More than a century ago a teacher from the Danube city of Vidin (Northwest Bulgaria) left the classroom and started exploring the world. His meager finance did not allow him to travel on ship. However, penury failed to break his unwavering spirit. He took little luggage with him and started his world tour… on foot.

The name of the adventurer who dared to follow his reckless dream shortly after the liberation of this country from the Ottoman rule remains in secret. However, ethnographer Racho Milanov from the city of Vidin is determined to get to the bottom of this amazing story. He came across this story when he was searching for information for his Facebook page The Ancient Vidin.

Racho Milanov learned more about this story when he was browsing foreign websites offering postcards on different auctions, journalist Irena Danailova told Radio Bulgaria. Racho Milanov found a postcard from 1907 signed by this teacher. He wrote on the postcard that he wanted to tour the world in twelve years-from 1903 until 1915. On another postcard which is part of a French collection he wrote that his trip would end in 1913. He did not address these postcards to certain people and left them in different countries. This story really sounds like science fiction and he was probably the first Bulgarian who started touring the world without money in his pocket.

The postcard of 1907 depicts the traveler in the company of two other men. We can see on the photo a handsome man with a long beard and high boots leaning with his right hand on a long stick. He is holding a book in his left hand. The man wrote on the back of the postcard in English, German, French and Italian that he was planning to tour the world.

The only purpose of my journey is to study nature and the customs and habits of the local people. I started this trip without any money in my pocket relying on the help of honorable people only. The postcard depicting my portrait will serve as an evidence of my visit to your country. 1903. My journey will end in 1915: H.J.M. Nikolov, teacher from the city of Vidin, Bulgaria.

The adventure of this Bulgarian teacher reached the US newspaper Washington Times which published in 1908 an article with his photo. Apparently, this Bulgarian teacher was a highly educated person who knew foreign languages. However, no one knows where he studied, what he lectured in and where his dream to tour the world came from?

All questions have remained without answers, Irena Danailova says. We have not managed until now to find his name in the city archives, or any of his relatives. He used to write Teacher from Vidin only, but there were not that many teachers in this region in 1903. We have to continue our investigation and I hope that sooner or later we will unveil this mystery.

The rich evidence of the ancient history of Vidin apparently gave wings to the pioneering spirit of this Bulgarian teacher and traveler. The Romans built their city over an ancient settlement and named it Bononia (beautiful fortress). The Kingdom of Vidin was also situated on these lands and later the Ottoman Empire established an important administrative and economic center.

In 1900 Vidin was a gateway to Europe. All ships from Vienna moored at the Vidin port and many highly-educated people who laid the foundations of Bulgaria after the liberation from the Ottoman Rule lived there, Irena Danailova went on to say. Vidin is the city of the first Bulgarian Exarch- Antim I. Moreover, many famous personalities of this period lived there. In other words, the upsurge of Bulgaria after its liberation perhaps made this teacher undertake such a journey. Moreover, the city was visited at that time by world-famous figures and some of them, mainly Jews, settled in Vidin.

H.J.M. Nikolov travelled a distance of 62,000 kilometers across Europe and Africa in 3 years and 9 months. However, we do not know yet whether he returned to his home city after this trip, or continued touring the world and visiting unknown lands. Perhaps, the archives will unveil this mystery one day, but one thing is for sure now- the general intoxication of freedom gave wings to this man to “fly” to unknown horizons and remote lands.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov