Hello, friends!
My name is Yanisa—an adventurer at heart—and I want to share an incredible experience with you: a night when I encountered God, a night when I lived through something indescribable, a night when I met my true self—the soul that finds its way into the dwelling place of God.
This is a night when, under the open sky, I gazed at and counted the stars—near a monastery bearing the name of the Rila Monastery, located in the Rila Mountains, one of the highest and most expansive mountain ranges on Bulgarian soil, in the land of Bulgaria—the place where I was born.
Here, where the earth meets the sky—home to the highest mountain and the largest monastery on the Balkan Peninsula—lies a place that leaves an indelible mark on your soul. I decided to challenge myself by staying the night, eager to see what I would experience, what I would feel, and what kind of person I would become by the time I returned the next day.
Here, where I stayed the night, I experienced the deepest sleep I have ever known; here, six hours felt like twelve. Here, time stands still, and you hear only the rustle of a quiet stream in the forest. Here, only the echo stirs among the ever-resounding pines of the high Balkan mountains.
I stayed in a room for the night—a room that felt just like the ones from our childhood. Everything was from the 90st it was like being at your grandmother’s house. Everything was made of wood, the beds still had old-fashioned springs, the windows were wooden, and the room was heated by a portable electric heater that warmed the whole space. Here, I found my way back to myself—truly, I found my way back to myself. Everything was so ordinary, so simple, yet at the same time, so magical. This is a place where you remember who you really are.
At two o'clock in the morning, we decided to take a walk around the monastery. There was a gate with a small door set into it, and the monastery guard let us through that small door—since everything gets locked up for the night. I had a rose that was nearly dead, but after we spent the night at the monastery, it came back to life—as if it had been planted in soil. It makes me wonder about the vibrant energy this place holds, given that even a flower could come back to life.
This is a photo of the monastery taken during the day. It is full of tourists from all sorts of countries who come here to visit, stay overnight, and experience the energy of the place—people from all over the world. It is one of those magical spots: once you come here, it remains in your memories forever, along with everything you experienced.
In Bulgaria, baptisms for children turning one year old most often take place in monasteries. As Christians, we have a tradition of baptizing our children in churches and monasteries, where they can embrace the faith—a faith in a God who purifies and helps us. It is a God in whom I believe, and who helps me, with each passing day, to become an ever-better version of myself—to appreciate more what surrounds me and to be grateful.
And here is the train, waiting to take us on a grand adventure—the kind of adventure I strive to experience as I go through life. With each passing day, I aim to grow and to appreciate the things around me—whether small or not so small—because, in truth, the greatest miracles are hidden within the little things. An ordinary train can carry you to such extraordinary places, where even a single weekend can offer experiences that shift your entire perspective on life. So, I wish you endless adventures; after all, what is this life if we don’t live it as fully as we possibly can?
I wish you a life that is an endless adventure—a life in which you experience each new day as an opportunity to truly realize the miracle of having this Earth, and to appreciate it as it deserves.
From Yanissa