because we had to eat so much cheese and yoghurt just because we were talking about those topics. Very tasty, but I'm not actually used to eating that much dairy, so. But there was also one other local specialty which you told us we had to try, and sorry if I pronounced this very badly, but was it like Bojsha?

Rayna: Boza! But it has nothing to do with dairy. Exactly, boza. This is a very, very specific and very unusual drink. It has a very thick consistency and also a little bit of alcohol, but a very low percentage, like below one. Don't worry. Children drink it as well.

Rachel: I did not realize that.

Rayna: Yeah. And it is sweet because it is made out of sugar, but it is also a little bit acidic because it's also made of fermented wheat. It's like something like a milkshake out of old beer. So, you can imagine it like this. And either you hate it, or you love it. There is nothing in between, actually.

Rachel: I don't think you're selling it very well.

Rayna: Wait, I have to say something very important because otherwise I will get a problem with the neighboring countries. So look, it is not only a Bulgarian, I don't want to claim it as being a Bulgarian drink because Albanians, Turks, they will also have this. So it is, let's put it like this, it is native for the region, but Bulgarians drink it a lot, yeah.

Rachel: Yeah, that's the case for lots of food products there as well, right? There’s slightly different ways to do it in different places, but…

Rayna: Yeah! Me as Bulgarian, I would say the Bulgarian boza is the best.

Rachel: Of course. But there is another thing to it. It's not just about it being a tasty or a slightly weird drink, right? What do the locals say about it?

Rayna: Oh, no. I know what you’re going to say. Uh, well, I told you ainBulgaria that there is a urban legend or, so no proofs, no proofs for this. But it is said that when women drink boza, they get bigger boobs or breasts. Yeah, it is, it is, it is the legend. Yeah.

Rachel: Wow. Well, I mean, I did try it. I can't say I noticed anything, uh, specific.

Rayna: You have to drink it every morning.

Rachel: Oh that’s the problem!

Rayna: Yeah, of course.

Rachel: I should have brought some more back in my suitcase. But I did actually quite like the taste. I’d say I agree, it's quite sweet, it's quite malty. Yeah!

Rayna: You usually drink it in the morning. It's not a drink for the afternoon or the evening. It's a drink for the morning because it's very high on calories. It's kind of a power drink or something like this.

Rachel: It's got alcohol, it's got calories.

Rayna: It's healthy, which is not, but you can, you can pretend.

Rachel: But see, this is something that, I mean, I don't think that we would have known to get those products if we weren't with you. I probably would have been like, ‘Oh, what's that weird brown drink?’

Rayna: You always need locals to learn the culture, yeah.

Rachel: Exactly. So thank you so much. So we also, in these travel by episodes, we have a few quick fire questions. You're going to ask me today, Rayna. Okay.

Rayna: So, best meal or new food that you tried?

Rachel: I mean, we have to say boza. I did really enjoy it. I think it was great.

Rayna: I don't know.

Rachel: But apart from that, I was actually really impressed in the capital city, just with everything you could get. I mean, it was great food in general. Quite a few really nice brunches. The cheese, obviously amazing – um…

Rayna: Kashkaval?

Rachel: Kashkaval, yeah!

Rayna: Or sirene?

Rachel: Oh no, sirene was the really good one.

Rayna: Sirene was the white one.

Rachel: The one that's not feta.

Rayna: Yeah, exactly.

Rachel: I would have actually liked to try even more Bulgarian specialties, maybe difficult as a vegetarian. So, like, what's your, what would you recommend people try?

Rayna: Well, I like sirene made in, in wood– No, not in wood, in clay! You call it in clay and then in the oven and then with tomatoes.

Rachel: Oh, lovely.

Rayna: And then it's, yeah, this is also very special. It's called Sirene po Shopski.

Rachel: That sounds really good.

Rayna: Good. Next question: a place you didn't get to see but would like to go back for?

Rachel: Well, I heard that you can go skiing really close to the capital. What's the name of the mountain?

Rayna: Vitosha. Yeah, you can. If there’s snow. But actually, yes, you can go, and you can even go for mountain biking or even for walking. So, the Vitosha mountain is really very nice and kind of a solitude out from the big city going to the mountains, and it is very close, you can see it. You can go even by normal bus, so yeah. Okay, Rachel next question: a hidden treasure or surprise find?

Rachel: The first night that we arrived there, we were just looking around for somewhere to eat. And we just heard some strains of music coming from somewhere and we followed it. And there was this really cool open-air bar that was, I guess, a music venue, probably also shows films and does other things too. It was called Kino Cabana. Quite like central in Sofia and it was the perfect introduction to the country because it was like, it was a mixture of jazz but also mixed in with Bulgarian folk music. So, there was people playing traditional instruments, for example, it just kind of felt very serendipitous that we would stumble across it.

Rayna: Interesting! Because I came actually the day after, so you enjoyed your first night without me, but still get to know Bulgarian music.

Rachel: I was with producer Sam and we actually liked it so much that you can hear that very music in that episode. So, thank you very much again to Zhivko Vasilev. That was really cool just to be able to feature a bit of music that we really heard when we were there. He was playing a traditional instrument. I think it's called a kaval?

Rayna: Kaval. Oh yes, exactly. This is like a flute. Exactly.

Rachel: And then there was somebody else playing something which I think was a gadulka.

Rayna: Gadulka! Yeah, this is a small, like a guitar?

Rachel: Yeah, it was stringed, but that she was using a bow.

Rayna: Exactly.

Rachel: And I looked up the word and it said it meant something like hum or buzz or something like that? In a positive way, a drone sound, if you know what I mean.

Rayna: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. Yeah, gadulka, yeah. It's a small insect, yeah.

Rachel: Ah, okay, yeah, buzzing. But what would you say about Bulgarian traditional music? Is it particularly unique?

Rayna: I think yes, of course, me being biased, but when I'm asked this question, I always like talking about one very, very special song by Valya Balkanska and this special song travels with the Voyager. Do you know the Voyager that was launched in space in the 70s, by the end of the 70s? It's kind of a spaceship that should go beyond our galaxy and beyond our sun, and there were a lot of human achievements there and one of this is a recording of this special song. It is very spacey, very emotional, very deep, it's very unique. Last question, what about a travel tip or something that went wrong?

Rachel: For a travel tip, do you remember when we were out in the countryside with the farmer Dimitar?

Rayna: Yeah.

Rachel: And he was so kind, he kept sort of stopping his truck at the side of the road and just finding all these things that he wanted us to try. So he got like some berries, some kind of mushrooms.

Rayna: Mushrooms!

Rachel: Not naughty mushrooms.

Rayna: Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, normal, Bulgarian mushrooms.

Rachel: Yeah, that was so nice! So, I feel like that's a good tip for people. They could just drive around on some of the country roads and when they see these little sort of stalls with just someone chilling there in the shade selling their wares, then yeah, it's a good way to try local.

Rayna: Yeah, it is typical.

Rachel: Yeah. So that was really kind and really sweet of him. There is one little extra bit to the quickfire questions, which is the language part, but I don't want you to ask me because I'm going to be honest, I don't think I can remember any of the words that you taught me.

Rayna: But back then you could definitely say thank you. So, you learned it, and everybody was applauding. You know Bulgarians love when you tell them something, or you try to tell them in Bulgarian.

Rachel: Yeah, I made the effort and you were a very good teacher, but it's all gone.

Rayna: Yeah, I understand.

Rachel: So classic one we'll start off with, how do you say hello?

Rayna: Zdraveĭte.

Rachel: Zdraveĭte. Okay, so you just said that we used thank you quite a lot. What was that?

Rayna: Blagodarya.

Rachel: Ah, yes! Blagodarya. I remember!

Rayna: Yeah, we tried it so often one evening.

Rachel: Blagodarya. I like that. And there was a shorter version of that as well?

Rayna: Yeah, we also say merci. It's the international one, but if you want the Bulgarian word then it is blagodarya.

Rachel: Blagodarya. I'm going to remember it this time.

Rayna: I know, I know. I'll ask you in two weeks.

Rachel: Okay, so we talked quite a lot about food and drink in this episode, so how about something like yummy?

Rayna: We say like mnogo vkusen.

Rachel: Mnogo-kus-ko.

Rayna: No. No, no, it's not approved. Mnogo vkusen. At the end you have a ‘-no’.

Rachel: “vkus-no”.

Rayna: Yeah. Great. Amazing.

Rachel: I'm not going to remember that in two weeks, I'm sorry. You need to come up with a slightly shorter version and then I've got a better chance.

Rayna: Yeah, I have to think, but I can't remember now. Anyway.

Rachel: Okay. And then finally, how do you say goodbye?

Rayna: Well, you can say ciao.

Rachel: Yeah, classic.

Rayna: This is also the international one. But you can say also say Dovizhdane, which is ‘see you’, but when you see the person and when you are on the phone or when we are doing podcasts like this, you say, hear you. So, do chuvane. And we, we make this distinction when you, when you call somebody and then you say, do chuvane, here you soon. And when you see him, then you say, dovizhdane.

Rachel: Lovely! Okay, well, we're actually recording this podcast as a video as well. So for the people who are watching on YouTube, let's say–

Rayna: Dovizhdane.

Rachel: Dovizhdane. And for anyone who's listening on podcast platforms we say–

Rayna: Do chuvane.

Music

Phone ringing

Montage: "развален телефон", "Chinese whispers", "telefono senza fili", "telephone", "kulaktan kulağa", "Stille Post", "испорченный телефон", "téléphone arabe", "głuchy telefon", "Russian scandal", "Don't drink the milk"

Dial tone

This episode was produced by Sam Baker and hosted by Rachel Stewart with guest producer, Rayna Breuer.