Dr. Ivan Sirakov, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Republic of Croatia
Five Stars Zagreb Issue 27 — December 01, 2008.

Every town situated at the foot of a mountain has its unique atmosphere. I could tell you that as a person that has lived at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in Sofia and as person who also resides at the moment at the foot of Medvedica Mountain. Zagreb enchanted me not only as a town situated on the banks of the Sava River, but also as a town with small picturesque hills and unique centuries-old atmosphere of Kaptol and Gradec.

There are a lot of green parks and gardens in the capital of my country – Sofia, but the landscape arrangement and the whole architecture style of Zagreb transport me more convincingly into the past and invoke memories of a “small Vienna”.

It is well known that each up-to-date capital is searching to find the harmony between the nowadays modern and the lasting beauty of historical monuments. Zagreb convincingly wins the battle against the chaos of today’s transport, industry and pollution and has the privilege of natural advantages skilfully complemented by talented architects and constructors. One could hardly resist the charm of the small cafes, shops and theaters, of the stone-paved narrow streets of the old town and the possibility to walk everywhere under the accompaniment of street musicians and singers or the performing smiling clowns.

As a citizen of Sofia - a big capital at the heart of the Balkans,  accumulating  greater part of the Bulgarian population, in Zagreb I do enjoy more relaxed atmosphere and meeting many smiling people. I could merge quickly with the crowds taking advantage of every sunbeam to enjoy the morning coffee or afternoon beer at the very center of the town, not to mention the pleasure to listen to Saturday musical performances in the open at Zrinjevac Park – from oldies  to traditional Croatian klapas. Especially dear to my Balkan perception and mentality is the picture of Zagreb’s fruits-, vegetables- and flowers markets.

Walking between the stands at Dolac I could easily imagine the Bulgarian gardeners of former times, that have found a living in Zagreb more than hundred years ago and used to teach the citizens of Zagreb how to grow the best tomatoes. Even today the word “Bugar” is not only a synonym of my compatriots but also of that profession. I discovered for myself yet another meaning of that word last summer at Preko on the island opposite Zadar. We were walking with friends by a street café and the waiter heard us talking and asked “Where are you from?” We answered “We are Bulgarians”. We talked friendly, joked and laughed and when we were passing by the café on our way back everybody greeted us commenting “Here are the Bulgarians – they are just the same like us!”I am Ambassador to Zagreb already for one year and with my wife we travel a lot around the country.

And with every single day we are more convinced in the numerous resemblances between our peoples and even our languages. And that is helping us to get acquainted more easily with the history, culture and mentality of the Croatians and to understand that “they are just the same like us!” And the differences just enrich our contacts and provide ground for reflections.

With this letter I wish to all citizens of Zagreb and Croatia prosperity and well being. And if I could paraphrase the famous words of President Kennedy said in the near past at the Berlin wall, today I could say “Ja sam Zagrepčanin.”