I’ve been to Varna several times before but this trip had something different, something that needed to be shared. Putting aside the fact that new malls and office buildings erect at a pretty fast rate, Varna still qualifies as a sea resort and knows how to make a stay pleasant.

First thing that got my attention was the reconstruction of some parts of the main park. In case you didn’t know, Varna has an impressive park by the sea – the Sea Garden (Морска Градина) – a very peaceful and relaxing place within the city. It is quite vast – goes all the way to St. Constantine and Elena resort – and you can find restaurants, coffee places, summer theaters with daily performances, hotels, and even museums and historical remains.

The long alleys are surrounded by tall vegetation cooling down the summer temperatures. The interesting part is that the park was designed in such a way that wherever you are there must be something interesting to see/do, especially if you are accompanied by children: the biggest children’s playground is located in the park - Detski Kat. You can safely drop your kids there while enjoying a cup of coffee or some juice at one of the coffee places around the playground.
The grown-ups also have plenty of places where they can enjoy some physical exercise: tennis and football courts – as I understood they’re free of charge during the week, jogging, biking, and some low level extreme sports hosted by a place called Tarzan – it replicates jungle life (lianas, rope ladders, rope bridges, etc.).

The Sea Garden hosts Varna’s Aquarium, the Zoo, and the Dolphinarium. They represent important tourist attractions which you can easily check while walking along the park. Personally, I was impressed by the National Naval Museum (very close to the aquarium) where you can find helicopters, warships, and all kinds of old military equipment in good condition.

Second thing that got my attention was the newly restored parts around the city’s beach. The road along the beach is brand new and there are plenty of parking places where you can easily and safely leave your car, free of charge. The beach is clean with white soft sand. The gentle slope towards the water makes it perfect for sunbathing and swimming. Volleyball enthusiasts can use the volleyball net installed on the beach. Around the beach road there are restaurants and bars where you can have lunch or drink some cold beer with delicious European Sprat (Цаца). You can check the prices before sitting at a table. Usually beach restaurants are a bit more expensive but I managed to find an exception – Restaurant Hawai (that’s how they spell it), which provides free wireless as well.

So, if you pass by Varna one day, I suggest you go around the huge park and try their white soft sand as well.

Veliko Tarnovo is among the most visited cities in Bulgaria due to its history and great location. The capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire lies in the central part of Bulgaria, 240 km north-east of Sofia, at the foot of the Balkan mountain. The city is being surrounded by 4 historical hills which make the whole scenery picturesque. The numerous specific Bulgarian houses – red roofs – look like they piled up on the steep slopes around the Yantra river that goes around Tsarevets, the main citadel of the old Bulgarian capital.

Veliko Tarnovo, like Koprivshtitza, is another great weekend – escape place. There is a unique atmosphere in that city that makes you go back in time. The architecture, the amusement, the attractions, and the spirit of the medieval Bulgaria enchant every tourist. The best way to feel the vibe and go back in time is to walk on the narrow cobblestone streets in the old part of the town. The houses are very beautiful and, if you go during the summer, you get to see the multitude of flowers and the yards embraced by vines.

If you’re interested in souvenirs, then the Samovodska market street is the place for you. The street hosts many merchants and craftsmen. It has preserved traditional art crafts and you can buy hand-made souvenirs (mostly wooden ones) right from the source.

One of the most exciting experiences for the old capital’s tourists is the Sound and Light Show of Tsarevets – the hill lights up with bright colors and lights, dramatic music and church bells being played on the background.  The main purpose of the representation is to give the spectators the glorious and tragic history of the medieval Bulgarian empire.

One year ago I had the pleasure to be taken to one of the most “Bulgarian” places in Bulgaria – Koprivshtitza (Копривщица), a small historical town in the western part of the country, around 100 km from Sofia. Even though I consider it a village, Koprivshtitza has impressed me with picturesque landscapes and old national architecture – narrow cobblestone streets and typical 18-19th century houses guarded by tall stone walls.

The wooden houses are furnished in old folklore style and are surrounded by colorful gardens. Some of them have been transformed into hotels, strictly obeying the overall architectural style of the village. Koprivshtitza mixes the popular Bulgarian hospitality with historical facts, whispered to its tourists by the tiny river that splits the village in two.

Koprivshtitza is also known for the beginning of the April uprising against the Ottoman Empire in 1876. The village stands as the birth place of many revolutionary writers and poets, and it is the center of Vasil Levski’s organization of committees.
To all of this you can add the fresh air that strikes you from the first breath and the peacefulness surrounding the village. These are the ingredients that make Koprivshtitza a good candidate for the perfect weekend get-away.

by Vlad

The stories about Bansko say that it’s the coolest ski resort in the East of the Ol’ Lady. Having not made any New Year party arrangements – as usual – we decided to go skiing with our friends in Bulgaria.

Being the last ones to decide, we had to look for another 2-person room. We found one, but not since Dec. 30th like everyone did but since Dec. 29th – but hey, we’re special.:)

The trip to Bansko is very good, providing a very beautiful night landscape. After several tight turns we reached the resort’s entry gate, well lit – something uncommon in Romania. It was already night and the first impression was that we came to Austria. Nice and pretty-decorated hotels, mountain resort architecture (not Pipera relocated somewhere higher (or was it the other way around?). After the first minuts we realized two VERY important things: it’s 4-5 times bigger than Poiana Brasov AND… there’s no map or any other directions to lead you to the hotel.

Unless you understand the Cyrillic alphabet, it’s called you’re bust. Bulgarians speak no foreign language – or at least they didn’t speak it with us – which added further 45 minutes to our journey. Police sent us elsewhere, in the forest; the shaworma salesman – one of the tens, if not hundereds of – sent us to the ski track. We finally got to the magnificent hotel where we had to stay for 6 days.

As soon as we got there, the problems started. In the parking of TWO apartment-hotels you couldn’t fit more than 10 cars – of which four 4×4 climbed on a 25 cm border). We asked about the subterranean parking, and after 5 minutes of explaining and describing the word @parking@ we got the answer „sori, park bizi ful”. We got to the reception – which looks really big in the pictures, the real thing is less than 2 sq. m. – we presented the ID cards and the online reservation and we got the room key. After searching for a couple of minutes, we got back to ask where the hell is the elevator. Pissed off, the receptionist – who was way to caught in Farmville on Facebook – led us ot it. Indicators towards the elevator – nothing, it’s a 4-star hotel. In the elevator we had another surprise: having room 405 I figured it was on the 4th floor and my intuition worked, except that we were in an elevator cabin (with „panoramic view” according to the description, i.e. a 1 m / 0.3 m window, dirty, through which you could see a building site in all its splendor and where would fit I, holding in my arms my lady and her associated purse) having floor buttons labeled from -1, P (Ground floor) up to 3!!! Where is the 4th floor? Maybe it moved to the 3rd… I pushed the button and we got to what’s called the 3rd floor or more specifically between the 4th and the 5th floors. There’s no bell-boy so we pulled the luggage all the way to the room.

The room was really a 2-room apartment, a bedroom and a living-kitchen room. Simple furniture, but new and nicely fit. A large bathroom, rather smelly due to poorly designed and built sewage (which we also found on the Bulgarian seaside) and a pretty large terrace with a view to the slightly less larger parking… Every room had a TV with enough sound for those using hearing aids or having Dumbo-like pavilions. We readthe intructions for the kitchen and we found out thet if you touch the pots, microwave, stove etc. it costs another 20 EUR.

Being late, we thought about ordering something from room service, but ha! Not only there’s no room service – there’s no tone on the phone either. According to the presentation on the website, „evri rum has internet wireless”. There was a network, but without internet – that is, you could connect to it and it remained connected. In the morning we got down to breakfast. Another adventure till we found the „breach” to the wonderful restaurant in the basement. On the way to the restaurant we noticed the „spa center”. A mean 5 x 3 m swimming pool with a jacuzzi half of it (the preseantaion makes it look like an olympic swimming pool).

In the restaurant we found a waiting line in front of a table. We also found it full of little children running among the adults. After identifying ourselves at the entrance, we chose a table and headed to the buffet. Disaster strikes! Cold omelette, roast hotdogs and slices of sausages in an oil pool, cheese spares which looked like someone has played with, square bread and a toaster with a record production rate of 2 slices in 10 minutes. We ran to the town! During daytime part of the resort is a building site full of building outlines – which the night manages to hide pretty well.

Everything is cheap – but it only seems to be:
-    food prices are at most 20 leva / dish, but eschange this at the Bansko rate of 1.85 BGL (BulGarian Leva) / EUR (compared to the official 1.95 BGL/EUR) we got to pay 10-12 EUR per dish of a doubtful quality; for a couple, a meal always reaches at least 45 EUR;
-    Half a day of skiing is 41 leva, a little over 22 EUR (ina Austria, Salzbur area – i.e. over 1700 km of ski track and 580 ski elevators – 183 EUR / 5 days, thus 36 EUR pre day);
-    Renting equipment for half a day (water ski through mountain mudholes) 57 leva (30 EUR). The waiting line for the ski gondole takes a little over 30 min, which halvens a ski day (or, in our case, the half a ski-day) if you want to get down from the mountain to the resort.

Most of the restaurants / taverns scream with Bulgarian folk (?) music with Romanian „manele” inserts. Wonderful! As it suits any tourist, on our last day we found a restaurant with an uncommon atmosphere and offering excellent food. We had days when „room cleaning” meant a lady breaking in in the most unsuitable moments, providing a dumb smile, a trasn bag and a roll of toilet paper. Fresh laundry, clean towels, cleaned room – these are scenes from another movie tat does not play in Bansko – or at least not in our 4-star hotel.

The New Year’s evening took place in the living-room-disco Graffiti, when after 12 o’clock, given the start of 2010, our ears have been blasted away by some Romanian „manele” that sent us to sleep. On January 1st the food adventure started all over again – this time it didn’t last 2 hours but only one. On January 2nd we went to see Greece, at most 100 km distance. Another world, 19 deg. Celsius.

LIE is the word of reference when it comes to the websites presenting the hotels, or those like ski reports (on banskoski.com all tracks were open; in real life two of them had traces of snow).

One upon another, we cannot blame anyone for the lack of snow, but we can for the the lack of services quality according to the hotel’s number of stars. An unsuccesful experience, rather expensive, which we won’t repeat. Austria remains the ski paradise in Europe, and the services over there are light-years ahead of thos in Bulgaria.

All too bad of Bansko, of all the money invested there by the English and the Germans; if they’re managed by the Bulgarians, with a couple of more decent pubs thing won’t go for the better.

Vlad Joanta - I talk about any subject I know, there are no such things as taboos.

I like to laugh.

*Photo credits Ski in Bulgaria

I like to consider myself an active person who doesn’t miss a chance to do some outdoor sports, especially during the weekends. I always enjoyed biking: it’s healthy, it helps me disconnect from the daily routine, and to get rid of the bad thoughts piled up during the week.

One of my favorite bike rides around Sofia is the one on the forest path from Zheleznitsa to Simeonovo. I’ve been there a couple of times so far and I still can’t get enough of it. The path is around 14 kilometers long and it’s partly hilly – partly flat. The second half of it becomes a bit hilly but, regardless of that, one can run into both experienced and beginner riders on this track.

The Zheleznitsa – Simeonovo path attracts many people who prefer walking around the forest, enjoying the scenery of yellow leaves falling off the trees, the view of the crowded city from a safe distance, the symphony of birds, and the fresh air.

The landscapes are just great. From time to time, the trodden path intersects with tiny springs forcing you to go over small wooden bridges that look like they we’re hand made by school kids. The climax, or my most preferred place where I always stop and have a snack, is represented by a small waterfall. Here, it happens from time to time that I have to share my food with some friendly dog, which entertains the tourists.

Late November from Radu Panciuc on Vimeo.

So, if you happen to be in Sofia and you like outdoors, this is one of the places you shouldn’t miss. You can get there either by car or by bus. The path is marked and the people are friendly. Don’t forget to put a snack in your backpack and to say Hi – Dober Den – to the people you meet on the track. More than that, if 14 kilometers are not enough for you, you can continue from Simeonovo to Dragalevtsi or even to Sofia’s neighborhood Boyana.

On a free Monday my husband took me on a surprise trip to Bulgaria. This one-day trip was to the touristic town of Veliko Tarnovo. It was my first city and country I ever visited outside Romania. So, you can image the excitement!

When we got there I wanted to see as much as possible. A natural tourist behavior, right? I also wanted to bring something back home, a souvenir that will always remind me of Bulgaria and of Veliko Tarnovo.

So… we went shopping. Everywhere there were different bottles with rose perfume – it is a local product from a region famous for that (Kazanlik). But I didn’t want rose perfume – so, what to choose? I was looking for something that would say “local”, “Bulgarian”, “specific”, something to keep.

I ended up buying some postcards (to show my family the surroundings and local touristic objectives) and a wooden jewelry box for myself. It has some local architectural sketches engraved and painted on it. Every day since then this little box reminds me of that surprise trip to Veliko Tarnovo.