Varna and The Black Sea

Well, friends, I’m back from another weekend away from my Blagoevgrad home, feeling tired, happy, and blessed. One of my goals before I leave Bulgaria was to see the Black Sea, and although Varna is not yet in its prime for beach weather and tourist season, I will head home to America in less than three weeks saying I saw and touched the Black Sea.

Bulgaria! Click to enlarge :)

  The drive to Varna was a beautiful one, as well as eye-opening. Prior to this weekend, the furthest north in Bulgaria I had ever been was to Sofia and the furthest east I had ever been was to Plovdiv, which as maps show is only covering the southwestern section of the country (and I would most definitely say I have explored most of the corners and bends in that region). Needless to say, the bus ride to Varna allowed a personal look at the area nicknamed the “breadbasket” of Bulgaria and a visual into life post-communism. Green rolling fields were everywhere, but they were constantly interrupted by brown dirt fields that spread on for miles. Not the prettiest sight, but I kept asking myself what these dirt fields were. This was a time when knowing the history of a place was extremely helpful, and since I’ve been drilled with Bulgaria and Eastern European history all semester long, I found the answer. Under communism, per communist ideology, agriculture was a collectivized sector, not privately owned. No property ownership was allowed whatsoever. Bulgaria was always a primarily agricultural country to begin with and still is, but collectivization meant people couldn’t own their own farms. They worked a portion of these huge farms owned by the government. These big dirt fields are what is left from communist times, and although some are still being worked, the land will not look the same as it once did for many years.



So, hope you all enjoyed that little history lesson. We arrived in Varna in the early evening on Friday, and went straight to our hotel (yes! We took a break from hostels and I loved every second of not sleeping in a room with a bunch of snoring strangers). Our hotel was 15 stories high, and the top floor housed the Panorama Restaurant. You could see the whole city and a gorgeous view of the Black Sea. So after dropping our backpacks in our room and freshening up a bit, we headed up, ate a traditional Bulgarian meal (for me, shopska salad and a cheese omelet), and enjoyed the view of the city lights in the nighttime.





Varna & the Black Sea from our hotel balcony



Archaeological Museum



Saturday we spent exploring Varna, walking ourselves to every corner. Somehow, we always manage to see every sight there is to see, no matter how astonishing. We began with the Archaeological Museum, which was housed in a beautiful building in a picturesque little park. Within the museum were some amazing artifacts from the city of Odessos, which once stood where Varna currently does. It was interesting to see the history of this city in particular, rather than the region as a whole. We then walked along the street to the beautiful Cathedral of the Assumption, built in the late 19^th century of cut stones from the ruined fortress walls. We walked through a park, past the Stoyan Backvarov Drama Theatre and Varna Opera House, and into an adorable plaza, in which we encountered some sort of a children’s festival occurring, with young children showing off their singing and dancing talents. I personally love the sound of children speaking in a different language. It is sort of mesmerizing, and hearing them sing is an extra special treat. After venturing through some side streets and seeing the Armenian Church, ancient Roman baths, and the Church of Sveti Atanas, we made our way down to the beach. There were very few people down on the beach, and all were dressed warm, covered from head to toe. But I can say that I walked the beach and touched the Black Sea.

After a delicious lunch of salads, Brazilian bread, and strawberries drizzled with chocolate, we headed back out to explore the rest of Varna. Mainly, the Sea Gardens. The Sea Gardens are an urban park along the Black Sea beaches. It is filled with trees and plants from around Bulgaria and the Mediterranean. Although not too much was in bloom yet this early in the year, it was still a beautiful walk. When I come back to Bulgaria ten years from now (as per my plan), I would love to revisit Varna in the warmer summer months.



It was late afternoon and we had to catch a 10:30pm night bus back home to Blagoevgrad, so we still had some time to kill. We had noticed on our way into Varna that the bus station was directly adjacent to the Grand Mall. So because we hadn’t been to the movie theater since we left the States, we thought it might be a nice relaxing way to finish up our weekend getaway. Afterwards, we had a delicious dinner at an adorable restaurant, hopped on the bus, and were back in bed in Blago by 8:30am Sunday morning. Varna: thank you for a relaxing change of scenery! I will be back one day.