Bucharest, Romania - Sozopol, Bulgaria
We had a light breakfast at the Hostel and it was time to make a decision. Changing our plans would force us to re-route and re-plan about half of our trip (including forfeiting our deposits), but if we didnt' get moving today we would have to re-plan the whole trip. Through the research of my sister, and the aid of Dr. Google, we determined that it would be nearly impossible to get a car to do the route we wanted. What this meant was that our route had to change. That was it. That was the only hard decision. Now it was time to vacation.
We left the little Hostel, dodged our way through the tiny streets, and followed the GPS through the core of Bucharest. 3ish million people, 5 lane traffic circles, and only enough traffic signals to count on one hand... well, maybe it wasn't that bad, but let me to you something... the driving in Eastern Europe is nothing like North America. This is where racing games are based off of. This is where you drive to stay alive and where the rules are really guidelines... vague and rough guidelines.
We zoomed through Bucharest as I pulled around cars, between cars, changed five lanes at a time in those traffic circles, and still managed to take in the view of a post-communist modern city... yeah... not super pretty...
We did make it through Bucharest, I used a Kleenex to address my peeing myself from getting used to the driving, and we were heading south through open country. In an hour or two we reached the Danube, which is the border between Romania and Bulgaria. The highway drove into what looked like an abandoned compound. There were concrete barriers in the way that helped direct traffic, and somehow, in that mess we found ourselves at the border. We paid our toll and we drove over one of the most legendary rivers in the world. We drove over, not really knowing where we were, and then, when we saw the great letters of "Bulgaria" floating above us, for a brief moment we were found.
Welcome to Bulgaria.
Crossing the Danube Part 1
Crossing the Danube Part 2
The border was pretty simple. We stopped, gave the guards our passports and car documents, and then just waited...
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Eventually the guard came out, gave us our stamped passports, and let us on our way.
The GPS took us on tiny roads. We were eager to see the landscape and we did so. Sunflowers. Fields and fields of sunflowers. Horizon to horizon. Incredible. Also incredible were the tiny roads, the unknown suggestion of a speed limit, the passing at any time, and the construction. I had been in Eastern Europe for a day and already I was expanding my driving experience and ability beyond all reckoning. Oh how close you can actually pass someone if you time it right...
Somewhere in Bulgaria
Anyways, we drove on and on, we cranked the radio for a while and listened to the Spice Girls' "When 2 become 1." Turns out, its as good as it was back in the 90's! We did hear a bit of local music as well as we pulled through Burgas and south to our destination: Sozopol.
Arrival
The Parking Lot
Cobblestones
Ruins
Sozopol is like a summer version of Banff. It is a grand tourist attraction, and it is one of the main destinations on the Black Sea. For Bulgaria it is a must see beach destination. Great! It was relieving to see the signs for Sozopol, after the GPS routed us through China to get to Burgas, but when we got there the relieving was over. Cue stress to level 100. At first we were in the new town, which was fine, Eastern Europe driving, but fine. The GPS then told us to head to the old town... this was good for about thirty seconds, and then there we were looking down a walking street with a barrier in front of us. Eff. We looped around through the new town, through a sketchy alleyway with an e-brake hill start, and then headed back to the walking street. We had missed a little side street the first time and this time we headed down it. Cobble stones. Narrow streets. Tourists. Hills hills hills. That was the driving adventure. It was a stroke of luck that the GPS could route us through the town, and it was a stroke of luck that my heart did not give up from the struggle. Thoroughly rattled we found the Hostel. We tried to park in one spot but got heckled in Bulgarian by an old man. Then we tried to park in another spot and got heckled by an old woman who I think was trying to sell us jam. After a bit of "I talk louder in English, you talk louder in Bulgarian" she pointed to a spot behind us which happened to be a parking lot sitting on a cliff. We made it into the parking lot and were finally good to go. Cue breathing here.
We dragged our suitcases over the cobbled streets and to Sasha Kristov's guesthouse. Tiny, quaint, perfect.
The Hostel
Sozopol Street (Feat. the Hostel (Left))
The Black Sea
We rested for a few minutes and then headed to see the town. We walked back down the hill with its picturesque cobblestones and historic houses. We saw the churches, the walls, the tourists, and the ruins. What an amazing start to the trip... that was the Eastern Europe you think of when you hear "Eastern Europe."
The Restaurant
The View
Eventually we headed back to the guesthouse and then headed out for supper. We sat a table on a cliff and experienced our first bit of Eastern European service... or lack thereof. The waitress was very attentive as we came in. She gave us menus and then she brought us drinks.... well... then she forgot us... entirely... When some people sat beside us we were able to wrangle her back to our table to order some food. Breaded cheese and lamb. The breaded cheese was a bit sketch, but the lamb was divine. I enjoyed the meal, glared at the sea gull sitting three feet away, and marveled at the view.
Mine?
The Restaurant Next Door
360 of Sozopol
Sozopol Sunset
The Rocks Below
Into the Bay
Exploring Sozopol
Ruins
The Beach!
A Church
Another Church
The Market
After supper we took another walk down the hill, checked out the market, and then went to sit on the rocks by the sea. We were considering swimming, but after seeing about a zillion crabs on the rocks we opted out.
A Crab
Crabs!!!
With our new plans in motion our vacation was now in full swing.
Sozopol
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