At the beginning of 2017, I was chatting online with Cassandra, my Canadian friend who, at the time, lived in Ottawa. I told her that I wanted to go back to Bulgaria to see at least the fields of roses in Kazanlak. That’s when she said she was planning on going to Bulgaria too. Perfect timing! Since we’re seasoned travellers, it didn’t take us much time to organize a trip to Bulgaria in May. We visited a few places together and then, we parted ways. Cassandra went to visit some places I knew while I stayed in Varna to experience more of the Black Sea Coast. I particularly enjoyed Balchik, Kaliakra and Nessebar.
A Day-Trip On The Black Coast
I booked a personal guide and visited in one day the Aladzha Fortress, the city of Balchik and Cape Kaliakra. While it might seem a lot for one day, we really took our time, and I never felt rushed or anything. The Aladzha Fortress is quite small. It is however mysterious enough to be an interesting stop. I’m not going to talk about it now, but I do recommend checking it out.
Balchik, located 40 km from Varna, is a must-do in my opinion. The Black Sea Coast cities are very different from the other Bulgarian cities I had previously visited. Bulgaria is definitely underrated and offers very diverse sceneries. What impressed me the most in Balchik was the Castle of Queen Mary and its gardens.
A Complicated History
The city had its name and nationality changed quite often. It was founded as a Thracian settlement, then became Greek, then part of the Ottoman Empire, then Romanian and finally Bulgarian.
If you look on the map, Balchik is not that far from Romania. After the Second Balkan War, the city became part of the Kingdom of Romania. That’s when the castle was built (between 1926 and 1937) for Queen Marie of Romania. The palace was her favourite summer residence, and honestly, I can totally understand why.
A Popular Tourist Attraction
As you may have guessed, Balchik is very touristy. What’s not to love? A beautiful palace with stunning gardens and a view on the sea. Plus, there are good restaurants, shops and a wine cellar.
You can taste and buy some famous wines there. The atmosphere is very nice and welcoming. However, I couldn’t buy any because I had only a backpack and I couldn’t have taken it on the plane. I hesitated, thinking that I could drink it in the evening, but I was by myself and I thought it wouldn’t be reasonable. And then, I hesitated a bit more when they offered to ship the wines to my house in France, but it was pretty expensive. Anyway, I just thought you should know these options.
Cape Kaliakra
After the strange Aladzha Fortress and the dreamy Balchik, I was feeling pretty happy with my day. Maybe I thought it was enough. Then, we drove to Cape Kaliakra, a cape on the Black Sea Coast, and I was blown away by its beauty. The first thing I saw was an incredible number of wind turbines turning. Indeed, the cape is quite windy and its cliffs are steep and high.
Kaliakra is a nature reserve and was declared a protected area in 1941. The cape is stunning and the cliffs are bordered by wild flowers such as poppies. Rare species of birds live in Kaliakra, and there are also dolphins and cormorants.
The site also has an eventful history. It was a fortress that was used by Tracians, Romans, Byzantines and Bulgarians. There’s even a legend linked to the cape: it tells us that, rather than being captured by the Ottomans, forty Bulgarian girls preferred to tie their hair together and jump into the Black Sea. My guide told me the story and left an aura of doubt as to whether or not it was true. In any case, a monument has been erected for these 40 maiden. Believe whatever you want. 😉
To see more photos of Bulgaria, you can visit the gallery Bulgaria.
