BULGARIA
In summer 2021 I visited the Bulgarian Black Sea coast around the coastal town of Varna. It was a trip with a lot of varied experiences and a salutary rebuttal of all the prejudices I had about the former Eastern Bloc country generally and this specific tourist area in particular
Have you been to Sunny Beach? By Eric Schoon
When my 76-year-old and extremely youthful mother heard that I’d taken a trip to the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, drunken parties and foam discos on Sunny Beach ware the first things that sprang to her mind. The association is not so surprising given the tabloid newspapers’ scandal-mongering headlines over the years about the wild parties young people have at Sunny Beach, and of course it is a golden opportunity for Bulgaria’s tourist authorities to work actively to restore the country’s reputation as a tourist destination. Let me right away: Bulgaria has much more to offer than cheap beer, massed ranks of sun loungers on wide sandy beaches and all-inclusive hotels with drunken teenagers and noisy families with children. In fact, my visit to Varna and its environs a couple of months ago became a succession of positive surprises and experiences that whetted my appetite for a possible follow-up in the near future.
FIRST-CLASS NATURE AND CULTURE
The coast around Varna consists of dramatic rugged shores with spectacular rock formations and captivating views from the top of the slopes. In many places you can find good sandy beaches at the foot of the cliffs and there is masses of
space – especially if you move away from the established beach resorts such as Golden Sands and Sunny Beach. If you have the opportunity to travel round in the landscape – for example in a hired car – you can experience a lot of nature nearby. Between the towns, the landscape is characterised by fertile farmland with enormous sunflower fields and vineyards. The sunflowers bloom in July and create an endless yellow inland sea – a captivating sight. But Bulgaria is also know for its production of aromatic oils such as rose oil and lavender oil, and exotic crops such as paprika and free range tomatoes are also cultivated in the fields, so the scenery on a road trip is hardly like that of midZealand. It is not so surprising that this fertile spot on the map has attracted people from near and far throughout history, and there are remains from these cultures everywhere. Roman baths, Greek temples, Thracian artefacts and lots of ancient churches erected by the early Christians who founded the Bulgarian Orthodox variant of the Catholic church. A dose of culture never did any harm and certainly not when the impressions gained alter your perception of the world. I was both surprised and a little wiser after a visit to Varna’s archaeological museum. It’s perhaps not a place that I would have sought out myself
but now, when I’ve been there, I would certainly not have missed out on the experience. The collection consists of artefacts from all periods of Bulgaria’s history, starting with hunter/gatherers in the Palaeolithic stone age 12,000-100,00 years ago. The unique thing about this collection is, however, the hundreds of grave finds from the bronze age. This finds are around 6,500 years old – 2,500 years older than the Cheops pyramid – and from a time when the population of Denmark was still in the old stone age. More than 300 graves from a hitherto-unknown culture were found and excavated on the outskirts of Varna in the beginning of the 1970s. The finds revealed a complex society, with a great divide between rich and poor. In the graves of high-status people they found hundreds of finely-wrought gold artefacts, bronze tools and beautifully produced and decorated ceramics. This is the oldest known wrought gold in the world and the discovery fundamentally altered the previous picture of the earliest known cultures. In the most spectacular grave a chieftain, high-priest or another sort of high-ranking leader was laid to rest. The most significant testimony to these people’s highly-developed state is, however, not the rich grave goods but the fact that the man was around 50 years old and a bit over 180 cm tall – not exactly the picture I had in my head of people from 6,500 years ago. continue on page 4
Photo: Ghita Schultz
Photo: Gueorgui Mihov
A TRIP ROUND BULGARIA in seven days and six nights By Githa Schultz Luckily I was fully vaccinated in August 2021 because in view of the Corona restrictions, it would otherwise be difficult if you’d like to see the world – so I thought why not Bulgaria? It’s a country that is somewhat overlooked that borders on popular tourist destinations such as Greece and Turkey. But Bulgaria has it’s own uniqueness and is definitely a country that you should have on your bucket list. It’s a vibrant and cultural country, with an interesting history and proud traditions. As well as good food, top-notch hotels and not least noble wines, it is also a country that is hard-pressed economically and has endured frequent occupations. It is home to the best-preserved Roman amphitheatre in the world, built in the second century AD in the old town of Plovdiv, which has, amongst other things, an opera programme. Bulgaria is approximately three times the size of Denmark but with a slightly larger population and a short coastline of only 354 km. Invited by the Bulgarian ministry of tourism, it took a 1,500 km car journey through the country – as well as 55 km on foot – to get really close to Bulgaria’s attractions. Across plains, valleys and mountain ranges through landscapes with died off flowers in August, with the influence of the lands nearby hidden in ruins, old buildings, beautifully decorated
houses, monasteries and churches. But it’s also modern, with cosy hipster cafes and views of graffiti and murals. It’s been a member of the EU since 2007 with its own currency and is probably the cheapest country in Europe to holiday in when it comes to value for money.
THE NOBLE ROSES
Your olfactory senses are also activated by the scent of roses that meets you everywhere in Bulgaria from shops that sell the invigorating scent. The country produces and sells the world’s finest rose oil, which is used especially in body products and perfumes. On top of that, Bulgaria is also known for its lavender and sunflower oil production. It takes 2,000 rose heads to make a gram of rose oil, so the starting price for a litre of pure rose oil can be as high as 80,000kr and upwards. Every year, Bulgarians celebrate the rose with a festival in the Valley of the Roses in Kazanlak. If you want to experience this you should travel there in the first weekend in June.
SALT AND MINERAL MUDBATHS
You take the suggested 15 minute session with Artemia Saltine, a sort of brine shrimp that lives in the salt water lakes near Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast and which gives the lakes their red colour and your skin a nicer and healthier
appearance. Combined with being smeared in mud from top to toe and finishing with a dip in the Black Sea, the final result is perfect baby skin. Salt baths, mineral springs and Black Sea mud have been known for their healing properties for decades and are especially sought out by people with skin conditions. However, in 2021 they have perhaps been rather pushed aside by cheap holidays for youngsters to Sunny Beach. But taking one of these baths is real balm for the soul, skin and body.
FIVE-STAR HOTELS
The five-star hotels are an aesthetic luxury experience, for example the Hotel Astor Garden in Saints Constantine & Helena, a recreative spa area by the Black Sea at Varna. And it’s actually not expensive considering the level of luxury that you can get for around 190 Euros per night in the high season for a double room, breakfast buffet and sea view. There’s also access to The Aquahouse Thermal & Bath by the side of the hotel which has been voted the best spa in the Balkans.
FOOD BY WEIGHT
Bulgarian cuisine at the restaurants is prepared from the finest local ingredients. An amusing little detail on all menus in Bulgaria is that the
Photo: Rumen Naydenov
weight of what you eat is always given on the menu. One of the highlights in Bulgaria is fish from the Black Sea such as sea bass that when grilled, tastes as if it has had an adventurous and healthy life before ending up on the plate. It almost seems to frolic with delicious flavours, and is one of the highlights in Bulgaria.
SUNNY BEACH
Sunny Beach has unfortunately got a reputation for young binge-drinking tourists or as a springboard to a career and enhanced status as a bartender if you are a reality star on Danish TV with a declining career on stand-by. When you actually experience Sunny Beach it’s not as bad as its reputation and no worse than the Canary Islands regarding over-full beaches and intensive hotel building. In fact, there is actually a quite comfortable lounge established on the beach, with soft pillows and sun loungers in the baking sun.
SERVICE AND OLD-STYLE COMMUNISM AT THE SALT MUSEUM IN POMORIE
You might exceptionally come across grumpy old-style communist service in Bulgaria like that given by probably the only employee at the salt museum in Pomorie. The day we chose he’d obviously forgotten that Bulgaria was no longer occupied by the Soviet Union. The country doesn’t have a planned economy and good service pays if you want to attract tourists. He refused point blank to give a talk in English – even though it had been agreed in advance. Our fantastic tour guide Konstantsa Hristov had to weather a storm of disapproving comments from the museum’s Bulgarian guests, who felt disturbed by her
simultaneous translation into English while the salt museum king relentlessly lectured loudly in Bulgarian. Despite this, the salt museum is a ‘must see’ and the only one of its kind in Bulgaria, and more than likely the language problem will be cleared up before the next group of tourists visits. Using her best Bulgarian body-language, this writer managed to buy some of the lovely body care products from the salt king made, of real salt and minerals originating from the area.
МОСКВА In contrast, there is a bar and restaurant in Sofia – Raketa Rakia Bar – that rekindles memories of the Soviet occupation. It’s a popular and trendy bar with around 170 brandies, as well as décor that includes items from the Soviet era. It’s perhaps one of the few places in Bulgaria where the memory of the Soviet occupation is welcome and it is nicely furnished with vintage items from Russia. These include fur hats, officer’s shoulder boards or fridges from the 60s made by Москва (Moscow). Fridges with locks like this are characteristic of the brand and are used to store the restaurant’s large selection of drinks. It’s a roomy Soviet cooler with plenty of space and in bright red with the letters CCCP. In addition to the service, entertainment value and a look at a vanished Soviet past, the food is also top-notch at the Raketa Rakia Bar.
INVESTMENT
You could profitably invest in a flat in Bulgaria because prices on the property market are low. This is what the ex-director of Taxi and
Danish singer Claus Schreiber did in 2009. He enjoys his flat situated in the skiing and golfing area in the charming town of Bansko. Another modern idea is Art Money, which the Danish artist Lars Christian Kræmmer brought to Bulgaria and entered into agreements with a number of shops where you can buy things with this worldwide art currency that consists of an original work of art with a value of 200kr.
300 VINEYARDS IN BULGARIA
Just to name one of Bulgaria’s approximately 300 vineyards, Villa Yustina is winery in the town of Ustina on the way to the Black Sea that has more than 42 vineyards. Somewhat unfairly perhaps, only 10 percent of the wine is exported. It is rumoured that Bulgarians love their own wine so much that 90 percent is drunk in Bulgaria. If this it true it is easy to understand why. When you taste the grapes in the fields that are ready to be harvested at Villa Yustina, such as Sauvignon blanc and Semillon that end up in the white wine Summer, they taste just as sunny, lively and palatable as the wine you taste from the bottle at the winery. You certainly don’t want to spit out these delicious drops! Unfortunately, there are not many places in the world that you can buy Bulgarian wine. This is why it’s a good idea to travel light so that you can take some of the tasty Bulgarian wine back in your luggage, together with the skin care products made from natural Bulgarian ingredients, the beautiful dazzling white 100 percent cotton tablecloths, or the finely hand-embroidered cotton blouses – along with many other impressions of wonderful Bulgaria.
EASILY ACCESSIBLE ENTERTAINMENT
After these cultural riches, it’s good to know that Bulgaria also offers lots of more accessible diversions. Beer is still cheap in Bulgaria. A halflitre in a restaurant costs 2-3 Euros. It’s also really good and with an increasing number of microbreweries popping up, there’s a lot to choose from. Just as interesting is that the country has lots of fantastic restaurants that offer everything from traditional Bulgarian food based on the rich assortment of good foodstuffs from the Balkans to classic seafood served at the water’s edge of the Black Sea. Also here it’s hard not to be in a good mood when you are presented with the bill. As far as overnight stays are concerned there is completely freedom of choice. We lived in everything from ‘family-friendly’ all-inclusive hotels (for those who just want sand, sea and sun loungers) to golfing resorts of a very high standard uniquely situated in incredibly beautiful nature. The prices ranged from cheap to extremely cheap. If you wish to experience a colourful evening under the auspices of mass tourism, you can take part in Bulgaria’s version of a Spanish pig roast. Lots of tasty food and Bulgarian red wine and beer ad libitum facilitates the party guests’ desire to clap along when colourful folk dancers jump around between the tables accompanied by hectic Bulgarian music. The evening reaches its high point when a couple of Bulgarian’s with an obvious disdain for death walk across glowing coals to the unbridled enthusiasm of the audience. If you are lucky, one of the party participants feels duty-bound to copy the Bulgarians. That happened on our trip – and it didn’t hurt nearly as much as you might imagine. The blisters under the feet heal in around a month, but the first couple of days are a bit trying to get through. Did I mention that a perfectly decent Bulgarian beer can be had for 2-3 Euros? That is very relevant in this connection.
ACTIVE HOLIDAYS
It’s almost blindingly obvious that the Black Sea coast is a paradise for people interested in water sports. As well as swimming, there are ample opportunities for taking part in motorised water sports of all kinds. If you are more to ‘turf’ rather than ‘surf’ there are a number of spectacular golf courses in the area with luxury hotels added on. In this connection, Thracian Cliffs and Black-Sea Rama should be especially mentioned. Both these 18-hole courses have been designed by the legendary South African player and golf course architect Gary Player. Thracian Cliffs especially is regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful courses. You play with a dramatic sea view at the edge of the cliffs and in every way the five-star resort lives up to the quality of the course. Like everything else in Bulgaria it is incredibly cheap for what you get. If you don’t live in at the resort, the green fee at Thracian Cliffs is 109 Euros. If golf is too boring for you, near the Black-Sea Rama you can try shooting with everything from
pistols to shotguns and Kalashnikov assault rifles. It’s always fun to blast off at a shooting range and for those who don’t have much experience with weapons an hour here can be a bit of an eye-opener regarding how weapons work in the real world – a long way from Hollywood and the wargames on your youngster’s computer. Either you think it is great fun – or you just won’t admit that it’s great fun. Try it! You can, of course, also give yourself time to explore the wine treasure of Bulgaria. The country definitely has the right climate to make first-class red wine, but as a tourist you will discover that the wine Bulgarians prefer is slightly outside the typical Scandinavian taste. I noticed that much of the red wine I tasted in different restaurants was a little on the sweet side. At a wine tasting one evening, Bulgaria’s reputation as a wine country was somewhat salvaged. Here, the slightly drier wines were brought out and Bulgaria showed itself – as expected – to be a very good wine country (if you know a little about what you want in your glass).
OVERWHELMING CHOICE – CHEAP HOLIDAY
Whether you want one thing or another – or a bit of everything – Bulgaria is an interesting destination that is cheaper to visit that some of the alternatives. Romanian and Russian tourists visit Bulgaria in large numbers precisely because of the prices. But the surprising thing is that the place certainly doesn’t give the impression of being under-developed. The car fleet is more exclusive than the Danish one and the unmistakable Communist touch on buildings and other infrastructure has more or less disappeared. I don’t think it will be long before the obviously advantageous relationship between price and quality that Bulgaria offers its visitors will become closer to the level in other European countries. So go there while it lasts!