Day 11 - Nessebar

Another lazy day.  After breakfast we walked around the shops near the hotel then had lunch.  We went to the pool for the afternoon and then took a walk into the old town late afternoon as the mass tourists were leaving.  Saw some more churches and other areas that we had not yet visited.

After dinner had a very good evening dancing with other guests from Poland who were really good fun.

Back home tomorrow on an evening flight from Burgas to Luton with Wizz Air.  This is certainly an area we would like to return to.

Nessebar Harbour

Street in Nessebar old town

Street in Nessebar Old town

Black Sea Cormorant on statue

Day 10 - Nessebar

Probably the laziest day so far.  Took a short walk along the coast this morning towards a lovely looking sandy beach but it clearly belonged to several newish hotels on the sea front so we walked back towards the town.  Found a nice clothes shop where I bought a dress and Paul bought a t-shirt.

We spent the rest of the morning sunbathing by the pool and I had a swim in the incredibly cold pool.
Just lazed about this afternoon and then went for a walk into Nessebar Old Town before dinner.  We saw about 5 more churches and also found an incredible bar, called the Eco Bar.  It is below ground, although open at the top.  It is like being in a cave with stalagmites and stalactites and a waterfall and pond with terrapins and fish.  It was really unique.  The drinks were not good.  My lemonade was not authentic and was mostly water and Pauls Mohito did not have much rum in it.  The experience was good though.

We got back to the hotel and had dinner, a quick drink in the sky bar before retiring to bed.

Remains at entrance to Nessebar Old Town

Remains of St Sophia Church (Old Metropolitan Church)

Eco Bar, Nessebar.  

Eco Bar, Nessebar - stalagmites and stalactites

Eco Bar Nessebar.  Terrapins

Paul at Eco Bar, Nessebar

Terrapins at Eco Bar, Nessebar

Us at Eco Bar Nessebar

Day 9 - Nessebar / Pomerie

It was sunny and warm when we woke up so had breakfast and caught the local bus to a small coastal village called Pomerie, just south of Nessebar.  It was quite a pleasant place and the main attraction was St Georges Monastery.  We walked around the town and then along the promenade.  There were some nice looking cafes and bars hidden away in the back streets although we didn't stop at any. We did look around the monastery and the park and visited a local supermarket where we found local wine a lot cheaper than in the tourist areas.

We got the bus back and arrived at the hotel just before lunch finished.  By this time a thunderstorm had started and it was obviously raining very heavily over Sunny Beach.  We went back to the room for a siesta.  The thunder went on for a while and then blue skies returned and we had a clear sky for the rest of the evening.

We had dinner and then retired first to the sky bar, where the local music was being played far too loud so moved to the Lobby Bar for a hot chocolate before going to bed.

Stream in Pomorie with poppies in the adjoining field

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St Georges Monastery, Pomorie

St Georges Monastery - Easter egg design?

Bicycle flower decoration Pomorie

Cross in hills near Nessebar.  View from hotel sky bar at dusk.

Day 8 - Nessebar

It has rained heavily until late afternoon.   We have not been able to go out so started by having a long lie in and a late breakfast.  Unfortunately so did everyone else and there were few tables around when we arrived.

We came back to our room for a coffee and I played around with photos for a while then read a bit more of my Bill Bryson book.  At 11.30 the room cleaners arrived so we went to the Sky Bar for another coffee and stayed there reading till lunch time.

The rain finally stopped at 4 in the afternoon and the sun came out so we went for a walk away from the old town and back along the promenade.  We had an early dinner and got seats for the evening entertainment which was a couple from Bourgas who played keyboard and guitar and were very good.

The Windmill at Nessebar Causeway

Nessebar Old Town from mainland

Selfie

Day 7 - Nessebar

Nessebar is an ancient city on the Black Sea.  The old town is an island which is linked to the mainland by a causeway on which cars and buses can cross but only service vehicles are allowed into the town.  On the causeway there is an old windmill.  There are some lovely old churches - in fact 40 of them.  It is a tourist trap with many souvenir shops, bars and restaurants.  We walked up through the centre of the old town this morning as it was quite cool and comfortable.  The summer season is only just beginning and there are not too many tourists.  There are a lot of brits at the hotel so it makes a change to be able to talk to people.  Very few Bulgarians speak any English so it has been a bit difficult to communicate with anyone outside the hotels until now.

This afternoon it was very hot so we relaxed by the pool.  At dinner there was a display of  traditional Bulgarian dancing.  I joined in one of the group dances.  After dinner we went to the rooftop bar where we saw one of the most spectacular sunsets ever.  It started to rain shortly after this and the rain is forecast all night and for most of tomorrow as well.

The Windmill on the Causeway

Church at Nessebar Old Town

Coast line of Nessebar Old Town

Remains of Church at Nessebar Old Town

Church at Nessebar Old Town

Rose Bed at Nessebar Old Town

Bulgarian Traditional Dancing

Sunset

Day 6 - Plovdiv to Nessebar

After breakfast we explored a little more of Plovdiv.  We walked up to the northern most point of the Old Town which dates back to 4000 years BC.  There were good views to the northern mountain range of the Balkan Mountains.  We then crossed the River Maritsa to North Plovdiv and walked along to the Pedestrian Bridge.  Although a bridge it is actually a shopping mall with shops either side.  This led us back into the pedestrianised part of Plovdiv where we did a bit of final shopping and then made our way to the bus station to catch our bus to Nessebar for our last stop at a Black Sea resort.

The bus was 30 minutes late leaving Plovdiv.   The journey was about 4 and a half hours.  We got a bit confused when arriving at Nessebar and thought there was another stop nearer our resort so missed the main stop.   The driver was really good and turned around and took us back to the correct stop.  We found our hotel which is to be our home for the next 6 nights on the black sea and close to the old town of Nessebar.  We were given an upgraded room = to a suite and we are really happy with this.  Had a nice meal, couple of drinks in the rooftop bar before retiring for the night.

View of Liberation Hill from Plovdiv old town

River Maritsa

Pedestrian Bridge -River Maritsa

Pedestrian Bridge -River Maritsa

River Maritsa

Our hotel in Plovdiv - Roots Hotel

Day 5 - Plovdiv and Bachkovo

We started the day with a walk up Liberators Hill where there is a monument to the Russian Liberation of Plovdiv from Ottoman rule, which was erected in 1881 in honour of the Russian Soldiers who died.  It was very hot and sunny and we had good views of to Rodopi mountains to the south and the Balkan Mountains to the north.

We then made our way to the bus station and caught a bus to Bachkovo, to see the monastery which as founded in 1083 although most of the buildings date from the 17th century.  This should have been a 45 minute bus ride to the south of Plovdiv. However 5 kilometers from Bachkovo the bus stopped in a line of traffic, in a mountain tunnel.  Gradually cars in front of us turned around and the bus moved up until we were just at the exit of the tunnel.  Fortunately this kept the bus in the shade and a lot cooler than vehicles stopped in the sun.  We were stopped for 90 minutes and we didn't know why although there were 2 road signs ahead, one saying roadworks and the other saying danger of falling rocks.  When we eventually got moving we saw that it was the falling rocks that had caused the problem and heavy vehicles and equipment had been moving the debris.  There was a lot of damage to the road surface so vehicles had to drive very slowly through.

When we finally got to the monastery, it was lovely and peaceful and there were very few people around.  We walked around the buildings and grounds and took lots of photos.  Then the floodgates opened.  Obviously behind us in the traffic queue had been many tourist buses on the way to the same location.  This included a big party of school children.  We walked around a bit more then went on a fairly short walk in the mountain to a waterfall.  It was very peaceful there with beautiful mountain scenery and the coach parties did not follow us.  We found our way back to the bus stop and caught the next one back to Plovdiv.

We went back to the hotel for a rest and to freshen up and then explored the Old Town a it more before finding somewhere to eat.

Tomorrow we have a few hours in the morning to discover more of Plovdiv Old Town before getting our lunchtime bus to Nessebar on the Black Sea for our final leg of our holiday.

Russian Liberation Monument at Liberation Hill

Russian solder monument at Liberation Hill, Plovdiv

Butterfly on Liberation Hill - (wings looks like piano keys)

Ceiling of the Monastery

Waterfall at Bachkovo

Bachkovo Monastery.  Chaffinch with large seed

Bachkovo Monastery

View over Monastery Orchard towards the mountains

Day 4 - Plovdiv

After an early breakfast we caught the bus from Sofia to Plovdiv.  The scenery between the 2 cities was lovely with mountains on both sides and a lot of forested areas.  At Plovdiv we were met by the owner of the hotel, who gave us a very good guided tour on the way from the bus station to the hotel.  We have a really nice room in a very quiet part of Plovdiv Old Town.

Plovdiv is the 4th oldest most continuously inhabited town in the world.  2 of the other towns older are Jerusalem and Petra.  Like Sofia, many medieval and roman structures have been discovered in recent years through excavations for roads and tunnels.

We first took a walk around the old town which has many unique houses and buildings.  There are many antique shops plus some souvenir shops as well.  We found it hard walking on the cobbles which are very big and uneven.  The highlight of the old town is the roman theatre.  It was constructed in the first century AD and discovered by archaeologists in the 1980's.  It is now in use as a theatre and concert venue.

Adjoining the old town is the Kapana District (The Trap).   It was the site of a former medieval market where it was almost impossible to enter and leave without buying something.

It was very hot today so we took a walk around the Tsar Simeon's Gardens and had a rest before joining the free guided tour at 18:00.  There was a lot of history involved in this.  We also learned that a recent discovery has been a 30,000 seater stadium under the main shopping street.  The street was build without knowing what lay below.  The theatre end has been excavated and it on full view but the seating area is beneath the shops.  Some of this is visible in the basements of H&M and one or two other shops.

It cooled down considerably after dark and we found a nearby restaurant for a meal and returned to the hotel.

View of mountains between Sofia and Plovdiv

Plovdiv Old Town

Plovdiv Old Town

Plovdiv Old Town

Plovdiv Old Town

Lake at Tsar Simeons gardens

The logo for the European City of Culture 2019

The Roman Stadium, Plovdiv

seating ran both sides for 250m

Ancient Theatre Plovdiv Old Town