The southern beaches of Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast

The beach of Silistar

The more one travels to the southern part of Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, the more he/she gets enchanted by the landscape of the Strandzha natural reserve and its beaches. The variety of beaches between the town of Tsarevo and the border town of Rezovo (Nestinarka, Ahtopol, Sinemorets’ Butamyata, Veleka, Lipite and Silistar) can satisfy every whim. Some offer compete relax and peace in deserted areas, while others can boast with a variety of sports and recreation facilities, bars and restaurants. All in all, the choice of beautiful sand beaches in the southern part of Bulgaria’s coast is quite rich and depends on tourists’ preferences for facilities, proximity or quietness. Of course, there is always a certain trade-off between easy access and crowdedness and it is up to each visitor to decide what he/she values more. Yet, regardless of the choice, one can hardly get disappointed due to the beauty of each bay and the surrounding landscape of Strandzha.

Varna - the Sea Capital of Bulgaria

The Bulgarian city of Varna has a millennial history. It has a good location and good visibility (almost 270 degrees). In the small cape where presently is located the naval station terminal, there was an ancient tribe of fishermen. In 1878 Varna was finally liberated by the Ottoman rule and became the largest port in Bulgaria. At the end of the 19th century Varna was linked to the capital Sofia by railway. Many factories have been built, industrial fishing has grown. Varna is rapidly becoming a naval station undergoing any European influence in architecture and naval transport and at the same time, a privileged place for the Bulgarian intellectual elite. Nowadays Varna is the center of the northern Black Sea coast and a landmark of the construction of resorts around it. The city is an industrial center and recently it became the second largest city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia.

Places of interest in Varna

The Roman SPA is located in the heart of the city center. They are built in second century during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius and are abandoned during the barbarian invasions in the fifth century. Restored and preserved, they deserve the visits of tourists. In the 14th century there was a pottery and later was built a small district. The Roman Bath is dated from the third century and is built in layers of stones and bricks related to a special mixture, consisting of mortar and tiles and bricks crumbled. The walls are covered with a waterproof plaster, the floor is tiled in marble and the walls in some rooms, too, are covered with marble. In the 5th century the building was substantially enlarged and rebuilt in connection with the expansion of this area of the city. Today, it is an archaeological site to visit.

The Cathedral of the Holy Virgin is considered emblematic for the Bulgaria's sea capital. It rises in the center aisle in front of the theater. A bus that goes to all of the main directions in the suburbs, including the airport, departs from the square in front of the church. The cathedral was built in 1886 by master masons of the time of awakening after a national plan of St. Petersburg. Construction and painting have taken quite long and it was officially opened in 1910. The carved wooden altar and the throne of the bishop are developed by masters from Macedonia Debar. The main compositions of wall paintings were made in 1950.

The Sea Garden is the another landmark of the city of Varna. It dates from the late 19th century. Today in the Garden is located an amphitheater, astronomy complex which is the first in Bulgaria, an observatory, a planetarium and a tower, land attractions and a small channel for sports rowing children, a pool for water cycles and a zoo. The outdoor theater is a center of many events. The central sea baths and the beach are located beneath the Sea Garden: there is a polyclinic, a set of homes for the treatment of curative mud and water spa, two docks, a few restaurants and nightclubs.

The church "Saint Nicolas" is located near the Sea Garden and dates of 1886: it has interesting wall paintings from old masters of icons representing different schools of painting in Bulgaria.

The Russian Monument is located in the park near the sea. It was built in honor of fallen Russian soldiers died for freedom of Varna.

The Asparuh Bridge connects downtown neighborhoods Asparouhovo and Galata. It is the longest bridge in Bulgaria and its construction work continues. The local club of extreme sports including bungee jumping organizes sport events here. To the east of the bridge is seen the bay of Varna and the Cape Galata, in the West - Lake of Varna.

The Archaeological Museum is located in the old building of a school in the era of National Awakening. Visitors have the opportunity to observe models of pile dwellings from the Paleolithic age, the Hall of archaic art and crafts, the room of the old art which presents the most important and impressive collection of objects and relics from the Bulgaria's early Christian church.

The Varna's Art Gallery was opened in 1950. It presents the paintings of the most prominent Bulgarian artists, as well as works by many foreign artists, donated by individuals.

The second biggest Bulgarian sea resort, Golden Sands, lies thirty kilometres north of Varna.

More Varna resources: Varna Guide, Wikipedia, Hotels in Varna, Bulgarian Sea Resorts - Varna, Europe Directory - Varna.

What will impress you in Romania - a trip to Bucharest and Sinaia

Romania is a country in South-East Europe that offer a rich choice of tourist attractions and vacation experiences: the magnificent architecture of Bucharest, the romantic Danube Delta, the popular Romanian Black Sea resorts like Mamaia, the impressive medieval towns in Transylvania like Brasov, the world-famous Painted Monasteries in Bucovina, the traditional villages in Maramures, the majestic Carpathian Mountains, and much more.

Our Romania trip started in the capital city Bucharest. Station Nord (Bucharest North) station is a quite nice building with old architecture. Measures are taken to limit the beggars and street vendors have introduced such a fee to stay on the platform - pour half. It's quite cheap, but with this approach the station assumes much cultural form.

There is a direct connection to the subway from the station (directly from the waiting room). Bucharest metro is relatively new - it was placed into service in 1979, but is quite granular. (Four beams with about 45 stops). Unfortunately, its performance was not particularly good quality and now looks rather shabby.

Architectural subway is a socialist Art Deco, but filled with cheap materials so that it would look really good if restored. The station where we left - Stefan Mare - has read quite spartan furnishings - yellow tiles of the same material as the yellow pavement in Sofia, the most ordinary gypsum plaster walls, and most ordinary neon lights - in Sofia's South Park to the subways. Generous to myself Ceausescu was pretty frugal for his people. The trains are regular, although sometimes one can get nervous while waiting.

I was placed in the neighborhood of composers. The whole neighborhood has streets named after composers. The quarter is nice with a perfectly straight streets and geometrical located 4-5 storey blocks, and with streets and sidewalks in perfect condition.

What you will NOT find in Bucharest:
1. Chalga - instead listen to folk music, which closely resembles the Bulgarian. Continuously on TV you can see a lead in costume, leading folkloric show.
2. New construction in the old quarters and center - in some downtown buildings are beginning to repair just now. Overall, the center looks battered. I heard about new and beautiful quarters, but I have not seen any new building and a few new commercial buildings.
3. Narrow streets clogged with parked cars. Partly because of the megalomania of the leaders of Romania, partly because some saw other reasons not clogged by parked cars on small streets.
4. Working Church. I visited several churches on Sunday (!?!) and only one of them worked.
5. Tickets for public transport to be sold freely.
6. Blade commercial street.
7. Broken streets - all streets and sidewalks are in perfect condition.

Moreover, in Romania:
1. Nuclear power works
2. Cars are being produced
3. Railways are in pretty good condition
4. No currency board

Sinaia is a former royal residence, now part of the resort complex of several villages located in the Prahova valley 120 km northwest of Bucharest. The valley is easily accessible as it passes over the main rail route Bucharest - Brasov - Budapest and has trains almost every hour. Fare little surprise-60 lei per person (40 euro) in both directions. Then it turned out it was worth - the train was very comfortable with soft seats, doors are opened by machines with compressed air after pressing the button. Toilet train, although it was slightly depreciated, was in perfect purity and fully usable.

Another feature of the Romanian railways is that the trains glide very smoothly on the tracks, apparently because some technology is used to remove the annoying clatter of trains and tracks are perfect. The train rattled only when the branch went through the line moved smoothly anyway.
I landed to Sinaia at noon and the day proved to be promising. The sun was shining, the frost is melted from the roofs, the sky was completely blue and the air crisp and clear. It couldn't be better. Since the station is located in the lowest point of the valley, one had to climb some very steep stairs (about 30 meters almost vertical) to reach the resort itself. Immediately after climbing eyes you see a snowy palace, up on the left there is another, but a little higher, and shortly after that comes the medieval Monastery Sinaia (Named after Mount Sinai in the Bible). We continued to Pele and Pelishor palaces. A picturesque alley covered with pavement (much of pavement has disappeared) leads there. Almost all of the lane is clogged with souvenir stalls. Looking to buy anything but just murmur bought magnetic beads. Pele and Pelishor are not medieval palaces. They were built on the threshold of 20th century with the idea to resemble the medieval ages, so that all their beauty is a little fake, but that does not diminish their attractiveness.

Check for more Romania travel resources in the European Travel Directory.

Summer in Bulgaria

Being a Bulgarian citizen, I feel liable to choose Bulgaria to be the first step in this Europe trip. As we are in the middle of the summer seazon, it is quite obvious that I should focus on the Bulgarian sea resorts and beaches. The popularity of the Bulgarian coast has seen a significant growth in the past years. The tourism industry has grown into one of the main sectots of the Bulgarian economy with double-digit growth rates of the number of tourists every year. Bulgaria offers a budget alternative to more expensive European resorts, while quality of service does not fall behind Western European standards in high-class resorts such as Sunny Beach, Albena, Golden Sands, Dyuni or the resorts situated near the Bulgaria's sea capital - Varna. White and tender sands and warm waters from the beginning of June to the late September go together with a amazing nature and many sightseeing steps along the coast, ranging from old pagan sanctuaries to remains of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, and authentic historical and cultural monuments of the Bulgarian country.

Check for more Bulgaria travel resources in Europe Travel Directory.