Let's go back in time with this virtual tour in our Retro Museum.
The museum actually represents our life during the communist regime. For some people it brings nostalgic feelings. Yes, we see bits and pieces we had at home at that time and I would not be surprised if some still holds them dear. Sentimental feelings. Altogether the exhibition consists of objects from 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s of the last century. Everything was very much influenced by the communist propaganda.
Cars
My intention was to make photos, as many as possible, but for some reason it was very cold inside and I could not stay much longer. The museum is situated inside of the Grand Mall of Varna and first thing to catch the eye of the visitor is the cars. All of them made in Eastern Europe, starting with the posh Chaika (Seagull) used by the top party and government officials.
The photos in black and white show the leaders of the former Soviet Union and Bulgaria.
Can you recognize the cars from the following photos?
Trabi, short of Trabant, a car we joked was made of cardboard. Well it was not, but the car itself was a joke.
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ZAZ - this is an abbreviation of the factory - Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant.
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Last one is Wartburg, a car from Eastern Germany.
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Some motorbikes.
An interesting way to show how the cars look from below by placing mirrors on the floor. I used some of the close-ups for my entry for Reflection Hunters Contest. You can have a look if you haven't already.
Toys
From big cars to small cars. Here, surprisingly I saw many models. The ones that have their doors, bonets open were pretty much considered top notch.
Board games and funny looking musical instruments making lots of noise were popular among the kids.
Bicycles everyone. Almost every child had a bike and those miniature cars were very much wanted.
I think we have enough of the cars of any size. Let's move on.
Appliances and other stuff
The great grandfather of the modern computers.
And typewriter machines. If I remember correctly I was using similar if not the same when I was young. At school we had some practical lessons like typewrittig and shorthand writing. Thanks to that I can type with all my ten fingers without looking at the keyboard, but only in Cyrillic.
Record players.
The next one - 2 in 1, radio with record player is exactly the one my parents had. I used to listen to fairy tales when I was little. When I grew up I got my first The Beatles album on vynil record and that was my favourite.
And now cameras. I should make some close-ups next time I go there.
These phones are ancient. I got a feeling some may be much older than I think.
Phone books and telegrams on display too. I never used to send or receive telegrams. Does anyone remember these short messages? It seems this service existed till 2005 in Bulgaria.
Money
If you are not bored to death yet, here you can see a collection of old banknotes and coins not only from Bulgaria but also from other countries of the Eastern block.
Starting with Bulgarian lev (the banknote) and stotinki (the coin)
Something I did not know - there were bank cheques as in the photo below - left top corner.
Russian rouble and kopeiki
Next Esterm German marks and Czech korun.
Romanian lei
Polish zloti.
And that is just a part of the exhibition. There were many more things from our everyday life, some long forgotten. At least for me. Still, it was brisk walk, like I said because it was cold and next time I will be dressed properly or go there in the summer.
If you reached this far, this is the end of the post. Hope you enjoyed it.
Wishing you a lovely weekend!
Thank you for viewing.
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