Rick Steves’ Europe is public television’s most-watched, longest-running travel series. Thanks for joining us. The town's hillsides are blanketed with both traditional homes and dreary concrete housing blocks. Naples, Italy: The Birthplace of Pizza by Rick Steves' Europe. (The Bulgarians feel a Slavic kinship with Russia, who helped liberate them from nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule. Our next stop is Bulgaria's medieval capital, Veliko Tarnovo. Down in the valley, golden domes mark Shipka Church, which honors the sacrifice of those Russian and Bulgarian troops. You go to "Eastern Europe," you think of potatoes, kraut, and heavy meat, but this is — it feels more Mediterranean. With the end of the Cold War and the arrival of capitalism, it was abandoned. This island-hopping adventure comes with remote beaches, Crusader castles, a Blue Lagoon, pre-historic wonders, and salty traditional island lifestyles. Hi, I'm Rick Steves back with more of the best of Europe. Rick: So, why is Rila so important to the Bulgarian people? 2. But that didn't stop him. Our final stop is Bulgaria's most enjoyable city, Plovdiv — with a history going back centuries before Christ. Bulgarian is a cross of all civilizations — between north and south, east and west. From Sofia, we visit Rila Monastery, head north to Veliko Tarnovo, explore the Thracian Plain, and finish in Plovdiv. It's dinnertime, and Stefan's taking us out for a meal of updated Bulgarian classics. Did you come here as a child? Stefan: And a lot of Bulgaria. It was a favorite destination. In 1951, he suffered a stroke that rendered his right hand useless. For a visual orientation, scan the mountainous horizon from the valley near Kazanlak and try to pick out three big landmarks: the flying-saucer shaped Buzludzha monument; the blocky Shipka Pass monument; and — down below that — the glimmering golden domes of Shipka Church. The monastery is still home to a handful of monks, who host both tourists and pilgrims. One of Europe's most dramatically set cities that bunny-hops through a misty gorge at a sharp bend of the Yantra River. 4. This zone also has more than its share of creative, government-subsidized graffiti. The peaceful beech forests seem a world away from the big city. When people ask Rick where his travel dreams take him, you'll see why it is the Cinque Terre. Today, you can drive up, up, up into the mountains and stand before this decaying souvenir of a failed system. That was so good. While the fields smell sweet, the work is hard. As if stowing away on an actual shoot, you'll meet the crew and hear in their own words how America's most popular travel show is made. The bricks lead to Sofia's cathedral — one of the largest Orthodox churches in Christendom. Boyadzhiev's best works feature timeless slices of peasant life: Back in pagan times, people prayed not in temples, but under trees. Inside, you're immersed in the glow of Orthodox tradition. In this town that's more vertical than horizontal, going for a walk around the block feels like climbing a ladder. Rick Steves with family (Photo: Pinterest) Because of his unsuccessful marriage, his fans professed him as gay. I'm Rick Steves. Rick: Ah, OK. Video: Watch "Egypt's Nile, Alexandria, and Luxor," an episode of the Rick Steves' Europe TV show. This pivotal battle led to the eventual demise of the Ottoman Empire, and to the creation of the modern, independent country of Bulgaria. It has an airy, open street plan, fine old architecture, lush parks, and a relaxed pace of life. At this crossroads of civilizations, today's Bulgarians have blended old and new into a culture distinctly their own. The monastery was founded in the 930s by Bulgaria's patron saint, St. John of Rila (or Ivan Rilski, as Bulgarians call him), who came here seeking a hermetic way of life. 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