On my fourth day of my budget solo trip to Bulgaria, it was time for me to go from Burgas, where I had been staying, to Varna, where I’d be staying for the rest of my trip. I decided to stop along the way and see the things I’d missed, in the area, before heading back to Varna.
Though Varna is north of Burgas, I decided to drive a little south of Burgas first (about half an hour), to check out Sozopol, a beautiful historic city on the Black Sea. Sozopol is a very town, dating back to the time of the Greeks, where it was known as Appolonia, and is very picturesque.
My first stop there was at the Archeological Museum. Entrance for adults is 7 BGN ($4.15) and 3 BGN for kids ($1.78) and 10 BGN ($5.93) for a family.
Its a quaint museum on two floors, with items dating back thousands of years, that they found in the digs in Sozopol.
Because of my disability pass I was allowed in for free, but it’s still a decent price, in my opinion, for what you get.
I then wandered around the old town, looking at the different sights, including the ruins where the archeological finds were discovered.
I walked along the seaside, taking in the view….
Found the picturesque city gate, I think…. and then it was time to head north in the direction of Varna.
On the way to Varna I stopped in Pomorie, half an hour north of Burgas (so an hour from Sozopol), and went to this beehive tomb, a Thracian tomb in a place that looks like the Teletubbies home…
It cost 5 BGN ($2.97) for adults and 2 BGN ($1.19) for children, plus another 5 BGN if you wanted to take pictures, which I think is ridiculous.
They let me in free (yay disability pass, really useful in Bulgaria), and it was pretty.
But there really wasn’t much to see; it was just a room with a few signs.
I don’t know if I’d have been willing to pay the 10 BGN to come in and take pictures had I known what was there.
I’m including this so you can decide if its worth it if you are in the area.
Next up in Pomorie was something interesting and unique that I hadn’t heard if before- a museum dedicated to salt. It is right outside salt flats used for harvesting salt.
It cost 4 BGN ($2.37) if you’re an adult and 2 ($1.19) if you’re a kid; I went in free, and in my opinion it is worth it.
The museum was one room with many signs teaching all about the process of harvesting salt from salt flats, the history of salt…
They have salt crystals harvested in Pomorie as well as salt from around the world…
And they also had the tools used to traditionally harvest the salt.
I learned a lot, and it was really interesting and cool.
There was a screen which makes me think there is a movie they play for groups, but even without it, it was worth it.
After the museum, I sat and had a picnic lunch and enjoyed looking at the blossoms of the nearby yucca plant, contemplating if I should forage them, and then I decided against it, because I didn’t know what the cooking situation would be in the next hostel I’d be staying at.
The last stop on my adventure before going to Varna was just 15 minutes from Pomorie, the 3000 year old city of Nessebar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (the entire old town is considered part of the site).
As you walk through the picturesque town, you could understand why they decided to make it a World Heritage Site. It is definitely beautiful.
Since I was there during the off season, most of the shops and restaurants were closed. It was very quiet, and what there was to see was basically just churches.
One thing I found in Nessebar that wasn’t a church was the ethnographic museum, a museum about the culture of the people there.
It cost 7 BGN ($4.15) to enter (no disability discount) and it was a very blah museum. There were mannequins wearing traditional clothing, and that’s about it.
That was the upper floor.
The lower floor held a few more mannequins wearing clothes, plus some placards with photographs of more outfits with descriptions of the outfits.
It was a very blah museum, and not something I would choose to spend money on again.
Part of Nessebar reminded me of Plovdiv, the style of the houses reminded me of the Ottoman influence there.
There were no bathrooms anywhere in Nessebar old town that I could find, even signs outsite restaurants saying that there are no bathrooms, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might have otherwise, since I felt the pressure to leave already, to find a bathroom. (I ended up using one at a gas station after I left.)
After that, I left and drove to Varna, for the rest of my trip.
My favorite places were probably the salt museum and then Sozopol.
Nessebar maybe I’d have enjoyed more with a guide, or if I knew where to find a bathroom, or if it weren’t the off season.
All in all, a pleasant day, my only cost being the 7 BGN ethnographic museum and gas.
