Old World charm meets New World facilities

The mountains may not be as high nor the slopes as long as those of Alpine resorts in Austria and Switzerland, but a ski trip to Eastern Europe can be an adventure. Especially when it includes off-slope exploration.

Since the fall of Communism in the early 1990s, many countries have been spending big bucks to develop first-class winter resorts. Two of the best are Bansko in Bulgaria and Jasna in Slovakia.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd see skiing like this in Bulgaria", said Borislav Kostourkov, a Bulgarian on his first visit to Bansko, located three hours south of Sofia in the Pirin mountain range.

About $18 million has been spent to turn the area's ski slopes into a purpose-built mountain resort. New lifts. New runs. New luxurious hotels with spa facilities. A snow-park and half-pipe for boarders. A cross-country track. Even a shooting range for biathlon competitions.

Calling itself "the most modern resort in Eastern Europe, '' Bansko boasts 40 miles of groomed slopes, including an extra long run - about 10.5 miles with a vertical drop of 5, 500 feet. When you reach the bottom, your legs are burning.

Eight-passenger gondolas soar from the edge of town - within walking distance of the hotels in Bansko - to the resort hub where chairlifts take skiers to the upper slopes. There are long red and blue cruising runs, trails through the pine forests and a challenging black run.

While all is new and modern on the slopes and at the brand new hotels nearby, the town is Old World Bulgaria, charming and unique. Records indicate a settlement was established in Bansko in the 9th century. It was an important cultural center in the 18th and 19th centuries when talented artists founded a school for painting and woodcarving. Its ancient Byzantine church is dark and mysterious with candles, gilded icons and ornate chandeliers, while its Renaissance houses of stone are a testament to its rich past.

"Downtown'' is a collection of ski and souvenir shops with cozy, dimly lit taverns and restaurants. It's not unusual to see an entire lamb or pig roasting on a spit in front of one of the eateries.

Foreign visitors should leave the slopes behind for a day or two to see more of Bulgaria, a country noted for its Eastern Orthodox monasteries. The biggest and most famous, Rila Monastery, dates to the 10th century and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Rila is an easy day trip from Bansko, as is the ancient town of Melnik, a popular tourist destination known as Bulgaria's smallest town. Dramatic sand cliffs in surrealistic forms surround the town, which is a good place to taste Bulgaria's famous wine, also called "melnik.''