What is the difference between a village close to a city and a remote one with just a couple of houses and a permanent population you can count on two hands? Well, I had the chance to make that comparison this year. One I have been visiting since I was a baby, as that is where my grandparents live. The other is new to me and this year was only my second visit.
That other place is Shodekovtsi. Not the kind of place you stumble upon by accident. Tucked away in the hills near Veliko Tarnovo, this small settlement is easy to miss and even easier to forget. It sits quietly in the landscape, unbothered by the noise and pace of modern life. No shops, no bus lines, limited internet access. Just the wind, the birds and the insects. Yet the village is slowly growing, with more and more young families relocating here and commuting to Tarnovo for work.
The house here is old. The ground floor used to be a barn where animals were kept and is now a living room. Everything was restored and renovated by one man, with occasional outside help. My wife's uncle loves this place and has poured his soul into keeping it as close to its original state as possible, while still making it a comfortable place to live in. He spends all his free time here and I can understand why.
Petio, my wife's uncle, grew up in this house before his grandparents moved to Trud, near Plovdiv.
Items used by generations to cook, haul water and iron clothes with hot coals. All now kept as decoration, to preserve the spirit and authenticity of the place.
It is a place you never knew existed, but miss after your first visit. Goodbye for now, Shodekovtsi. I will be back next year.
