BULGARIA

Location - Eastern Europe; Capital - Sofia; Population - 7.1 million; Currency - Lev MORE BULGARIA

From Velika Tarovo there's a few buses south to Kazanlak, from where I took a taxi to the fantastic communist relic of Buzludzha, before heading to the Black Sea coast - May 2019.

The 10 Lev note

A first glimpse of the Buzludzha Monument was an exciting moment, somewhere I'd wanted to see since seeing photos like this - Buzludzha

It's a twisting and turning drive up the 1,441m peak to the UFO-style building - Buzludzha

Buzludzha was inaugurated in 1981 as an assembly hall, built to honour the creation of Bulgaria's first socialist party in 1891

Dark clouds above Buzludzha

'Workers - men and women of the world, unite! Ahead! Comrades, let's bravely build up our great cause! Let's work, let us create - the worker we need to enlighten!' reads the script on the near side. Apparently.. No idea about the translation of the far side - Buzludzha

From Veliko Tarnovo I was going to get off the bus at Shipka, slightly closer to Buzludzha, but the driver said there weren't any taxis. I couldn't see any and the bus didn't go into the centre, so I carried on to Kazanlak where he phoned a driver who took me for 40Lev return (or 50Lev? can't remember) with 30mins waiting

A red star, or what remains of it, adorns the top of the monument's concrete tower - Buzludzha

Sadly the monument recently closed its doors to visitors, and there's several 'Entry Prohibited' signs. The building is crumbling and falling glass & debris is a genuine hazard - Buzludzha

... but some find their way in somehow. A security guard now patrols the area, and other visitors were talking about offering a bribe at an opportune moment (don't know if they got anywhere). Even if you do get in I'm not sure how straightforward it is to reach the hall and its fading mosaics. There's talk of it being transformed into a museum but there's nothing to show for it so far - Buzludzha

So I made do with these mosaics, of sorts, which include a 'Fuck USSR' scrawl - Buzludzha

The views of the plains below are superb, especially if the sun pierces the clouds like here - Buzludzha

Soon after this photo it started raining, and as you'd expect at the top of a mountain it was very windy. And in the winter this is all covered in snow - Buzludzha

Walk down this track to another small monument - Buzludzha

The Torch Monument lies below the UFO - Buzludzha

Some guy waiting at the train station at Kazanlak

It was just under 3hrs by train from Kazanlak to Bourgas, after which it's a short bus ride to the attractive Black Sea resort of Sozopol

The main town beach, which was very quiet in early May, with all sunbeds stacked away. These photos were from my maze-like hotel which very kindly opened one day before their season started, when I sneaked in the front door at 10pm - Sozopol

At the end of the beach is the old town peninsula - Sozopol

A restaurant with the perfect location - Sozopol

Canoes on crystal clear waters head off to the nearby St Ivan's Island - Sozopol

The bay was beautifully calm and quiet - Sozopol

Drying out (or warming up?) on Black Sea rocks - Sozopol

St Ivan's Island, a bird sanctuary and the Black Sea's largest island, is on the northern side of the peninsula - Sozopol

The fishing harbour was also chilled in May. You can hire boats to St Ivan's Island (out of nesting season) from here - Sozopol

A clipper moored in the harbour, probably waiting for the summer tourist season to kick into action - Sozopol

A 15min walk south of town is Harmanite Beach - Sozopol

North of Sozopol and Bourgas is another old town peninsula next to Sunny Beach at Nesebar

Cross the isthmus, past a funny looking windmill, to Nesebar

Entrance to the old town is through the 5th century Town Gate - Nesebar

Nesebar is popular with day trippers from Sunny Beach, which is little more than 2km away

Walk between old wooden houses - Nesebar

There's several medieval churches in the old twown, including one adorned with swastikas, which represented the Sun in medieval times - Nesebar

Nesebar is lined with cafes and restaurants, plus loads of souvenir shops

On the opposite side of the bay from Nesebar is Sunny Beach

And the same picture in reverse, with the peninsula of Nesebar's old town seen from Sunny Beach

The beach view from Ina Golden Rainbow Hotel - Sunny Beach

Sunrise over the Black Sea - Sunny Beach

Sunny Beach, known as Slanchev Bryag in Bulgarian, covers several kilometres of sand meaning the resort stretches a long way

This was the general scene when I was in Sunny Beach. It was pretty much a ghost town with most shops, bars and restaurants closed or doing renovation work in preparation for the summer season

The Soviet Army Monument stands in Ploshtad Troikata - Bourgas

The Easter bunny's been in town - Bourgas

An Armenian genocide memorial outside an Armenian Orthodox church - Bourgas

Well thanks very much - Bourgas

..I'm sure Jimi Hendrix would listen - Bourgas

The beach is long and pretty good for a port city - Bourgas

Above the beach is Maritime Park, from where you can take in the pier and the waters of Bourgas Bay - Bourgas

Water sports in Bourgas Bay - Bourgas

And of course we have to have some Bulgarian street art - Bourgas

A memorial honouring those 'who died for freedom' fighting against fascism - Bourgas

Maritime Park is a long stretch of gardens, cafes, sculptures and other attractions runnning alongside the beach - Bourgas

Snap! Haddaway! Dr Alban! Some blasts from the past playing a Bourgas festival

Website and content Copyright © 2008-2019 Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved.

LINKS

http://bulgariatravel.org - official Bulgarian tourism

www.bdz.bg - Bulgarian trains website

www.busexpress.bg - and the buses site

I am not responsible for the content of external websites.