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The Coast
Bulgaria
Bec2004-09-15 13:17:37
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Burgas
Burgas was a long 8 hour ride from Istanbul, including the border crossing formalities so it was already six pm when the bus dropped me here next to the train station.
The tourist information offices were closed so I had to rely on a taxi driver to find this hotel where I paid 11 $US for a room with bath and air con.
Burgas has a nice Opera and Ballet theatre but there is not much to see or do in this busy port town in winter when the Black Sea resorts around nearby Sozopol, Nesebar and Slanchev Bryag are closed.
I took a couple of pictures and got on a bus headed for Varna further north on the coast.
Varna
The bus from Burgas dropped me off near the great Orthodox Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin not far from the centre of Varna.
The Clock Tower and the Storya Bachvarof Theatre shown here are located across the Mitripolitska Simeon Square from the Cathedral.The Musala Hotel where I had planned to stay was being restored but I found a private room in this house for only 5.50 $US through an agency in the train station.
I mention these low prices because many of my friends tell me that they would love to travel like me but they don't do it because they think it must be too expensive. I do like to make the point that travel can be easy and affordable.
Also close by was the open air market where one can find everything from soup to nuts. It had something of the atmosphere found in the souks and bazaars of the Middle East but it was impeccably clean.
Countryside
I rather liked Varna, I found it more friendly and sophisticated than down to earth Burgas. I'm sure it must be a fun place when its hot in summer!
From Varna I took a train to Ruse where I changed to another headed for Bucharest. The Bulgarian village you see here was in the countryside, somewhere between Varna and Ruse.
Ruse
I had a couple of hours to wait for the train crossing the Danube over the long Friendship bridge to Giurgiu in Romania on its way to Bucharest. Not quite enough to visit Ruse's famous Svoboda Square without rushing, so I stayed around the station to chat with the locals.
Copyright Bernard Cloutier
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See photographs from:
Bulgaria Gallery
