Bulgaria. Varna. Golden sands. Article
The family decided, and I agreed - we are going to Bulgaria. Easy flight, about 1.5 hours and we are in Varna. Immediately there was a feeling of something painfully familiar, or the architecture is similar, maybe the climate resembles the Crimean one, but until the very end of the trip it seemed that I was in my own country.
The guide who met us spoke excellent Russian and even knew a couple of phrases in Ukrainian. In Bulgaria, according to my observation, people are divided into two types in relation to tourists: those who pretend that they do not understand Russian and very friendly and polite Bulgarians who will show and tell about everything that interests you. We met more good people, so the trip turned out to be pleasant.
About Varna
Varna is an ancient city, although at first glance it is imperceptible. The founding of the city on this site dates back to the 6th century. BC, and was founded by settlers from the city of Miletus in Asia Minor. The city was then called Odessos, and its life for many centuries was determined by maritime trade, and the very name "Odessos" means "city by the water" or "city on the water. " Ancient Odessos traded with Athens, Rhodes and other cities of the ancient world.
In the 1st century AD the region came under Roman influence. And Odessa became part of the Roman province of Moesia Inferior. During this period, the city was arranged in the image and likeness of many cities of the Roman Empire - straight streets, sidewalks, under which sewers passed, temples, an amphitheater. But the location of most of these structures has not been established. The years have swallowed them up and they cannot be seen in modern Varna. The remains of the ancient and medieval settlements are now under the buildings of the city. But the Roman terms remained, of course, in a ruined state, but even now they can be seen almost in the center of modern Varna.
The Romans, who lived in this remote province, as elsewhere, sought to create traditional living conditions for themselves. The terms are one of such indispensable conditions. Usually these were not just public baths, but also a kind of club. The baths of Odessa, apparently, once looked very impressive, but now modern houses stand right above them, and only ruins remain of the luxurious baths themselves.
One can only imagine how life went on here many centuries ago. Visitors entered the baths through the main entrance, a wide staircase led to the vestibule, from where they got into the dressing room, where the slaves remained to wait for their masters. Luxurious furnishings are all around - marble, mosaic panels, statues. The ancient Romans clearly adhered to the principle that living is good, and living well is even better. Then the frigidarium room - "cold bath" - rooms for bathing with cold water, followed by the tepidarium - a warm bath, and finally the caldarium - a bathing room with hot water. The whole gradual transition from one hall to another was connected with the preparation of the body for the perception of hot air and water in the caldarium. And in order to avoid drafts, the builders did not place the doors one against the other. That's how everything was thought out.
There were also rooms for recreation and entertainment, halls for gymnastics, halls for conversations and meetings, shops. And, of course, a lot of work space - a place for furnaces, storage rooms, staff rooms. There was a sewer under the floor. The baths needed a huge amount of water and firewood, and a little to the side, apparently, there was an economic yard.
The very center of Varna is a pedestrian zone: two wide streets, or rather boulevards, and Seaside Park. There are cafes, shops, and very tasty bulk ice cream sold in huge portions. The central streets start from Metropolitan Simeon Square, where perhaps the most recognizable architectural monument of Varna, the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin, is located. The temple was built to commemorate the liberation of Bulgaria from Turkish slavery.
And the central boulevards lead to the Seaside Park. From where you can immediately go down to the beach or just sit on a bench, looking at the sea, eating all the same huge ice cream by weight. This is a kind of meditation.
The port of Varna can be reached from the center on foot along the Seaside Park and the beach. I love cities where there is a port, cities by the sea. They have some spirit of sea travel and openness to the world. And the lighthouse with the image of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors and travelers, on the pier in the port of Varna blesses the ships leaving to sail and meets those returning.
Golden Sands
Not more than half an hour drive from Varna and we arrive safely at our hotel near Golden Sands. The small hotel turned out to be very nice, although the Soviet heritage is still felt. One room was luxurious by European standards overlooking the pool, and the other was smaller and very similar to Soviet hotels, even the door lock did not always close the first time. But we quickly eliminated this shortcoming by contacting the administrator. She turned out to be a pleasant blonde Elena, our former compatriot, who has been living in Bulgaria for more than twenty years. With incorruptible interest, she vividly asked about the modern life of Ukraine, showed the magazines that the people of Kiev had left her. And the next day she presented us with all the local surroundings, including the cleanest beach with a cable car, along which you can go down to it. This descent has become a kind of entertainment for the whole family, especially children. It is impossible to describe in words “flight” in a cabin over an abyss, a roadway and a grove, it must be felt. For vacationers at the hotel, the descent was free, as were the sunbeds on the beach.
The Black Sea was warm and clean, which was used by negligent tourists from neighboring countries. Throwing off their baseball caps, they shouted and tried to catch small crustaceans and fish, amusing the German tourists, who were the vast majority in our hotel. Interestingly, many of them turned out to be lovers of tattoos and nudist recreation. Without a complex, German women after 50 sunbathed topless and it looked normal and neat, but when our compatriot presented her “gifts of nature” of the 4th size “to the court of beachgoers”, there was a “full house”.
The advantage of the beach is that it is located 20 minutes from Golden Sands, so there were a little less people. Here you can also taste soft drinks, refresh yourself with a sandwich, taste delicious ice cream.
Ten minutes drive (a little longer on foot) and we are at Golden Sands. I liked the embankment, again the cleanliness and thoughtfulness of the service strikes. There are no crowds, nothing superfluous for walking and relaxing. Souvenir shops unobtrusively offer an assortment of various magnets, figurines, souvenir bottles of brandy or rose water, and it is not for nothing that Bulgaria is called the country of roses. We bought a little bit of everything.
