Hello From Sofia, Bulgaria

[kcghost]

Welcome from Kansas in the U.S.A.!!

 

[midcentry]

Welcome from the Rocky Mountains!

 

[Lucashly]

Welcome from California.

 

[ratruller]

Hi! I lived I Bulgaria for 14 years off and on. I was mostly based near Stara Zagora and Kazanluk but also spent time in Samakov. We are just working on opening a new distributor line in Bulgaria so hopefully will be able to progress that in the next couple of months and start getting Gawith tobacco back into the market there. It used to be sold there but the former distributor then went very quiet. Interested to hear about the pipe maker there. I maybe over that way later in the year. Still got a couple of land plots I need to sell and a few things to sort out and friends still live there. All my dogs are Bulgarian rescue dogs! Rachel

Hello
Stara Zagora is nice. Please do update me as soon as you manage to set up the distributor line. I would love to get some tobacco diversity without the hassle of going abroad.

 

[ratruller]

Burning or charring the rim takes some real effort. Most of what people who call it that are really talking about lava, gunk or whatever. Char is real, though, and is nasty.

I believe my problem is charring. I have this on all my 5 pipes.
I think I found the reason and I'm trying to correct it, lighting with the pipe not in horizontal position (as it is mostly on the stem side). Maybe wrong but since I started paying attention this, the "stains" haven't grown.

 

[mso489]

Hey from central North Carolina. I'm so glad to see you are joining the Forums from Bulgaria, expanding the united nations of pipe smokers here. There is some real expertise and experience here, along with some jive and trash talk. I always learn something. Welcome aboard.

 

[jwussow]

Welcome from Wisconsin, United States!

 

[jpmcwjr]

I believe my problem is charring. I have this on all my 5 pipes.
I think I found the reason and I'm trying to correct it, lighting with the pipe not in horizontal position (as it is mostly on the stem side). Maybe wrong but since I started paying attention this, the "stains" haven't grown.

View attachment 243903

Could well be. All my pipes that are so marked were due to the same thing you stated.
There's a fine line between charring and lava-ing, and I don't know where it is....Lovely pipe, btw.

 

[ratruller]

Could well be. All my pipes that are so marked were due to the same thing you stated.
There's a fine line between charring and lava-ing, and I don't know where it is....Lovely pipe, btw.

It is a MrBrog No29 Caro, lovely quick smoker for a beginner btw. I thought I preferred bent ones but this one made me think about it and because of it I am waiting for a Vauen Vintage Pipe 4066.

Edit: I know there is not much love for MrBrog pear pipes. but for me they are a really good non expensive available option (4/5 of my pipes are MrBrog, 3 small size and 1 normal size)

 

[Cyxelsid]

Hello all,

After drawing from the experience all over this forum I decided to join.
I am from Sofia, Bulgaria where as far as I know pipe smoking is not so common (at least I never saw a fellow pipe smoker in the wild).
I used to be a rolled cigarettes heavy smoker but am slowly moving to pipes (small pipes for 15-20min smoke really helped).
Back in 2021 I managed to completely switch to pipes but then Covid and taste change hit me and I quit pipes for some time and returned to cigarettes.
Now I'm slowly getting into the hobby again and really enjoying it.
The biggest problem I faced was packing and keeping the pipe lit for a reasonable time, but lately something just clicked and it is not an issue anymore (at least most of the time hehe),
Different tobacco blends availability and ban on international shipping is also a problem in Bulgaria but my main at the moment is MacBaren Classic Loose Cut, bought from airport Duty free shops and not locally unfortunately. Luckily I'm a contracting aircraft engineer and I travel a lot, so it is easy to resupply.

Pretty much that sums up my pipe smoking life.
I am happy to join the community and would be even happier to find some fellow pipe smokers in Sofia to meet for a relaxing smoke some day.

Welcome from Los Angeles, California!

 

[Kirklands]

Another welcome from Kansas City.

 

[guylesss]

Whoops.

I first read the thread title as "Hello, I'm Sofia Vergara"

(need to stop speed reading so much, I guess)



View attachment 243370

George, I thought she was already a member. . .

 

[guylesss]

I have the very fondest memories of Sofia--where I spent several days on a trip devoted to following one of the original routes of the Orient Express. The first leg of my trip (London to Venice) was in surreal luxury devoted to celebrating the train's centennial. The rest of my trip to Istanbul, on ordinary trains via Belgrade, was not. My extraordinary good fortune in Sofia was being taken under the wings of a trio of mischievous, stunningly beautiful students studying English at the University (who claimed I resembled Woody Allen). As for my command of Bulgarian (or even deciphering street signs in Cyrillic)--then or now, i am hopeless, and the only word they made a point of teaching me was "makhmurluk."

All of which is to say, a warm welcome from New York.

 

[jpmcwjr]

By some quirk I opted to take a course in Byzantine art, taught by a German who was renowned in his field, but I could understand about every other word.

Anyway, Sophia is the place!

Welcome aboard.

 

[macaroni]

Welcome

 

[Scottmi]

Hello and Welcome from Orcas, WA USA!