In January, Sofia still lay cradled in winter's embrace. Snowflakes could faintly be seen, appearing and vanishing like celestial beings carelessly scattering them down into the mortal world.
Ferdinand stepped out through the palace gates into the bitter winter cold and headed to the University of Bulgaria for an inspection.
In this era, Bulgarian university students were practically synonymous with misery. Ferdinand trained them as scientists, so naturally there was no shortage of material to study, and summer and winter breaks simply did not exist.
All Bulgarian universities had a five-year program. In the brief span of three years, students had to finish every course that later generations of undergraduates, master's students, and doctoral candidates would take. The other two years were reserved for practical training.
They rose punctually at five twenty every morning, first undergoing an hour of military training, then taking ten minutes to wash up before beginning their morning classes.
Classes ended at seven thirty, followed by an hour for breakfast. Then came more lessons, each lasting an hour and a half with half-hour breaks in between, continuing until lunch began at noon.
Meal times were all the same—one hour. Classes resumed at one, and school ended at four thirty for dinner.
At five thirty, they began another hour of military training. At seven, classes started again and continued until dismissal at ten thirty. They had to finish washing up and go to sleep before eleven.
In short, they studied from dawn to dusk. They had only one day off each month, and all their holidays combined added up to no more than twenty days a year. That was university life in Bulgaria.
There was no helping it. Elite education was this strict. Bulgarian educators had created it by making certain modifications to aristocratic training.
Thus, Bulgarian