Ellis and Jodie's Bulgarian Adventure

At a distance of one month, it's sometimes hard to believe that we spent two wonderful years living in Bulgaria. We look back with fond memories at the many places we visited, the many people we met, and the many things we learned about Bulgaria, its culture and history. This started as a Top Ten list, but there were too many places to list, so it became a Top 15 list, and still, some of the colorful destinations we visited are not included. The list is presented in alphabetical order. Balchik . On the Black Sea coast, this town was the summer home of Queen Marie of Romania . We enjoyed walking around the botanical gardens, seeing the old style houses and the simple palace that captured the heart of the Romanian queen. Belogradchik . Belogradchik is a town in northwestern Bulgaria and also the name of a fortress and nature reserve of bizarrely shaped sandstone, limestone and other rock formations. The Belogradchik Rocks were Bulgaria's candidate in the campaign for N...

We drove north of Varna to the small town of Dobrich, located in the Dobrudzha, Bulgaria's main grain producing region. We found the town to be quite laid back, with a very large pedestrian zone and a beautiful central park. Dobrich has a recreated "old town", with crafts shops showing how various products are made. Unfortunately, all these shops were closed on the weekend. And, the town's museums were also closed.

According to a Bulgarian legend, during the Ottoman conquest forty local maidens tied their hair together and jumped from the rocks of Cape Kaliakra to the sea below in order to escape being raped at the hands of the Turks. Today, Cape Kaliakra, on a rocky, narrow peninsula jutting into the Black Sea north of Varna, is highly revered by the locals for its beautiful scenery more than its history serving as a fortress in both Roman and Byzantine times. There is a connection to more recent history at the cape, as it overlooks the area of the Black Sea where two important naval battles took place. In 1791, the Russian navy defeated the Turkish fleet here. And more recently, the Bulgarian navy sunk the Ottoman gunship Hamidie here in 1912. In one of the caves on the cape there is a museum which marks these naval battles, but unfortunately it was closed when we visited. And finally, two more legends about Cape Kaliakra. Muslims believe that one of the caves contains the grave of Sari Saltuk,...

We drove north of Varna along the Black Sea coast to the small town of Balchik. The town itself doesn't have much in the way of beaches but its claim to fame is that it served as the summer residence of Queen Marie of Romania, when that country ruled this part of Bulgaria before 1940. Marie, a granddaughter of England's Queen Victoria, started the construction of a palace here in 1936. Today you can visit the palace and the adjacent botanical gardens. Below is the guardhouse at the entrance to the palace grounds. The palace grounds are like a small park, with many paths, a waterfall, a stream, all leading down to the Black Sea shore. We tasted sweet wine (with very strong tastes of honey and almonds). Some of the below bottles may have been from the queen's personal collection. Overlooking the Black Sea. Queen Marie loved her palace in Balchik so much that she asked for her heart to be kept there after her death. This wish was fulfilled, but in 1941, the area was returned ...

The ancient Thracian city of Perperikon is located at the top of a high, rocky hill in the Eastern Rhodopes. Climbing up Perperikon is a challenge, and we first went up this rock passageway which was not easy going. Perperikon is considered to have been a sacred place, and perhaps it served as a royal palace as well. Could this have been the throne? Below: More visitors ascend the rock passageway, only to learn that the way to the top of the mountain has been blocked. There must be another way to the summit! We retraced our steps and followed a path through the forest which was not as difficult. Finally we reached the acropolis of Perperikon, with the remains of a tower at one end. None of the guidebooks bothered to mention that the ascent to Perperikon is not easy. Luckily, we all made it to the top and back in good shape, but our muscles would ache the next day. Below: The forest on our way back down. Legend says that Alexander the Great received a prophecy at Perperikon. The myst...

Kardzhali is the biggest town in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains in south-central Bulgaria. There is not much to do in the town, with the exception of its excellent Historical Museum. The museum's collections of rocks, minerals, archaeological finds, and ethnographical history of the region's past were shown in one of the best presentations we've seen anywhere in Bulgaria. Below: A resident fills up water in the central square of Kardzhali. Below: An interesting set-up for an outdoor cafe.