Blogs from 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

When I came to Varna Bulgaria to see the Black Sea, I planned on renting a car and heading south to see some of the other beach towns and some Greek ruins. But when I saw that I could work at the beach while chilling to some great food and music, I decided not to go anywhere. A week sure goes by fast at the beach, huh? The typical day was getting up at 7 am, working in my apartment until about noon, then walking down to the beach for lunch. Then I would just stay and work on the sand until 5 or 6pm. It was a nice routine. I also wandered about Varna and took in the sights and did plenty of people watching at night. There was all sorts of music and food ... read more

The farewell concert at 7 pm on May 28, Memorial Day, at the Olympic Training Center was a great way to send off these young musicians. It was fitting to recognize veterans at the beginning of the program and join in singing the Star Spangled Banner as the orchestra played so well. Seeing the musicians with their family and friends was heartwarming. Hearing the musicians as they played through their repertoire was inspiring. I am looking forward to being a companion on this unique tour through such historic places. Larry Barrett... read more