A snowy school in sunny Bulgaria

A summer school on "Symmetry as a basis for structure analysis" was held in a mountain resort in Gjuletchitsa, Bulgaria in June 1994. The school was organised by the Bulgarian National Committee for Crystallography and the Faculty of Physics of the University of Sofia under the "Visiting Professorship" scheme of the IUCr. T. Hahn from Aachen and H. Wondratschek  from Karlsruhe, Germany were the lecturers.

Over 40 participants, mostly students and young scientists, attended the lectures and worked out 16 exercises in a recreation facility of the University of Sofia that featured a bar with flexible hours. A sudden snowfall covered all the f1owering herbs for a couple of days. As the lecturer's energy was depleted by the attack of students hungry for knowledge and the cold weather, the liquid medicine carried by local St Bernard dogs proved inadequate.  Fortunately, these problems were short lived. The school concluded with a microsymposium of contributions presented in English by the participants.

Sweaty participants in the arduous hike to Strashno Ezero (Dreadful Lake) near the Maljovitsa peak (2770 m) were surprised to come upon two cool and smiling professors sitting calmly near a natural fountain halfway to the lake. A two-wheel car that the Professors were using was of no use at higher altitudes and they were not found at the final destination.