- One of the oldest names in Europe. The country has been called Bulgaria since 681 – more than 1,300 years without a change of name. Our neighbours changed borders, coats of arms and spellings. We only changed tsars.
- The oldest worked gold in the world. The gold objects of the Varna Necropolis are about 6,000 years old – older than the Egyptian pyramids. They were worn by people who didn't know they were living in Bulgaria, but their taste was already there.
- A Bulgarian song in space. The folk song „Излел е Дельо хайдутин“ (Izlel e Delyo haidutin, “Delyo the outlaw has come out”), performed by Valya Balkanska, is recorded on the Golden Record of Voyager, launched by NASA in 1977. It is currently flying outside the Solar System. If aliens ever come, they will ask for a bagpipe (gaida).
- The computer has Bulgarian roots. John Atanasoff, who together with Clifford Berry built one of the first electronic digital computers, was the son of a Bulgarian – Ivan Atanasov from the village of Boyadzhik near Yambol. In Bulgaria he is a national hero. In America – simply John.
- The Shopska salad is the flag. White (cheese), green (cucumbers and parsley), red (tomatoes and peppers). Patriotism you can eat.
- Yoghurt has a passport. The bacterium is called Lactobacillus bulgaricus. No other milk product carries the name of a country in its scientific name. Don't ask us about the Greek one.
- Rose oil for the world's perfumes. A large share of the rose oil in the world's perfumes comes from the Rose Valley. In other words: many very expensive French ladies smell of Kazanlak.
- 1994. The Bulgarian football team reaches fourth place at the World Cup in the USA, and Hristo Stoichkov wins the “Golden Ball”. People who were alive then still remember where they watched the match against Germany. Our German friends do too, but for different reasons.
- More mineral springs than breweries. This is not an official statistic, but it sounds true. The country has hundreds of mineral springs – from cold to nearly boiling.
- One of the oldest wines. The Thracians were making wine here thousands of years before the Romans. Dionysus, the god of wine, according to ancient authors was very popular in our lands. Some say he was a Thracian. We don't object.
Between us
The next time someone asks you “And where exactly is Bulgaria?”, don't get cross. Just say: “It's where the alphabet, yoghurt, the oldest gold and the song in space come from.” Then raise a glass. Looking into the eyes.