‘Oh, you live in Bulgaria?’ says a random stranger. You can guarantee
the next thing they say is, ‘Anywhere near Sunny Beach?’
‘Er, no.’
I’m allowed to slag off Sunny Beach because, unlike most Sun
journalists, I’ve actually been there. When we were thinking of buying a house
in BG and had no idea which area to focus on, we booked a Club 18–30 holiday
for £99 to Sunny Beach. Naturally, as soon as we arrived, we ditched the 18–30
gang, hired a car and headed off to see some of the country, but we did get to
experience Sunny Beach for a while. The beach itself is pristine.
Unfortunately, almost everything behind the beach is a concrete eyesore:
hotels, casinos, bars, strip clubs, etc. There are loads of stories about drunk
Brits getting beaten up, robbed, or swindled. As (somewhat) sensible adults who
were at the ragged end of the 18–30 demographic, we didn’t have any trouble at
all. But we’ve all heard the stories.
I recently got a tattoo* back home in Portsmouth. Even my
tattooist, who is from Thailand, was dissing Bulgaria:
‘Why do you want a tattoo of mountains?’ he asked.
‘It’s for the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria.’
‘Bulgaria? Shit there innit?’
‘Er, no.’
‘You sure? Someone told me it’s shit there.’
Sigh. ‘I’m sure.’
I hate that people who have never been here tar the whole of
Bulgaria with the Sunny Beach brush. It’s just the latest cheap-as-shit
destination for teenagers, like Faliraki was before it. It’s no more representative
of Bulgaria than Faliraki was of the whole
of Greece. (I can also legit slag off Faliraki because I passed through
there about 16 years ago and it looked vile to me. And I was a right chav back then.) There’s so much more to Bulgaria than Sunny
Beach. Even The Guardian says so, so it must be true.
For our anniversary this month, we’re doing a trip to the
Troyan Monastery and a heritage village that had a chapel inside a tree trunk. Because that’s the kind of freaky shit that
goes down in the real Bulgaria. We’re also planning to explore the Central
Balkan National Park, just an hour or two from us, later in the summer. (We
might camp, although we probably won’t on account of all the snakes that will
want to get into my bed/shoes/hair. But there are plenty of guest houses to
stay in.) There’s also the Pirin National Park and Rila National Park to
explore – the national parks are full of stunning (and pretty challenging) hiking
routes, as well as bears, wolves, vultures, etc. Did you know that Bulgaria is
a bird lover’s paradise? We regularly see eagles flying above our house.
Photographic evidence of me in a cave. Being outdoorsy and stuff. |
The 'Eyes of God', Prohodna Cave. |
If you love a beach holiday, there are still some (relatively)
unspoilt parts of the coastline. The trick is to not go where the Brits go –
those places are, by and large, awful. Having said that, Nesebar, just a few
miles from Sunny Beach, is a lovely place for a day trip. Burgas is a nice
city on the coast. And Sozopol is a beautiful historic seaside town.
Personally, I’d head down to Sinemorets, down by the Turkish border, where
there are only a couple of big hotels and lots of small guesthouses. More
adventurous folk can even try a bit of wild camping on the beach.
Me in Nesebar. Back when I was young enough to squeak onto an 18-30 holiday. |
Sinemorets |
Bulgaria is home to the Horizon festival, which I gather is
a HUGE deal among those who like skiing and electronic music. (Not my scene.
I’ll be at home by the woodburner, thanks.) And friends of ours are going to
some 12-hour drum and bass festival in July, right next to Sofia airport, which
sounds brilliantly weird. Hipster types will love Meadows in the Mountains,
which basically takes over a village in the Rhodope Mountains each June. It
sounds painfully cool, so naturally I want to go so bad, but it’s a bit too pricey. We went to the Spirit of Burgas
festival once. It was cheap and good (complete with camping on the beach), but I’m
not sure it’s going ahead this year.
Or you should come for a city break. I’ve wanged on before
about how much I love Sofia, so I won’t do it again. Let’s just say it’s worth
a visit. As is Plovdiv, with its beautiful old town (apparently Europe’s oldest
city, although I think the Greeks might beg to differ). We’ve also been to
Veliko Tarnovo a couple of times, and I like its bonkers,
mashed-into-the-hillside appearance. Varna, out on the coast, is next on our
city break to-do list.
Plovdiv |
Veliko Tarnovo |
There aren’t many motorways in Bulgaria so, if you drive
anywhere, chances are you’ll pass through plenty of small towns and villages.
Don’t be shy – stop and wander around, being sure to say ‘dobar den’ (‘good
day’, the traditional greeting) to people. If you’re lucky, one of the old
folks might invite you in for some homemade rakia (fruit brandy), pork fat (yes,
really) and pickled vegetables (surprisingly tasty). Then you’re really
experiencing Bulgaria.
Our village |
*Despite my crippling health anxiety, the tattoo is still not infected.