Bulgaria

Bulgaria. Hot.

The state of Bulgaria is emerging. Slowly. Its attributes rocketed with the accession to the European Union. Quickly, it established itself as a hot summer and winter holiday property market. A few interesting Black Sea resorts had long been holiday destinations. In recent past for the Eastern Block nationals but now they experience a renaissance.

Sofia, the Capital

The country’s main city has not much to offer in terms of sightseeing. The single most remarkable building in the capital (by far!) is the Aleksandr Nevsky Cathedral. Wow! Anyway, I only landed in Sofia by an error. I missed my direct flight to Burgas, and had to acquire a ticket via an alternative route. So, I had just a short night in the capital. I spent on checking out the nightlife. It was a lot to check! My favourite was the Buddha Bar, behind the President’s Office. The DJ played funky buddha bar music, and the bar/club played videos on a large screen - all outside in the open-air.

Plovdiv

I took a train to Plovdid, to catch up with my original itinerary. Train are painfully slow in Bulgaria and the hygiene is... well, there is little hygiene. Plovdiv made it up for me. It is a great city with interesting Ancient Roman monuments and picturesque old town complete with cobble-stoned narrow streets lined up with traditional wooden houses. Nice!

Burgas

I did not appreciate Burgas on the first sight. It was because I did not discover the beach then. When I returned and found it, I was quite impressed with the number of decent (decent to very good) beach bars, beach restaurants and beach clubs. I loved the Barcode Bar. It was trendy and had great music, put by a live DJ. Quality drinks on offer and very friendly staff.

Nessebar

One of Bulgaria’s hot tourist destinations. It is an old settlement constructed on a small peninsula. The remains of the old city walls with a missing main gate are a good sign. Inside, there are uncountable craft shops occupying old wooden houses, or half-wooden, the bottom being rock-based. A few ruined very old churches (pre X century) stand here and there. There is no beach, but many bars and restaurants offer local meats and some (to my surprise that not more than a few) seafood. Overall - not bad.

PRACTICALITIES

Sofia

Hotel Lion *** € 40 - average, smelly small rooms, clean bathroom

Buddha Bar

Plovdiv

Hotel Dafi *** € 39 - average, clean bathrooms, small rooms

Taxi to Bachkovsky Monastery € 20 (return, including waiting time)

Burgas

Hotel Chiplakoff *** €35 - excellent value, huge & clean room

Pier Restaurant

Barcode Bar

Taxi to Nassebar € 25 (one way), 30’