Varna to Nessebar:
The Black Sea Coast in Bulgaria is absolutely gorgeous. One-third of the country is wooded, and the areas along the coast are almost completely covered in forests: thick, dense, and very green. There are many trails; they reminded me of the woods near our cabin in the Delaware Valley.

The stretch of road from Varna to Nessebar was very mountainous. The road followed the deep blue sea, and the scenery was wild, beautiful, savage. It was wonderful biking in such a place. The.. Read More »

The Northern Black Sea Coast:
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon when we crossed the border 2 km. south of Vama Veche. We pedaled 65 km. under a bright blue sky along the northern Black Sea Coast. It was savage, wild, wooded – the contrast of what we had seen in Romania. We picnicked on the beach, passing several miles of cornfields, lakes, swamp, tiny yellow birds, and red and yellow butterflies on a winding dirt path. The beach was empty, isolated, the cliffs red, and the water a deep blue. Appar.. Read More »

Northern Bulgaria, Dracula’s Country:

We cycled 85 km. from Zimnicea to Giurgiu, in Romania, still along the Danube, in the direction of Ivanovo, in Bulgaria. We waited ages at the Bulgarian customs for busloads of passengers. The view from the 2-km. long bridge connecting Romania and Bulgaria was pretty if you looked only at the river and not at the ugly industrial factories and idle cranes on the Bulgarian bank.

We rode 10 km. to the center of Rousse, and seeing it was too late to bike t.. Read More »

Northwestern Bulgaria, end of March 2004:

We passed from Serbia into the extreme northwestern corner of Bulgaria on a Tuesday evening. The frontier town was Bregovo, a small village with a bumpy main road and dirt side roads where cows, horses, goats, and donkeys roamed free. Topped with orange shingles, the houses looked more solid than those in Serbia. Many, many were abandoned. The village also looked almost abandoned. It was strangely devoid of people, even though we saw many animals. Per.. Read More »