Bulgaria! What a little country that fills with history, and it fell onto the wrong side of the history (namely supporting Nazi Germany and Being part of the USSR) and yet it’s now a thriving country in the European Union and is on track to join Schengen and Euro zone. It’s fascinating to see the mix of Soviet era infrastructure yet modern day European way of living (yes, everyone speaks perfect English). The mix between the older generation having nostalgia of the good old communist days and new generation longing for the West.
Perhaps unrelated the top things to do in Bulgaria happen to be,
- Cheapest 5-star hotels
- 11euro day brand new electric car rental
Day 1
To start the day was my gourmet 5-star hotel which I got complimentary as part of the AMEX FHR program.
The food was just sensational with free flow of champion. The highlight perhaps was the honeycomb
It’s the best ever breakfast I’ve had so far. For $160 a night in the States, you can’t even get a 3-star hotel in most cities!
After breakfast was the free Sofia walking tour. I learned so much history in just short of a 2-hr block!
Post tour, I checked into another 5-star hotel. This time was the Hyatt Regency. I used points (5k for the room, 2k for the club access.) I have to say, despite being on the price range and newly built it’s a step down comparing to the intercontinental. It’s more of what I expect from a 4-star hotel than 5.
I was going to do a food tour, but unfortunately the slots were completely filled. No biggie. Just grouped with others who couldn’t join for a quickly late lunch
After the meal, I went to the churches that we only walked by earlier in the tour
There’s a big parade going on, turned out it was for the Russian/Ukraine peace.
Dinner was some snacks from Regency Club happy hours. It’s decent, though I probably won’t be paying it again!
Day 2
Another 5-star breakfast again!
The breakfast was good, just nothing worth extra words for. The cook to order and juice bar were cool. The selection of food was just okay comparing to intercontinental.
After checking out, I went to pick up my EV! for 11euro day brand new EV!
First impression of the Bulgarian country side!
Then I arrived at a historical village called Koprivshtitsa to check in at my guest house.
You can see the weather was half sunny and half cloudy between hours
Nonetheless, I found this amazing local restaurant for some local cuisine
After many drinks and great food (30BGN), I was really drunk again.
Day 3
Morning sun! Prime time for walking around the village to see some historical artifacts
Some museum houses were closed, but still was a great experience
The blue house is definitely my favorite.
Leaving the village, I continued driving East towards the Black sea
First was a stop by a random town called Karlovo, it’s a rose town due to the rose oil boom back in time.
Perhaps the most important goal of the day was to see this Soviet era alien looking structure
Looks like a starship
Maybe it’s to ship away communism?
Nevertheless the views are stunning on top of the mountain. Very cold though you could see me buckled up.
Besides the spaceship, there’s also another monument
Cool views from the top, too. The ticket was only 2 BGNs
Finding a charging station was a bit painful, and I was really afraid running out of energy (turned out it was a false alarm. Though going up hill consumed a lot of energy and much quickly than I though, it was able to regain most of the energy back).
I stopped by a random town for the night, partially was due to having to wait an hour for charging (only slow charging was available. so 1hr equals roughly 25% battery)
Normally I don’t eat Western food, but at where the charging station was, it seemed only western food was available.
After checking in and parked my car, I went out to find some place to hang out
Day 4
The first thing was to visit this Ethno village Etar (10 BGN).
After the museum was the monastery.
Then was the Andaka River Canyon
Around midafternoon, I arrived at my hostel (25 BGN and I got lucky to have the double bed that’s almost private) in Veliko Tarnovo. One of the most famous medieval towns.
It’s a very touristy town and being on a national holiday didn’t help either. It’s quite busy.
later I went to visit the castle in town (10BGN).
I hadn’t really eaten anything at this time, time for a Bulgarian feast!
Post dinner I took a walk around the old bridge
I got lucky in my hostel where I got a double bed with a curtain. (25BGN)
Day 5
Another road trip day towards the Black Sea! Started off visiting a few monasteries near town. To be honest, at this point I was pretty bored of religious structures.
Weather started to be quite wet, in between rains I found a lake to chill for a bit
before heading to this transformer like monument.
There was parade going on in the city due to school graduations. Loads of dads driving their kids to show off on the street
Got some food from a recommended place from my hotel
I went for dinner #2
Day 6
Sea!
Weather was great, warm and sunny. Beach was quiet at the time
Found a place for lunch
Later while waiting for my car to be charged, I went to the park nearby Varna
My hotel for the night was the best deal I had for the week! 40BGN with Sea view! It comes with a kitchen and a large balcony as well!
Day 7
I arrived at this old town called Nessebar
Honestly, it wasn’t too interesting given how tourist the town is and how many similar structures I had seen at that point.
Walked a bit more on the waterfront
before driving to Plovdiv
Not so quickly checked in with my hostel (the staff on duty was the second day at work, understandably there was rough edges). Tried to socialize a bit at my hostel, but the vibe just didn’t cut it. Party oriented young British kids. Can’t even have a small talk… Anyhow, had a beer at the hostel and then headed out to see sunset
Dinner was Turkish, funny how it’s both bigger in portion and cheaper. Great in taste too.
Expenses
| Week 26 | Currency: | BGN | 1.81 | |
| Day | Food&Drink | Lodging | Transportation | Other (tickets/tours etc) |
| 1 | $22.74 | $87.50 | $0.00 | $14.36 |
| 2 | $16.57 | $24.86 | $11.78 | $89.00 |
| 3 | $11.05 | $33.15 | $15.10 | $13.26 |
| 4 | $35.03 | $13.81 | $12.89 | $11.05 |
| 5 | $27.45 | $31.49 | $11.78 | $15.20 |
| 6 | $25.26 | $22.10 | $17.31 | $3.59 |
| 7 | $29.50 | $12.15 | $11.78 | $0.00 |
| $167.60 | $225.07 | $80.63 | $146.46 | |
| Total | Grand Total: | $619.75 |
I love all of the photos, food, and adventure of Bulgaria and learned a bunch! The raw honeycombs served fresh look amazing and I never had that before. It is also indeed fascinating how there is Soviet-era infrastructure and statues, but many modern European and western ways of living existing at the same time.
That is also interesting no one was really holding the flag of Ukraine in the peace march, which is so different from the States.
I love how there are so many Lavazza espresso machines and how many Europeans will drink a shot of espresso, straight. It is of course very different than the usual favorite of sugary Starbucks in the States.
There were incredible views, especially from the castle!