After waiting for what seemed like an eternity for the trolleybus and then taking the metro we finally arrived mid-afternoon at the park, Tsaritsino. I had never been to the Honey Fair and so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We entered into the fair and by doing so entered into something reminiscent of a maze. Only with this maze, we didn't have to wait until we navigated to the end to get our prize- every inch of the way was filled with sweet delight. Vendors from all over Russia and the surrounding countries came to share their unique offerings of liquid gold. I never knew there were so many different types of honey or that the same type of honey could vary in taste so drastically from region to region.
Each stall had a sign indicating what region or country the vendor was from and several glasses set up, each containing a different type of honey for tasting. The colors ranged from deep auburn to vanilla cream. The consistencies ranged from a smooth syrup to a thick butter. The tastes ranged from a light sweetness to a heavy flavor in some ways reminiscent of sourgham. While The one thing they were all unified by was the way each honey from each region with their vendors all worked together to form a wonderfully unique cultural experience.
So as we sat on the banks of the pond in the park after walking for what seemed like hours and despite the sun having disappeared behind the clouds long ago, there was no disappointment in any aspect of the day. That ambiguous air of expectation of something good from the morning had proven true as we came home from a wonderful day of shared experiences and a little sunshine of our own in the form of Royal Linden Honey.
