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My second Balkan adventure took place in Bulgaria. After exploring Bucharest to it’s fullest, I took a bus from the Romanian capital to Varna, Bulgaria. There are several methods to use when booking transportation between European countries and the app that I find to be most user-friendly is Omio. The travel and transportation app was created by Narren Shaam and I first discovered it during my trip to Krakow, Poland. When you download the app on your phone, you can navigate between any European city and cost-effective options will show up for bus, train, rail and even air. This app has saved me a lot of money and I strongly suggest it for an traveler when visiting Europe.

Crossing the border from Romania to Bulgaria was fairly painless. The bus stopped, and the the border patrol agent stepped onto the bus and collected our passports or ID cards, glancing at our faces as he went from person to person. About 15 minutes later, the bus driver returned with all our ID and handed them back to each of us on board. As long as you have a passport that’s accepted by the country (look it up beforehand), there won’t be a problem. Shengen Visas are also welcome. The remainder of the drive was nice and I read myself to sleep. Bulgarian landscape is similar to some northern countries and if I were to compare it to some US states, I would say New Hampshire and North Carolina as being having the most similar terrain. There were hills and some mountains, but mostly farmland and pastures.

After arriving at the Varna Central Bus Station I thanked my lucky stars for having the sense to get an e-Sim before my trip because I relied heavily on it to walk from the bus station to a cafe, much less an ATM. I left Bucharest at the crack of dawn (4AM!!!) so arriving a little past 8am left me with few options for food or resting stations. I had my lodging booked and just needed to find a way to get from the Central Bus Station to Varna Beach near Primerski Park. There were affordable buses that took people from the city eastward towards the beach, but I decided to walk and explore. I quickly learned that the Bulgarian squat and Bulgarian lift etc. were all named because of the exercise culture built within the Bulgarian community. There were comprehensive gyms at the parks outfitted with rings, pull-up bars, jumping platforms of various heights and more. I was impressed by the design and usability of Bulgarian park gyms and would love to see those in the states.

After stopping at a couple cafes for a coffee to stay awake, I continued walking towards the Black sea. Bulgarian exports include iron, steel, footwear and bicycles among others. I could see the emphasis around such products in the businesses that surrounded me as I closed in on the shore. The city made good use of it’s space and the streets were quite clean. When I arrived at Varna, I was immediately reminded of Santa Monica. Any community by the water will have cafes, coffee houses and musicians lining the walkway to keep the ambiance uplifted and fun. Families, friends, travelers and locals were all out for a morning jaunt and the community leaders did a nice job developing the parks and restaurants near the water; people spoke English, there were gyro stops, vegan cafes, juice parlors and more and the beachfront had even more from which to choose. I immediately felt welcome because it reminded me so much of my days in Los Angeles when I would drive to Santa Monica during the weekends to spend time near the beach.

The Varna Beachfront community had a zoo, several aquariums and a very well maintained park that stretches for over 15 km. The temperature is a comfortable 8 to 14 degrees celcius (45-60 degrees F) and if you wear a thin jacket, you’ll be nice a toasty. I quickly marched down to one of the beach cafes and walked out to the water to touch the Black Sea, took in the misty, slightly salted air and sat on the sand to take it all in. I decided to check into my accommodation early to see if I could drop off my gym bag. I stayed at a family-owned cottage named Villa Maxim. The lady I met initially didn’t speak any English but quickly found someone who did. The similarities between Bulgarian and Russian are apparent to my ears and according to several people I met, it’s relatively similar to the similarities between Italian and Spanish. My room wasn’t ready but they gave me another. Check in times are universally set at 2pm to 3pm and I didn’t expect to have a room ready by 11am so I was thankful for their cooperation.

I ate at a delicious restaurant, enjoyed some interactions with locals, bought a coffee at one of the many coffee machines on the side of the road (these machines dispense some seriously yummy coffee!) and explored the sights and sounds of Varna while the sun began to set over the Black Sea. It was peaceful and pragmatic and if I were a local who worked in Varna I would make it a point to go to the beachfront at least once a month for a jog, over-night stay or a meeting with friends and family. I decided to get some exercise early the next morning, run along the ocean-front, explore the park and some restaurants, visit the zoo then head back into town the following day.

After walking halfway into town and stopping in a mall for a quick snack and a visit to the pharmacy, I decided to continue walking all the way to the airport. Although not the most comfortable for those who don’t enjoy walking, I get a much better sense of the country by staying on foot and prefer to do this whenever I can. In this particular instance however, it was fun and manageable up until I realized there wasn’t a walk path that led all the way to the airport. Unless I wanted to risk hitch hiking and running through gridirons on the highway like a lunatic, I had to find a location that provided customer service in English because I was stuck. Fortunately, after walking through a few precarious junkyards that reminded me of indie film settings and crossing a few streets, I found a retailer named Jumbo. This store is like a Target in the US. I went to customer service and read the store clerk my message from Google Translate and he snickered. “I can speak English, how can I help you?” Whew! He was the first person who spoke English in I don’t know how many kilometers but thank God! He said there’s one bus that takes me from the store to the airport but for 10 Bulgarian lev (around $5.50 USD), I could taxi the rest of the way to the airport. I was starting to panic because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get a taxi. There were so few during my walk and Uber doesn’t exist in Bulgaria so I needed to think fast. You can download one of several taxi apps in Bulgaria as a tourist or ask a local business to call one for you like I did.

I arrived at the Varna airport, bought a couple gifts to remember my experience and waited for my flight. Varna was an amazing city. Thanks to Omio, I was able to book a $75 flight from Varna to Sofia and outside of a few night shots of municipal buildings and streetways, I much preferred Varna. When leaving the Sofia airport to your accomodation, take a taxi. They are metered at a very reasonable price that is a function of distance/time ratio. Remember, Uber is illegal in Bulgaria but there are plenty of other options. Sofia is rich with history and has classic, aged cathedrals that tell a story of survival and prestige when looking at them. The monument of Tzar Alexander the II also standing tall within the city. Cathedral St. Alexander Nevski also reminds tourists of the Russian influence in rescuing Bulgaria from the Ottomans during the Russo-Turkish war in 1877-78. The domes and copper plates are stylistically Russian and fittingly orthodox. The St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral has a gold-plated dome that’s 45 meters high! You can navigate popular tourist attractions within Sofia here.

I loved Bulgaria. My favorite parts were the Black Sea experience, the extremely cozy environment and welcoming locals and the coffee machines! We need to bring those to the US! They’re delicious! Now, onwards I went into the land of the Gods.