When a person has a dream, nothing can stop them from realizing it. In her youth, Ina Nikolova dreamed that she would one day buy a Trabant, paint it pink and travel around Bulgaria with it. 25 years later, her dream has come to life. Wherever it appears, the pink beauty named “Butterfly Fairy” invariably becomes a magnet for passers-by.

"For a long time I didn't know what name to put on the Trabant and I started decorating it on the outside - with flowers, butterflies and the name just came to me. It is the “The Butterfly Fairy" because I myself am a light, positive character, like "a fairy" because I like to do magic and surprises. We are one with the car," Ina Nikolova admits.

The unsightly yellow vehicle was transformed beyond recognition in just 10 months. The car was completely disassembled as every part of it has been restored and painted in pink - Ina's favourite colour, because it is "cheerful, colourful and creates smiles in me and people." Everything is absolutely Pink: not only the interior, but also the engine, and even the wiper fluid. The charming eyelashes with which the headlights are decorated add an extra charm.

Ina Nikolova herself is an equally colourful personality. An accountant by profession, but a fairy at heart, she is a person who is always on the road and sincerely enjoys life. Smiling, positive and invariably dressed in pink in tune with the Butterfly Fairy, the owner of the captivating car, however, does not look at life through rose-tinted glasses:

"I see the world in pink, but I am also quite realistic," says Ina. “I am an ordinary person, I just make my life pink, colourful and diverse. There are dark moments, but they pass quickly, the important thing is to look at everything with a smile”.

The Butterfly Fairy not only delivers incredible emotions to everyone who encounters it and is a welcome guest at retro car parades throughout Bulgaria, but also participates in various causes: it drove Caps for the Future, handed out martenitsas and Easter eggs, looked for Santa Claus….

• "Caps for the Future" campaign donates infant incubators to hospitals across Bulgaria

And everywhere she was greeted warmly and with smiles:

"People are very happy, they always say how beautiful, bright and colourful it is. They greet me, they want to take pictures, and it gives me pleasure, I am charged with these positive emotions because I never thought it would become so popular," Ina Nikolova tells Radio Bulgaria.

She is one of those people who makes us look at life from its colourful and fun side. Is this the way to overcome the greyness in our daily lives?

"This is one of the ways, because if we don't make the world colourful ourselves, there is no one else to do it for us. If we do not fulfil our dreams, there is no one to make them come true”, says Ina. "One must do for oneself what is good for oneself, what is good for one's soul and heart."

The Butterfly Fairy is probably the only car in the world that has its own fan club (Butterfly Fairy Fan Club), and Ina is about to materialize her next big dream - to participate in the International Meeting of Trabant Drivers in Zwickau, the birthplace of these small cars (Internationales Trabantfahrer Treffen Zwickau 17.-19.6.2022), Germany:

“It is in the second half of June, we will organize several Trabants and we will make a tour not only to Germany, but also on the way back and forth. My message to everyone is to dream and make their dreams come true, because this brings inner satisfaction," Ina believes.

And if somewhere on the roads of Bulgaria or the world you meet Ina and her Butterfly Fairy, it is bound to bring you luck.

Photos: private libfrary