2022 World Tour – Varna, Bulgaria
Hello from Varna, my 48th stop on the trip and my 68th country. And so ends the new country count as I will be traveling through pre-traveled countries until the end of the trip. Shame I couldn’t hit 69 on a high note!
Below is the standard summary:
– Cool Ranch Doritos: No
– Thai ATM Card Works: Yes
– Thai Debit Card Works: Yes
– Thai Internet Purchase Works: Yes
– USA Credit Card Works: Didn’t try
– Worldwide Telephone/Data/SMS eSIM Works: Yes
– Spanish SIM Card Works: Didn’t try
– Magic Jack Works: Didn’t try
– VPN Works: Didn’t try
– COVID Compliance Chronicles: No Requirements
– Internet Works: Yes
– Drone Flights: Didn’t check
– Cost of Living: $$
– Currency: Lev 2.0 = USD $1.00
– Language Issues: Minor
Your Short History Lesson:
Bulgaria shares its very early history with other modern countries in the region, but I didn’t expect the significant Roman influence, being this far south, and therefore the extensive archeological remnants. The Slavs pulled the region together in the 6th century, followed by the Danubian Bulgaria of the Bulgars. Bulgaria actually developed the Cyrillic script around this time. A Byzantine takeover was quickly followed by the Second Bulgarian Empire, the the Ottomans rolled in for five centuries. The Russo-Turkish war in 1887 led to the formation of the current Bulgaria. During World War II it fell under the rule of the USSR and typical Communist rule. As with other Soviet satellite states in the region, it gained democratic independence in 1989. Sadly it’s ranked as the most corrupt country in Europe which hampers modernization efforts. It’s a member of the UN, EU and NATO, but not the Euro Zone.
Getting out of Chisinau turned out to be quite problematic, following the inconvenient pattern of the last few stops. I had planned to take the train in the reverse direction to Bucharest, then make my way to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast by bus. Well, the train was fully booked for the day I wanted and for the next 3 days. This leaves only the dreaded plane ride to Bucharest and then straight onto a bus to Varna. Ugh. I’m up at 7am and in a taxi to the Chisinau airport WAY WAY north of the city. I didn’t have enough local currency to pay the Leu 145 fare and he didn’t take a card, so I gave him the equivalent of 190 worth of Romanian notes that I had in my wallet. He wasn’t happy but I convinced him and he made extra off it for his trouble.
I started my check-in to Bucharest with only one person in line. The kid tells me my suitcase is 3kg over the limit, which is weird because it’s just a roller bag. I moved some stuff into the backpack and get back in line behind 3 people, it’s still not enough. Then he said you can pay to check it underneath, I say yes that’s what I wanted all along! He somehow thought I wanted two carry-ons which is against the airline’s own policy. Ugh. I had to go over to another desk and pay a fee for either 15kg, 23 kg or 30kg, so I paid Leu 300 for 15kg. I got back in line with now 6 people ahead of me! There are 4 staff behind the counter and only one is actually working. One douchebag was sitting in a chair at a check-in window playing on his phone, and waved a finger when someone tried to check in with him. I got through security and chose a pastry potato thing and a Coke Zero and have Leu 4 left in my pocket, about 5 cents, how’s that for currency optimization! Boarding, takeoff and landing were all perfectly on time, nice job Air Moldova except for the check-in team! It was an Airbus A320 with about 20% seats filled, I had my row to myself, too bad it was only 50 minutes in the air.
Now I have to race to the bus station to head down to Varna. Coming out of the Bucharest airport I got a Mercedes taxi, as he was the only one who could take a card, and the ride to the desired bus station was so far it cost me 50 Euros! Damn. At the bus station I checked the signs and asked, and it looks like this bus company doesn’t use the actual terminal, but stops on the side of the road OUTSIDE the station. I waited from 1:30 to 2:15 for the 2pm bus, nothing in sight. I tried to contact the bus company and the ticket booking company by text and Whatsapp but no response. The bus finally showed up at 3pm on the opposite side of the street from where it’s marked on the ticket, and no “Hey sorry!” Big bus, toilet broken and only 4 people on it for the whole 5 hour ride, with a little girl running up and down the aisle the whole time. So, all in all not a Top 10 travel day.
True to form, the bus dropped me on the side of the road next to the Varna bus station, which was next to a shopping mall whose name used the exact colours and font as the Google logo, check out the picture. Weird! This bus company must not want to pay a terminal in/out fee or something, but it sucks to be their passenger! I got local currency from an ATM and took the city bus to the hotel, trying my best to buy a ticket from an automated station kiosk and then an on-board machine but it just wouldn’t take my money or card, so another free ride for the first-day tourist. The room was OK with a bathtub shower, first one like that in a long time.
In the morning I walked to the Varna Cathedral with its gold-painted domes. I struck out again since the Archeology Museum is closed today. I got a bus pass at a human kiosk and took the bus to the Retro Museum which is actually inside that big shopping mall where the bus dropped me off yesterday. Very cool, full of Soviet-era cars and a ton of other vintage things like household appliances, toys and cigarettes. Got the bus to the beach just past the pier area, my first view of the Black Sea. I stopped in at one deserted beach bar, sat in a beach chair and had a local beer then went and touched the water, very cold! It’s past high season now, families are home and the kids are in school. I walked further north to the Sea Gardens and along the main path with beautiful flowers and trees. I found Cosmonaut Alley with historical markers for each cosmonaut, including a large statue of Yuri Gagarin in his space helmet. I touched it and felt a connection to him, the warmth of the sun in the stone into my hand. His flight was 2 years and 1 day before my birthday and “Yuri’s Day” is celebrated every year by space geeks around the world. I headed north on the bus about 40 minutes to Nirvana Beach which was also absolutely deserted. I followed the paved boardwalk path passing huge hotels – this place must be just hopping in the summertime, all the signs are in Bulgarian and German, one hotel was called Hotel Berlin so I think they get a lot of Germans here. On the bus back home I met a young couple from Wales and London but they both lived in New Zealand and have done extensive traveling. We agreed to meet up at the Happy Restaurant on the pier later that night. The mealtime was very entertaining as Terry would ask me and our waiter questions like ‘what is the largest animal you think you could kill with your bare hands’, what 3 words describe you, what 3 words are your worst aspect, etc. Back to the hotel to get a good rest after a busy few days.
Next Stop: Burgas, Bulgaria
