May 2; holiday season once again 😎
Celebrating and kicking off the long Bulgarian summer... this was my week
Happy Sunday,
It’s 30 degrees C here in Troitsa village today, where Ellie and I are celebrating Easter with the family, so it’s fair to say summer has arrived. Bulgaria traditionally has long and late summers and winters, and relatively short springs and autumns, and in the past few years, it feels like these are just getting shorter and shorter. This year it took less than four weeks between the last snow and 30-degree heat, go figure.
Koningsdag celebrations 🧡🇳🇱🥂
This year again we had to do without the official King’s Day (or Koningsdag in Dutch) celebrations of the official Netherlands national holiday here in Bulgaria. Just like last year, the big annual party hosted by the ambassador was canceled, but unlike last year, when Ellie and I just put on something orange and sat on our balcony sipping Aperol cocktails on our own, the mood in Sofia was to celebrate, and celebrate we did.
King’s Day is a special holiday to me, not only because I grew up with it, but also because it’s void of any ideological, nationalist, or even historical context. It’s a national celebration of the sitting monarch’s birthday, nothing more. For that reason, its date changes with every new monarch, and so even does its name: until 2013 when Queen Beatrix retired, it was called Queen’s Day.
Forbes business awards with Ellie 😍
Ellie and I have become good friends with the Forbes Bulgaria team over the past two years, as we happen to have offices in the same building. Beyond being our work neighbors, the team led by seasoned Bulgarian journalist Iordan Mateev is without doubt the best business journalism outlet in the country. Ellie collaborates with Forbes extensively and has her own monthly column in the print edition, and for this year’s annual Forbes business awards, Ellie and her team designed the Innovative Business of the Year award category, setting criteria and helping analyze the nominees for the jury. On behalf of launchlabs Sofia, Ellie delivered the award to the company selected as winners by the jury, ScaleFocus. ScaleFocus is one of Bulgaria’s leading IT firms, and their approach to clients and staff is what got them this award. Well-deserved.
What made these Forbes awards so special was that it was the first event of its kind for us, in over 14 months. Each guest had to go get an antigen test to verify we’re not Covid-positive, and once inside the ballroom at the Sofia Hyatt Regency, it was as if we were back in the pre-2020 world, with a gala dinner setting, and everyone hugging and getting together for group photos. May it be the first of many such occasions.
Crossing Bulgaria by EV 🚙⚡️
This weekend we’re in the Shumen/Varna region for Easter, and since Ellie and her sister are planning to spend the next few weeks working remotely from the Black Sea coast, I thought it’d be a good idea for them to take our Volkswagen EV with them, so I could use the diesel Volvo for my own road trips in May. While they left for Shumen on Thursday morning, I had to stay in Sofia for a few important meetings that day, and decided to do the 400 km drive with the electric VW Golf at night early on Friday. The Golf’s 36 kWh battery is good for about 180 km of range, which made it an interesting challenge, as fast-charging stations in Northern Bulgaria are still quite few. On the main road connecting Sofia and Varna, there is one 50 kW DC station 70 km from Sofia in Pravets, and the next one is in Veliko Tarnovo, 170 km further down the road.
Whether it was the near-absent traffic before sunrise, or the already warm temperatures, but I managed to make it to Veliko Tarnovo with 23% of battery left, which means this EV is now ready and proven for any trips to any destination in Bulgaria (in summer at least).
Once I got to Shumen, I picked up Ellie and we headed to Neofit Rilski, a village close to Varna, where the Varna EV Club organized a get-together of EV owners on Good Friday.
Easter is back 🐣✨
Much like with King’s Day, this year we also got to celebrate a proper Easter, unlike the Zoom version we did last year. In families like Ellie’s, who despite being non-religious celebrate it family-style, it’s like a second Christmas, with everyone coming together and eating till you drop. I didn’t really grow up with Easter, and I like it a lot as a very welcome acquired taste. Also, the message of Easter is really good; that good always wins over evil. May that be the omen for all of us for the rest of this year!
Thanks for checking in today and talk to you next Sunday! 😇
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