Saturday, April 28
Now for a fun adventure – we walked into Town. Along the way we stopped at a couple of fun places.
Our first stop was at a place we saw on the map entitled, “The Legendary Monk Seal”. We thought that it had something to do with a nearby monastery, or at least something religious. We laughed out loud when we came face to face with it…
(The Legendary Monk Seal)
It’s a lovely gazebo made out of stone featuring a sculpture of a monk seal. The vegetation has encroached around the perimeter but it was still very pretty. The monument is high on a cliff overlooking the Black Sea. It’s a nice place for a picnic. We don’t know why it’s legendary.
We continued down the main road until we got to the The Monument the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship. It’s a large monument set high on a hill and dates from the communist period. The base of the hill is a wooded park where you can find people walking, jogging, biking or just hanging out. To get to the monument you have to climb a boatload of steps. The person who designed the monument had a nasty sense of humor. Once you get to the top of the steps you are faced with another very large set of steps that must be climbed to get to the top. The top set of steps are shielded from view and can only be seen from the top of the first set of steps.
(This is the top set of ‘hidden’ stairs)
The view from the top is amazing. There’s a 180 degree panoramic view of the Black Sea and the surrounding countryside.
After enjoying the view (and the refreshing breeze) for a while we walked down the stairs and headed into Town to do some errands. Near the main pedestrian walkway we found preparations for some sort of parade. The participants were all wearing very colorful, traditional costumes.
(Colorful, Traditional Costumes)
Belts containing many bells were part of most of the costumes and they were rung enthusiastically and noisily. We watched for a while before heading home on the bus.
(Beards and Bells)
Distance walked: 9.7 miles
Monday, April 30
Our last day in Varna and our last day in Bulgaria. We went into Town once more. We explored the harbor and saw men fishing in the bay. Looking into the water we could easily see large fish and schools of small fish (maybe tsatsa!) swimming about. No one caught anything while we were watching.
We walked through the sea garden one last time. The flowers and trees were all in bloom. We were fortunate to see Spring arrive. We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant and then headed home to pack. Tomorrow we’ll be in Budapest. We’re really looking forward to being there.
(Overlooking the Black Sea)
Distance walked: 6.1 miles