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 He wondered how to get rid of the out of date photos from the likes of Google and Trip Adviser.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.

The following morning (see previous post) my doorbell rang. My good friend and neighbour from the apartment next door beckoned me to meet him downstairs at 10 for photos. What a coincidence! We had talked about this over a glass of rakia last week when he proposed taking me to a place with a good view of Varna. Unfortunately the trip never took place due to the weather. As I got myself together I wondered if we were going to retrace our footsteps of yesterday. Hopes were raised as we turned left instead of right at the bottom of the street. Driving into the centre of Varna we joined the queue to cross the Asparuhovo Bridge which is again under repair. The bottle neck created during the working week is truly amazing, no quarter given by drivers in Bulgaria!

When I leave my apartment to go to the CBA "magazin" opposite or walk down to the bus stand I often pass the time of day with a Bulgarianwho sits in his car listening to the radio and watching the world go by. "Dobur den", "Ich gehe zum kino", "Kak si?"...  - "Good Morning", "I am going to the cinema", "How are you?" - the conversation haltingly exchanged in  a little Bulgarian, German and English. On occasion he will open the passenger door and I will sit and share his time. He is a pensioner in his 70s existing on 200 leva per month as do most of my neighbours who are not working. On this occasion I was passing with supplies for my fridge so declined his company. Having stored my provisions I changed my mind and returned to pass some time with him. "Ah, navigator." he said as I climbed into the passenger seat, reaching across to make sure that my door was closed and prompting the fastening of my seat be...

Sunday evening of the 26th finds me back at the Varna Festival and Congress Centre. This is my second opportunity to hear the magnificent pipe organ which frequently forms the backdrop to the stage. Constructed and installed by Schuke Orgelbau, Potsdam, Germany in 1988, at that time situated in the GDR as the wall just excluded the district from West Berlin. According to Wikipedia the organ has III / P manuals and 53 registers. There is an extensive account of the company founded by Alexander Schuke in 1820 which has many illustrious organs to its name. The page makes fascinating reading bound up not only with the manufacture of great organs but also the collapse of communism and the nearly disastrous affect on the company.

Emerging from my burrow on the first day of March 2017, it has been a long hard winter. Temperatures are still pretty low and a cold wind blows however there is a blue sky as the sun struggles to bring forth spring. It is Baba Marta day once again. I wrote in detail about this annual event in my blog last year. Once again stalls have been selling martenitsi in the lead up to this celebration and will continue to do so until the end of the week. You can see a friend of mine in the photo. with her mother many weeks have been spent making these. The best are made from local wool and beads. This year I receive seven, worn on my wrist, from my increasing circle of friends. 'Pizho and Penda' are hanging on my door. Text messages are exchanged with distant friends containing images of cards just as we would once have sent cards through the post in my youth. New decorations have been installed at the "Compass" on the way to the sea garden. To celebrate I have lunch at ...

My trip to Rila, which should include Pirin as this mountain range surrounds the end of the line, terminated in Dobrinishte where I stayed for a few days. Most people refer to Bansko about 6km away but I found that Dobrinishte had more character and I was pleased that I chose it as my base for the visit. I was fortunate to meet a young student who was studying English and she gave me a tour around the town on the afternoon of the 29th September 2016. This gave me many insights into the history and customs of the town and introduced me to many local people. We would renew our friendship at the Pomorie Folk Dance Festival in June 2017 which I have also posted here.

We emerge from the car park and turn right? Ah, petrol is required for our journey. Pulling in to the modern service station about 500 metres down the road I observe the transfer of logs from a small lorry suitable for accessing the forest to a large road transporter which may whisk its load across the highways of the European Union. The disused flatbeds scattered along the once busy and prosperous narrow gauge railway reflect this change. It also goes to show that, whereas the logs would have been collected from local halts then transferred at the end of the line which kept the smaller stations and local support alive, the logs still have to be handled multiple times and many more trucks poured onto the roads. I hope that the tide is turning throughout the world, that rail and water will re-emerge as the sensible option. But onward to find our bears....

... or should I say "Where are the bears?" When I was young such TV programs as Lancelot, William Tell and similar movies along with a hit by Alan Price, funnily enough a member of the "Animals" pop group when not performing solo, titled "Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear" (see him perform it on YouTube)  released in 1968 glorified the life of the "dancing bear". In reality the truth was somewhat different in the majority of cases. Whilst perusing my DK travel guide on the journey from Septemvri to Dobrinishte I came across a reference to the "Dancing Bear Sanctuary". Accessible by taxi from the Relitsa station, all else left my thoughts, this was a "must see" journey, my first in the area. Relitsa is incorrect it is Belitsa, Relitsa is on the other side of the country.

The next stations we pass through reflect the former glory of the railway. Smolevo is the next halt along the line after departing Avramovo. The station sign has been removed as it is now a private house.  After a brief halt we journey on to Cherna Mesta, the old graffiti covered building here looks very sad indeed. I have the impression that it is a shelter for the railway staff rather than a thriving station. Non of this diminishes the journey itself, to my mind this second stage is even more picturesque than the first.

Back in England, stored in my brother's loft lies an N gauge model railway. The track is 9mm (slightly less that 3/8ths or 0.354") wide. It is 1:160 scale. The rolling stock is 1:148 scale so my largest engine is about 300mm long. This N gauge which we are now riding on has track which is 760mm wide and the engine is somewhat larger but what a marvellous train set which someone gets to control and others to work on. Yes; this is a Narrow Gauge railway and we are on our way from Septemvri to Dobrinishte exploring the full length of this 125 km run. To this end I have booked an hotel in Dobrinishte rather than the rather more popular Bansko summer and ski resort. Unfortunately the branch from Varvara to Pzardzik is now closed.

Breakfast over it was time for me to depart Cob Camp in time to purchase a ticket and catch the 10:53 train from Belovo back to Septemvri, arriving there at 11:05. Dessy was kind enough to drop me there and assist with the purchase of my ticket. You will be pleased to know that the UK railways are not the only ones who rely on buses. Issued with my rail ticket I was ushered outside and back onto the car park. A coach was waiting there. "Yes, give the driver my case and board." "No, wait there are two more coaches coming."  After a few minutes said coaches arrived. After much discussion between the drivers and railway staff I boarded the original coach which I had been directed to. The train might not be running but the guard would travel with us. Ten or so minutes later we turned of the A8 down the road into Septemvri. I couldn't help but noticed a huge car graveyard, there are lots of accidents in Bulgaria. The photo was, in fact taken later from the train bu...

Varna Summer was ending on the 24th September and my thoughts turned to another trip into the Bulgarian hinterland. Autumn approaching, I decided that I would not make a tentatively planned trip back to Veliko Tarnovo but would venture further afield. I had previously booked my return journeys on line where tickets are issued for the outward and return journeys. This service is not available for all journeys which is why I found myself at the ticket office in Varna Railway Station on the 21st prior to the public holiday. My plan was to depart the following Monday.

Ending with "Trumpet Extravaganza - A Journey into the Italian Baroque" Varna certainly blew it's own trumpet this year and well did it have cause. The finale of "Varna Summer", the 90th anniversary of the first Bulgarian Music Festival took pace in the modern theatre attached to the historic University of Economics, its self celebrating 100 years of academic achievement. "Varna Summer" commenced in June with international competition for young musicians, taking the public through opera, musicals, classical, cross-over, folk, rock, blues and jazz to end on the theme of the 'Baroque' this weekend. Venues have included the City Art Gallery, the Archaeological Museum, the Sea Garden and the Summer Theatre. Varna Day itself included an open air concert by the Band of the Bulgarian Navy. You cannot get more diverse than this.

We had Unification Day earlier in the month, now we have, in theory, a four day holiday celebrating Bulgarian Independence. Bulgarians have had to work the previous two Saturdays to make up for this extended holiday however I was to discover that most shops and service outlets remained open because they need the income. Indeed the low wage economy took this post in a direction which I had not intended when I set out this morning. The Varna website was sadly lacking in information so I went down into the town centre in search of parades or events to mark the occasion. I was either in the wrong place at the right time or the right place at the wrong time. Inevitably I found myself in the Sea Garden as this is where many of the monuments are. The sun was shining with a temperature in the low to mid 20s, a pleasant day to stroll around and the same thought had occurred to most of the population here in Varna. Those not working that is.  Instead of a photo album of parades and other f...

I have lamented many times as to how far behind I am with my blogs and here is the reason why. I set off after lunch to find a sports superstore I had been told about. My brother needs some new hockey skates. I decided to follow my nose from Candles restaurant heading in the general direction of Kaufland, the shop I wanted was some distance beyond. It would appear that I took a wrong fork in the road as I ended up the hill in the northern industrial area of Varna. Resorting to Google Maps on my phone I laid a new course. But here is the rub. I have many events and places to write about but then, looking over a fence I spy this hive of activity...