From 9^th to 13^th October, 2012, „Ivan Vazov" Secondary School host 20 teachers and 20 students from Wroclaw- Poland, Correggio- Italy, Panevezys- Lithuania, Pustamerges- Hungary, Ankara- Turkey and two schools from Croatia - from Osijek and Zagreb for the 5^th meeting on our project “National Parks Of Europe” on “Comenius” program.

Traditionally, the guests were greeted with “bread and salt” and congratulated with "Welcome" with folk songs and dances.

The first day of the program consisted of some organizational tasks for teachers, workshops for students / games with Bulgarian alphabet, studying of Bulgarian folk dances, playing volleyball /, presentations on the theme "People and Parks' from students of all partner countries. Then, our guests went sightseeing to the house-museum of Ivan Vazov, to school”Radinoto uchilishte”, to the traditional craft house “Esnapha”.

On the next day we walked around the Medieval Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo and touched the millennial Bulgarian history. The foreign partners were impressed by the well-preserved ancient fortress of the Patriarchal Church and especially the incredible panoramic view from the hill. Also, the tour included a visit to the architectural and ethnographic museum “Etara”. The guests examined water facilities with great interest, walked around the craft bazaar and bought some souvenirs.

The third day began with a visit to the Eco Path “Byala Reka of Central Balkan near the town of Kalofer. In beautiful autumn day they easily overcame the route of two kilometers. We were able to show our partners the richness of this protected area with information boards that telling a lot of interesting facts about the typical flora and fauna in the park. The photos remind us how awesome nature is and we are the ones who should not violate the ecological balance. Then all our guests had lunch at the restaurant “Ribkata”.

In the afternoon we show our guests the town of Karlovo – the birthplace of Vasil Levski, the town of Roses and the Falls “Suchurum”.

The 5^th meeting of the project was helpful and pleasant for all participants – students, their parents and teachers. There are three meetings ahead to the end of the project.

/See pictures in Gallery/