Veliko Tarnovo

Gettting right to the point: Veliko Tarnova was amazing starting with the "15 minute uphill walk" from the train station to city center. Several gorges, or is it the same gorge, slice the town about 7 different ways; officially, the Yantra River (Danube tributary) cuts the city into three hills. Every few meters one gets a different panoramic view.

One day we toured the city and the Tsarevets Medieval Fortifications which are very cool. We also found a family run restaurant that served up some good vegetarian Bulgarian dishes. We went back two more times. ;-)

The second day we walked a big 24 kilometer loop to the Preobrazhenski (Transfiguration) Monastery with many other day trippers, old and young; then to Holy Trinity Monastery which is in fact a nunnery where you pull a cord by the gate that rings a bell - a nun looks out the peephole and then lets you in - no talking, no picking flowers; and then the nearby town of Arbanassi that is almost completely gentrified - better called a resort - then straight down the hill to Tarnovo.

The 3rd day we made an excursion by train one hour south to Tryavna, known for its architecture and woodcarving. We made some friends on the train, visited an old church and an old house, and finally bought a few souvenirs in the very touristed town. Not so bad, a day trip to Tryavan means we get to spend another day in Veliko Tarnovo.

Day One.

John on the train to Veliko Tarnovo.


What a great city. Two days in row we picked up free beers (radlers - half beer, half grapefruit juice). And then drank them as we walked down the street.


Monument (that can be seen from almost any spot in town it seems) commemorating the 800th anniversary of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Bulgarians are very nationalistic (have national pride).






Back street architecture.


View to Tsarevets.


Tsarevets Cathedral.


Sun-Ling scales Baldwin's Tower.


View to Arbanassi The next day we would come charging down the trail beneath the power lines.


First visit to favorite VT restaurant: veggie clay pot gyuvech (L) and mish mash (R).


What a view!




Day Two.

Gaining elevation on the Red Stripe Trail on our way to Preobrazhenski Monastery.






Funky Bridge.


Getting out of a small gorge. Not as difficult as it may look. About fifteen ten-year-olds were right behind us. ;-)


Heading NORTH with the Yantra River and the RR tracks below to our right.




Among the wildflowers were many wild roses.


Church at Preobrazhenski Monastery.


View across the gorge to Holy Trinity Monastery perched below the cliffs.


A bit harder to follow the hiking signs when they are in cyrillic. This one points to Holy Trinity Monastery or transliterated to Latin letters MANASTIR SVETA TROITSA.


Crossing the Yantra River at the bottom of the gorge. 


Holy Trinity.


Following the Red Stripe Trail up and out of the gorge.




More wild flowers.




Traditional house in Arbanassi.


Down the hill to Veliko Tarnovo.


Thistle!


The route.


And the reward: two shots of rakia and a bottle from the local brewery.


Beans and Shopska salad.


Day Three.

Morning fog.


Day trip to Tryavna: One of the 7 things you must do in Bulgaria is to eat pizza with ketchup (and mustard and mayo). Woohoo!


Tryavna: The old school.


The Daskalov  House.


Tryavana streets and Clock Tower.


Wood Carver.


Church of Saint Archangel Mihael with stone roof.


Tryavna Station.


Typical V. Tarnovo architecture with overhangs and bricks.


Meal #3.

To Varna

Regular readers of this blog know we always chronicle our border crossings, particularly when they are on foot. There is certain uncertainty when crossing on foot.

Will there be a line and a long wait to exit? to enter?

How long is no-man's land between the border stations?

How do I get rid of my current local currency? Luckily Sun-Ling is could at planning and great at math so we almost always end up at the border with zero local currency.

How do I get the next local currency? Money changer? ATM?

Once I'm in the next country will there be transport waiting and what currency will they want?

Will the transport scene be chaotic with lots of people shouting at me or will it be orderly and obvious? Or worse, will there be no transport at all.

Well, to not jump ahead; we decided to head from Constanta, Romania to Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria by heading directly south along the Black Sea coast to Varna, Bulgaria; spending one night there, then heading west to Tarnovo. But how to get to Varna?

It's very easy after June 1st when there are  buses every other hour; otherwise you pay about 25 USD for the 6 pm or 7 pm night bus to Istanbul which puts you in Varna about 10 pm or later.  But now it's May 14 and we are not night bus travelers these days.

So for us it will be train to Mangalia, bus to Vama Veche, walk 2 kms to the border, cross border and then what? It's about 105 kms to Varna. We don't expect to see any transport at the border, but we see on the Internet that there is a daily 1 pm bus from Durankulak, 6 kms south of the border, to Varna. In case we have to hitch the whole way, I've made a sign that says VARNA in both Cyrilic and Latin letters.

We get up at 6:45 am and it's raining. Oh my. So after breakfast we head out with rain pants and rain jackets on for the 2km walk to the station. The train SOUTH to Mangalia has a few commuters. Maybe they work for the Railroad. We pass more of the port. It's big. A reclamation project - more port. And then a set of Danube Canal locks are just to our right with a couple of barges inside. Then windmills; the blades spinning in and out of sight in the the lows clouds. And most always the grayish Black Sea to our left.

It's a steady rain when we get off the train in Mangalia but the sheltered bus stop for Vama Veche bound buses is just to the left of the station (as researched by SL). A dog is curled up on one of the benches. He lies motionless until tractor trailers with 3 rear axles go by. Then he springs into action, out into the street, barking and chasing the truck. Oh my. Two axle trucks get no response. Hmmmm.

Then good luck. The bus to Vama Veche does not drop us off in city center as expected, but right at the border saving us a 2 km walk. The rain has stopped.

Border formalities are a breeze as the Romanian and Bulgarian official have adjoining offices with a small window between. Nice! We hand over our passports and get then back 10 minutes later with both a Romania EXIT stamp and a Bulgaria ENTRY stamp.

But....There's no transport on the Bulgarian side. Not a bus, nor taxi, nothing. We start walking. Perfect conditions. Cloudy and cool. A slight breeze. And no rain. Small white nails litter the asphalt in places. Wheat fields. A view of the Black Sea to our left. Maybe 10 cars pass us in the next 6 kms. My thumb is out, but no luck.

We reach Durankulak at noon. There are several houses and a gas station with a "Fast Food" attached. The young man working the FF is friendly, and helpful. A bus will pass the crossroads at 13:30 he says and it will take you towards Varna. Great! And there is an ATM at the gas station. So we withdraw some Bulgarian lev. Woohoo!

We walk to the crossroads. There is a bus stop with a shelter. Nice. We sit until 1:30. Finish our chocolate bars. A few cars go by. It's pretty slow. We talk to a farmer. A minibus goes by in the wrong (for us) direction. Hmmm. He must turn around as there's no where to go NORTH but Romania.

Yes! He picks us up 15 minues later. We say we are headed to Varana. He says he is headed to Kavarna and we can catch the 3:30 bus pm from Kavarna to Varna. He even writes it down for us. Cool. We stow our bags and pay our fare. He then starts the bus, turns around heads back towards Romania. Oh my! No worries. Just a pickup at the local school. Finally we are headed towards Varna.

We pull into the Kavarna station with plenty of time to buy tickets for the 3:30 bus, buy a cup of coffee from the automated machine, and talk to a young American woman from Pennsylvania who has been in Turkey since November but is now looking to buy property in Bulgaria. She says she likes being in foreign countries but finds traveling stressful. Hmmm.

The Varna bus pulls out on time. We are the only passengers and for the whole route. Some good views of the coast as we head south. More windmills. We catch glimpses of some of the big Black Sea resorts like the one at Albena.

Varna is big. We walk 2 kms from the bus station to city center and almost to the train station before we find a room. We stay only one night in Varna. Not much to keep us there. But we do find it pleasant to walk around the leafy city center the evening we arrive and the next morning before we leave.

On the train to Mangalia.


From the train.




The Kavarna bus station (AUTOGARA).


The Rothkoesque Bulgarian countryside out the bus window.


The landmark Varna Train Station.


Buying our onward ticket.


Evening strollers near the Sea Garden.


Leafy City Center.




The Cathedral.




Renovating the main pedestrian street.


And some shots of the Municipal Beach.






The Pier.


A nice water sports complex with water polo and synchronized swimming practice ongoing.


And the adjacent 50-meter swimming pool.