Varna - The Blog is back.

The last few days, since I left Plovdiv, have swung wildly from the most fun I have had in years to some of the most annoying incidents I have ever encountered. So, as a result, I will just quickly apologise for not writing anything for a few days and also for forgetting which day of the trip I am on...

So let's go back in time to where I left you in Plovdiv and my plans to go to Varna. Not long after finishing my last blog, I decided impulsively to go to Varna that day rather than on an overnight train or bus. I really did like Plovdiv but the thought of spending another day walking around, not really doing anything made me want to go and sit on the beach. I had a couple of obstacles to overcome in order to carry out my plan to catch the 1:20pm train - firstly, my laundry hadn't come back from being done and I didn't want to go to Varna with only half my stuff, and secondly, when I got to the train station (at 1pm) the woman wouldn't sell me a ticket so, on the advice of the hostel guy, I ran all over the station (with pack on) looking for platform 3... phew made it just in time (sweating like a pig).

The train ride to Varna, while long and hot (6 1/2 hours with windows that only stayed open when they wanted to), was very beautiful - fields of wheat waiting to be harvested, sunflowers in full flower, falling down villages with terracotta tiled roofs. The ride was made entertaining by the general insistence of the Bulgarians, in my cabin, to try and have a conversation with me... even though I spoke no Bulgarian and they spoke no English. I think I was asked how much it was to fly from London to Sofia, whether I was married and how old I was (apparently I look 18 - well that was the interpretation I came up with); just a snippet of the excellent chat.

Varna is the big beach resort in Bulgaria, right on the Black Sea coast - I was expecting an Ibiza-esque vibe but it was nothing like it and the four nights I have spent here (and the days!) have been such fun. When I finally arrived in Varna, I met Dave (the crazy, British hostel owner), outside the old hostel building - he was having trouble with the mafia, who owned the building, and so had had to find a new premise very quickly but all the information in the Lonely Planet, hostelworld, etc all state the old location. The Flag Hostel is right in the center of Varna, where there is a lot of shops and restaurants, as well as a great pedestrianised area - in a lot of ways it does exude resort town. Dave is a complete nutter - many people spent long periods of their stay trying to avoid being given a hug. He never listens to what you say so his answers to various questions can be very random. He is ultra disorganised (to the point where it is hard to believe he actually runs a business) and he often has very little understanding of 'social graces' - having said this, he has a great hostel, with amazing staff who often 'take one for the team' and escort hostel guests to the best bars and dance clubs.

On my first night in Varna, most of the hostel went down to the beach for a drink in a bar, which has been set up under a giant permanent marque - it is one of the best things to sit on a deck chair (or lie on a giant bean bag), on the sand and just relax. The hostel group included 3 of the most unfortunate Irish men (one was mugged twice in one night and another was beaten up by some women), several Aussies, English uni students, a Scottish/Irish couple, some Americans who worked at the hostel and me - a recipe for some hilarious dancing and interesting conversation.

Day one proper, in Varna, consisted of an abortive attempt at finding somewhere to watch the Ashes. Turns out that, even if you have Sky sport in Bulgaria, it's near impossible to find any cricket - the whole situation wasn't helped, however, by the fact that James (the Aussie) had forgotten the directions to the pub! We ended up just cutting our losses, having a beer and heading to the beach.

As many of you know, I don't really like the beach (owing to the abundance of sand and salt) but I have really enjoyed just lying on the sand and dipping in and out of the amazingly warm Black Sea. (Being able to say I swam in the Black Sea is pretty neat - all I can think of is Jason and Argonauts sailing through it and Greek trading ships stopping to load up with Thracian silver.)

As I am now well over a week into my trip, I feel that this a good point to have a little vegan update. I knew before I went away that it was going to be hard and, while it hasn't been impossible, I do feel like these 33 days in Eastern Europe may put me off tomato and cucumber for life. (I have been eating a lot of 'Shopska' salad - essentially tomato, cucumber and onion.) I have had a number of funny looks when asking for no cheese - apparently it is taken as a personal insult. You may think the tomato/cucumber diet would a be a recipe for me coming back as an ultra skinny bitch but unfortunately this doesn't seem to be the case. Last night, I did manage to find a place that had ratatouille on the menu - that was possibly the best meal I've had all trip.

That night Sam, Sian and Ed, who I met and had an awesome time with in Sofia, got to Varna so I spent an eventful (not in a completely good way) with them. After a drink at another cool beach-side bar, we decided to stop and have a bite to eat. I had taken my camera out for the evening, as I really had been a bit hit and miss in terms of the quantity (and quality) of my photos. The camera was on the table, I went to the toilet and, when I came back, we decided to leave. It was literally a case of 5 seconds and the camera was gone - the other 3 couldn't remember seeing it on the table when we left, however, so it may already have been quickly whipped away before we left. The staff insisted that there had been no camera and even my bribe of 200 leva (100 pounds) couldn't entice them to hand over the camera (or memory stick). Needless to say I was so annoyed at myself but, in the world of the new and improved Rose, you just need to get over it - this is why you have travel insurance and also (although painful) how you learn to never do something again. We did end up having a good night dancing to cheesy 90s Euro-dance and then joining the other hostel people on the beach later so all was not lost. BUT I now have no photos from my first week and will have to do a real scrape around to get photos off all the people I have shared those memories with - gutted.

So day two in Varna was spent walking, (not in a good tourist way but in a 'why doesn't anybody in this country understand what I am asking them for (loss report form) and why isn't there a central (easy to find) police station' way). I told crazy Dave what had happened and, rather than saying 'Oh they don't so those here. Ring your insurance and tell them I will confirm the theft', he just said 'Good luck with that' - the fact that he said the former AFTER I had spent from 10am to 5pm trying to get one of the non-existent forms made the whole experience even worse. So there was much backwards and forwards (trying to FIND the police station), a couple of interrogation type situations, a little bit of heat stroke, a conversation about the Bulgarian prosecution authority deciding not to proceed with a criminal case (EH!!??!!) and finally a few tears - but in the end I did get a letter (in Cyrillic) stating that I had reported the loss to the police. And then of course I had the annoyance of - 'Oh I could have just emailed for you'. GRRRRR!!!

So then, after all that carry on, I had to go out and buy another camera...and there is no Tesco so (even though I will get some of it back) I ended up spending an unplanned for 200 pounds on the new version of my old camera. Again, new and improved Rose didn't let the annoyance keep her down - there is nothing that a good dance to some Ace of Base can't fix. Haha!

(I know this is a very long entry but remember it is to cover 4 days - don't give up just yet... the geeky bit is yet to come but I'll make it short-ish.)

And finally on to my last whole day in Varna - a really good day, mixing the best of touristy/sightseeing with beach laziness.

Varna has been inhabited, like Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo, since about 5000BC - it is not only right beside the sea but also close to some inland lakes and within ease reach of the Thracian silver deposits (and so a desirable location). The Greek city of Odessos was founded by colonists from Miletos, in Asia Minor, in about the 7th century BC, on the site of much earlier habitation. The city flourished because it was right on a trade route and later because of its tactical location between the Eastern and Western halves of the Roman Empire - even today Varna has a busy port.

So why all these geeky facts relevant? - well because yesterday Ed and I went to the Varna Archaeological Museum (home to over 100,000 artifacts, don't you know)! YAY MUSEUMS!!! I got to have a good look at some very exciting stone tools, Thracian burial goods, Greek pots, Roman armour and coins, and (although I was pretty museumed out by then) a huge collection of religious icons. Before that we had also been to look inside the cathedral (The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin) - although, I refused to pay 5 leva for the pleasure of taking photos - there was a christening going on so we had the pleasure of screaming child whilst we admired scenes from the Old Testament and the Life of Christ. (Yes there were relics - but they were labeled in Bulgarian and the light was too poor to make any of them out well.) The Orthodox churches in Bulgarian have been so beautiful (even if some were really dark) - beautiful, detailed frescoes, gilt icons and (often) a chandelier or two! The rest of the day was spent literally lying on the beach, in temperatures close to 30, moving every now and again so as to stay in the shade - ah this is the life!

So where to next? Well, later today I will be getting on a train to Sofia, with a couple I met here in Varna, and from there we will be training (overnight) to Belgrade. I'm planning to spend 4 or 5 days there, exploring the city and going on a few day trip (and possibly down to Kosovo, the world's newest country). Will update you soon.

Rose x