Mountain writing retreat next to the ski resort of Pamporovo

Description

We are a Belgian-Bulgarian family of historians with a 3.5-year old who decided to leave the city taking advantage of distance working at our respective institutes. Now we live in an aparthotel just above the village of Stoykite next to Pamporovo resort. So we are in the beautiful Rhodope mountain, close to natural gems (lakes, gorges, caves), ski slopes (the 6-seat lift of Pamporovo is 500 m away on a ski path or 3.5 km by car) and cross-country tracks which turn into hiking and mountain biking paths in the summer. Our toddler loves also the adventure parks in the vicinity with climbing walls and rope gardens. We all enjoy the summer coolness. Yet, it's 3 hours drive to the Aegean Sea (and the island of Thassos) so if we miss the heat we pack a tent and go for a couple of days. We'd be very happy to host fellow academics and share tips for their timeout from work. The flat we offer is one floor up from the one we live in (3rd floor without elevator) - it's always been a place for guests so it's fully furnished but with all the space free for what one would bring along. It is perfect for quiet work, most of the time we are alone in the building. We welcome kids and pets (for a toddler, we can provide a cot, a feeding chair, potty / kiddy toilet seat, some games and books). There is a municipal kindergarten at a 10 min drive which can accept a kid free of charge for a minimum duration of 1 month (our Alex goes there for a second year now). The building has a parking and a common garden with a playground; a small gym; all year round maintenance; a cleaning lady who charges 20 euro for a weekly apartment cleaning. The apartment is heated with electric radiators but has a fireplace too; high speed wifi; a dishwasher and a washing machine; 2 rooms - a bedroom with a queen-size bed and a foldable single coach; a living room with an office corner (a desk and an office chair), kitchenette and a dining area, and a foldable double coach facing the TV; large terrace and a bathroom/WC with a shower cabin. The kitchen is fully equipped for daily cooking but there is also a nice restaurant down in the village (3 km away) which offers delivery, and next to it there is a shop and ATM. The Pamporovo resort with pubs, bars, spas etc. is 10-15 min away, so is the ethnographic village of Shiroka Laka. For all the rest (supermarket, cinema, theater, etc.), we go once a week to Smolyan, which is a 15-20 min drive. Before the start of the working day in the winter we go skiing and in the summer we end the working day with a hiking or biking trip close by. My partner and I speak English, Bulgarian, Dutch, Polish, French, Russian and less fluently German, Italian, Ukrainian. The monthly rent of 850 euro (weekly 250 euro) includes all the utilities (electricity, water, internet) but there is a surcharge of 150 euro for heating in the winter; weekly rate of 250 euro with a surcharge of 40 euro in the winter.