In the picture it is me in a straight white dress, behind me is my mother Elvira, next to her on the left is my father Buko. The people on the right are the owners of the house we had rented in Nessebar and some relatives of theirs. I can't quote any names because I don't remember them. Their house is behind us. The year was probably 1936.
Sometimes during the holidays we went to the seaside alone, only the three of us, without friends or relatives. I remember Nessebar, then called Messembria, in 1936. Our departure for the seaside was an event to remember because we used to take a lot of household belongings, a mattress, crockery, everything, because there we would rent lodgings from local people and we had to do the cooking. In the morning, mum would cook and afterwards we would go to the beach with a donkey carrying our luggage, and after the beach we would return to the lodging again. I have a dim memory of the time spent there but I have a photo. We probably took the train to Nessebar, I can't remember, but I keep the suitcase with which we travelled.
Every Saturday or Sunday our family made outings three or four kilometers from Sofia, in Knyazhevo, for example. If my mother had some house chores to complete, she remained at home and I went out only with my father. He was an amateur photographer and during those outings he was taking a lot of photos. He was an admirer of nature and that is why the focus in them is on nature, not on man.
On Saturday evening we went to eat kebapcheta [grilled oblong rissoles]. On Sunday my father would take me to the children's day performances at the National Theater but I can't remember any titles. The three of us used to go to the cinema in 'Moderen Teatar' [Modern Theater] and in 'Odeon', but I can't remember any movie titles.
My parents didn't keep contact with the Jewish community. Apart from the kin, they kept in touch with other Jews from Vidin who lived in Sofia - Itshak Mindal's family, for example, and Josef Perets's family. We didn't keep in touch with the Jews from Iuchbunar [the poorest residential district in Sofia in the past].
