One Man in Bulgaria

A few weeks ago I posted a link to this album on my Facebook page @onemanintheworld so that friends in Bulgaria could see them. My first trip to Ruse was made in December by train, my second in June by bus. As always I am playing catch up but why did Ruse become so important that it merited two trips? I have much more to write about my first visit and the good friends I made along with several photo albums to add but the second visit became necessary after the UK decided to leave the EU. Ruse became my departure point from Bulgaria on 1st July 2017 and the start of a great train ride across Europe which will, ultimately, end in France.

A casual message from a young friend whom I met in Dobrinishte last September, at this point your screen should wobble and we would be at that moment in time just as the old TV programmes used to do, unfortunately I still haven't caught up with that part of the blog so we must press on. Elena is a member of a Folk dance troupe and was in Pomorie where they would be dancing in front of the Municipal building at 11:00 hours on Saturday (the 17th). I wished her luck and hoped that she would enjoy her holiday. That evening (Thursday) I inquired about buses to Pomorie over a glass of Rakia as I sat outside the garage with my neighbours. It was opined that mini buses ran quite frequently from the little bus station destined for Burgas. I had heard of this station before but never established its location so thought no more about it.

I awoke to a sunny morning and, after orientating myself, made the decision to walk down to the Botanical Gardens. Jordan told me that it only took 5-10 minutes but it seemed further in the car. I was wrong, even stopping to take some photos on the way I was there in no time at all. The entrance to the garden is down ul. Akad. Daki Yordanov which forms a triangular entrance of the main road into Balchik and is pedestrianised during the season. My first priority was breakfast. Turning into the road I discovered that it is crammed with souvenir shops and places to eat all the way down to the main entrance. I picked the "Castle" restaurant mainly because it had gnomes and my sisters like gnomes!

About six months ago whilst enjoying a meal in Candles Jordan, the proprietor, mentioned that he was starting a new venture. He had taken over an hotel in Balchik and was refurbishing it for the next season. He wondered how to get rid of the out of date photos from the likes of Google and Trip Adviser. I must admit that I had often wondered about this myself having noticed the frequency with which businesses changed hands in Tenerife. There is a lot of duff information out there. A couple of weeks ago I asked Jordan when he was opening and here I am. We met in Candles so that he could drive me here. On the way we passed through the village where he has his other venture, a bar. Like Blackpool off season, the main street looked desolate and deserted. Next month it will be a hive of activity followed by a life of its own when the season starts. All this work and profit has to be made in the two month window of July and August here in Bulgaria.

As I mentioned in my previous post it started with a ship. Friday 28th April 2017. Suffering from cabin fever I decided that, despite the weather, I needed some fresh air. As the No. 82 bus arrived first I decided to have brunch at the cafe next to the railway station. I thought that I would have a walk along the coastal path past the port. To my surprise where the yacht had been moored a large naval vessel now dwarfed the Port Varna Terminal building. The yacht was the "Lady K" and the ship turned out to be the destroyer HMS Daring. What has this got to do with the Bulgarian Navy read on...

It all started with a ship in more ways than one but I shall talk about that on another post. Today I relate the tale of Bulgarian Naval personnel on parade, senior officers arriving under military police escort and a gathering crowd of civilian spectators waiting on the beach in the vicinity of the "Sea Terrace". Meanwhile not long after 10:00 hours I was sitting comfortably drinking coffee with friends at the "Morki Rei" trying to see the edges of the bay and a few feet into the air. The show was scheduled for 10 but I knew that there was no chance of anything getting off the ground.