Blogs from Varna, Varna Province, Bulgaria, Europe

Ready for some golf in the middle of nowhere? Well, here is a great example of it. Just over 10 years ago, some guy had the idea to build a new "golf destination" on the Black Sea in Bulgaria. They brought in Gary Player and Ian Woosnam to design 3 courses, the classics Lighthouse as well as Black Sea Rama golf courses...and the way more spectacular, Gary Player designed, Thracian Cliffs. So a little more about this little side trip of 3 nights, 4 days...I must admit, slightly in the middle of nowhere. It's mainly direct low cost/charter planes that are coming to Varna, on the Black Sea. Austrian is flying once a day, not very convenient schedule for me, arriving from London and leaving to Brussels. So I went for the other option, the once ... read more

Geo: 42.7252, 25.4815That damn fridge kept waking me up all night long. I looked before I went to bed last night to see whether or not it could be unplugged, but the cabinet it was in was too close to the wall and I couldn't reach the plug. But at least my room wasn't on the third floor, where a contingent of Belgians managed to wake everyone up at 1:30 a.m. On our drive to Varna, we could see how Sunny Beach — the area visible from the north side of Nesebar — is too built up. There are hotels and big resorts and apartments, apartments, apartments. It's just ugly. There's one absolutely enormous resort that looks like something from Dubai, or Las Vegas. Most of the billboards along the highway are in Russian, trying to ... read more

Before I tell th8s story, I should say that Varna is a beautiful city, with awesome beaches, nice people, warm water, and cheap food/drink. We made a very good friend out of a local, and here is how:After a swealtering (but gorgeous) ride from the capital, Sofia, we found ourselves stopped 10km before Varna. The employees on the train told us we had to get off due to a fire further down the rail line and that a bus was coming to take us to Varna.as im taking photos of the surroundings to remember this small hiccup, the women around us literally gasped in terror, and monica and I turned to see a large propane explosion about a kilometer out . The flame was impressive, and the "boom" made me drop to one knee!With the major ... read more

Wednesday 11th July 2012 We were off at 0830, our bus to Varna leaving the terminal at 0915. We ordered a taxi through the hotel and to our surprise, they paid the fare. We have nothing but praise for the Arena Tarnovo Hotel, clean rooms, friendly staff, and they try to be as helpful as they can. The bus trip took about 30 mins longer than the expected 3 hour trip but this was because there seemed to be something wrong with the bus at one stage, which the driver quickly repaired after a short stop, and the number of semi-trailers that had to be passed. Good driver though, never seemed to take any risks - Rags is not a good passenger and he was happy. On checking into the Plaza Hotel we were pleased to ... read more

Nothing at all exciting today, Sat all by myself on a train ride to Varna Bulgaria which is right on the Black Sea. I had one stop in Ruse which was a dead town. Got into Varna around 7 pm. Caught a cab to the apartment I was staying at. Had no idea where I was and these two ladies that ran a shop next to the building called the number I had to get the guy to come down and get me. haha. It was frezzzing outside too. Walking into the apartment made me a little home sick since it was a home and cozy. But then the guy and I started talking and we watched the University of Michigan Vs Michigan State game. He told me he use to work on cruise ships for ... read more