02.24.08

Varna, Bulgaria

The Black sea, all but Black!

Turkey to Bulgaria, snow to sand, tense to relax!Hotel Relax to be more precise!As I sit here in my basement bedroom in Varna, Bulgaria on the Black sea, I am reminded of my time in both Croatia and Albania.I had absolutely no expectations of Bulgaria and am pleasantly surprised.Istanbul on the other hand was out of hand and now I feel as though I have sipped a little of what the east has to offer and no I am not talking about just apple tea!

Istanbul is amazing in a different way than all the other amazing places I have seen.It is definitely not European, but in a way it still is.My first day walking around I was blown away at the number of people who approached me to help me in someway or more accurately sell me something.I could not walk down the street without someone yelling "excuse me my friend".I must say I have never experience so many people so hungry to sell me something.If you stopped walking on the sidewalk for even a moment, someone would approach ready to steer you into their rug shop or travel agency or wherever else they could pry some money out of you.At first it was fun and exciting and different and wow Turkey, but then it got old.It got old even before I actually made it to the major market center the Grand Bazar and Spice Market.This is where it goes from intense salesmanship to not even on the charts.Never in my life have I had such an interesting experience window shopping than walking through the narrow streets of Istanbul where it seemed everything was for sale and everyone was your friend.The streets were packed with people and shop keepers screaming and yelling lures to get you to purchase their goods.It was truly the hustle and bustle market you think of in 3rd world countries except these guys were selling more than 3rd world items.I think you could find anything you wanted in Istanbul.I have never seen so many goods for sale in all my travels so far.Endless wall to wall things for sale and people I guess buying because they are all still in business. From shops full of jeans and leather jackets, to crates filled with nuts and spices it was all there.

Most small venders had a specialty and they all seemed to clump together.An entire street would be dedicated to one thing.I have heard of keep your enemies close so I guess it holds true for the competition also.One street I passed had nothing but musical instruments, and I am talking about 20 stores at least just with instruments and then the street next to it was the lighting street; all the shops sold light fixtures.Truly amazing!Walking around Istanbul, I was a little tense with the constant bombardment of people trying to lure me into their shops.They did almost everything except stand right in front of me to keep me from passing by their shop.If these guys went to a bar in America I am sure they would leave with a hundred women, not because they are so gifted with gab which they are, but because after a thousand rejections they still keep going.

Along with the many shops and persistent salesman, Istanbul is overflowing with mosques; all of them easily visible from anywhere in the city because of their tall spires.I visited the Blue Mosque and found myself in an enormous carpeted room with nothing else except beautifully decorated walls and domes.No Chairs, no icons, nothing.A large carpeted room!I must say even with a religious studies degree and entire class on Islam I still did not quite know what to expect when I entered.

After my very brief in and out visit at the mosque I made my way to the waterfront for a boat tour of the Bosporus, the canal that separates Europe from Asia, running from the Aegean sea to the Black sea.Of course being on a boat was fantastic, but the view was pretty interesting too. I did not expect the very European looking waterfront.I was tempted to cross over one of the many bridges I saw to say I have been to Asia, but I think I will wait and leave Asia for a whole other trip.So for now, just as when I stood on the rock of Gibralter and could almost reach out and touch Africa, I sat on the tour boat and could almost reach out and touch Asia.

I arrived back at the hostel to find my insurance papers had already arrived which is pretty amazing.I called Delaware on Wednesday night and UPS showed up on Friday afternoon in Turkey.UPS, very impressive!With papers now in hand and enough Istanbul in my system, I was set to head out with Bulgaria in my sites.

The drive from Istanbul to the Bulgarian border was cold and foggy and I was nervous about my decision to head north while it is still February.Once I hit the Bulgarian border though, my nerves were calmed.The weather was warm and the country side beautiful.The rolling hills were filled with trees and pastures and there was just a good feeling in my chest.My back on the other hand was not very impressed with Bulgarian roads.Not quite as bad as Albania, but not the best.Between catching great views of the rolling country side and watching out for livestock I had to dodge some rather large potholes.As I neared the coast the roads got significantly better and were more like those found in the rest of Europe.I left Turkey with snow still on the ground and arrived in Bulgaria to be greeted by amazing sand beaches.I had no idea the black sea which is actually crystal clear had such fine beaches, but apparently the British do.

Burgas and Nessebar were the first cities I visited before settling down in Varna for the night.I felt so relaxed in all of these cities, something that was much needed since walking around Istanbul made me a little tense.Everyone seemed to be so friendly and cheerful.I ended up staying at the hotel Relax whose name seemed fitting.One thing for sure Bulgaria is much cheaper than the rest of Europe, but still very European.I think I was expecting something more like Albania.I got the friendliness, but the cities are relatively clean and bright and seemed to just be loved.The people, like in Croatia, are beautiful and have a different air about them.There is nothing overly spectacular about Bulgaria, but there is definitely something to it.I am looking forward to the rest of my trip up the Black sea coast and then up into Romania tomorrow.

The only real disappointment with Bulgaria so far is all the high rise condominiums on the beach fronts.There is a tremendous amount of building up going on along the coast and all of it seems to be marketed towards the UK.There are numerous signs in town advertising beach front properties for sale and most of them have the union jack somewhere visible.One sign even reads, "Buy-Sell Bulgaria".This is at the heart of my disappointment.It seems that Bulgarians are doing just that, they are selling out their country instead of keeping it truly Bulgarian.Although the sandy beaches are pretty the line of brightly colored high rise buildings takes away from it.I have a feeling that the beautiful Bulgarian coastline will resemble the coast of Florida before to long.

So off to Romania tomorrow and hopefully another exciting blog entry!Speaking of blog entries, I must admit that I have more thoughts and more interesting adventures in a day than I have time to even briefly share and it is always a struggle to pick and choose the most significant, the ones that really stick out in my mind. So here are some random thoughts I had and ones I want to be able to look back on and remember as well as share with you.

United Colors of Benetton!Now this is a clothing chain that I am going to invest in when I get home.This store is like the wal mart in America in that you know you are a big town when you have one.Every town that is a town has this store somewhere on its main pedestrian street.I can always know that I am in a town worth something when I see one of these.I always get a little chuckle out of it.

McDonalds!Okay I admit I have eaten once or twice just out of nostalgia or rather exhaustion and not wanting to find anything else, but this chain is truly in every city and if I can't find a map or the signs pointing to the city center are not visible all I have to do is look for the arches.Once you find the McDonalds you know you are in the main center, the most popular section of town.

Okay enough for now…Romania tomorrow and then Hungary!