After starting off with a literal bang, a car accident, the rest of my day, once I actually arrived in Bulgaria, went off beautifully, without a hitch.
When I made my original itinerary for my trip it was before I had decided to have a rental car, so I had planned on only going to Burgas and Varna. The first few days I’d be based on Burgas with day trips by bus from there, and then the rest of the trip in Varna. Therefore, once I got my rental car, it was time to drive from the Varna airport to Burgas.
To break up the 2 hour and 15 minute trip, I’d intended to stop off mid way at a viewpoint in Byala called the Obzor viewpoint. Confusingly, this is not in Obzor but in Byala. On the way there, I saw signs for the Byala fortress, looked it up, and decided to add it to my itinerary.
I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but it was something more official than this. Some sign, maybe.
The only way I knew I was at the viewpoint was because Waze told me I was there and because there was a tiny place to pull off the road and park.
There were so many wild plants around including many rosebushes, dog roses in specific, so I collected some rosehips to make tea.
There were also some of the biggest mallow flowers I’ve seen.
In addition to views of the black sea, you could also see the countryside and mountains in the distance from the viewpoint.
The fact that I knew how to forage made it more interesting for me, seeing all the plants. Otherwise, it would have been something to stop, take a picture for one second, and then continue on the way.
The fortress was worth a stop, though. Known as the Byala Fortress or Sveti Atanas or Cape of St. Athanasius, they found archeological remains from 500 CE earliest…
It cost 7 Bulgarian lev (BGN) for entry to the site, $4.16, 12 BGN combined for the museum with it, but I don’t know where the museum is and didn’t go there. I asked if they had any discount for people with disabilities and they said it was 3 BGN for me, the same as it cost for seniors, kids, and students. Families are 15 BGN. So I paid only $1.78 for it.
It was nice, quaint. It had signs explaining things.
It probably would have been nicer with a tour guide. I’ve seen lots of archeological sites, and this seemed like most of them, nothing that made it unique… because all those artifacts must have been in the museum that I didn’t go to.
There were two cool things though.
There was this large ceramic container made for storing food, with a drawing of grapes on it…
It also has the inscription “God help [me]” in Greek ostensibly asking god (or a god) to help turn his grapes into good wine, and it amuses me because it sounds like the type of prayer I’d make hoping my food would turn out good.
There was also a temple that was remarkably well preserved, and quite beautiful.
There were stunning views of the Black sea from the cape.
I got to pick some yummy black nightshade berries which I snacked on. They tasted terrific.
I then headed back to the car and completed my drive to the hostel in Burgas.
This hostel is… something else.
I knew not to expect something fancy. I read reviews online so knew to expect something unlike any other hostel I’ve ever been to. It’s also the only hostel in Burgas, called the Hug Center. It’s made of reclaimed wood, pallets, mismatched furniture, and is meant to be sustainable. It has the feel of a cabin in the woods, only with wifi, electricity, and water (but only some of the faucets have hot water). Ok, the cabinets are partially broken, and the sheets are clean but old and mismatched, but hey, it’s part of the charm. And the kitchen and common room are half outdoors.
The price is worth it, though. It is 20 BGN or about $11 a night. The people are nice, the manager gave me a private room since I was the only woman here and he said there’s no women’s only dorm currently, so I got my private room without an extra price.
The way this differs from other hostels is that there are quite a few people who live here long term. Currently there are 5 or 6 guests, mostly in their 50s, who are here for months or years at a time- two have been here the past six months or so, a few are here for the winter, a few longer than that even, plus the random people here just for a few nights at a time. The average age at this hostel is also significantly older than at other hostels I’ve been to. And these people have all been nice and friendly, if quite the characters. (Who else lives in hostels long term?) I hear it is different in the high season.
Because of this, there’s a feeling of visiting a family, a very strange family, but family nonetheless when staying at the hostel. That is why, once I arrived in the hostel, after my stressful morning and long drive, I hung out at the hostel, did a little grocery shopping and cooked supper, then sat down with the residents for a talk and drinks until it was time to call it a night.
Have you ever been to Bulgaria? Where have you been? Would you stay at a hostel like this?
One Response
I’m in the States and not particularly well-traveled internationally (though not for lack of interest), so I find your travel posts fascinating. Here’s looking forward to further posts and pic. and thanks for sharing…!