Visiting Varna: Vestiges of Wandering

“Gone are the days when I feel well-rested. I almost wonder if they ever existed.” – Old Sean

Seeds and Harvests

I suspect all of my ridiculous decisions, travel-mongering and miles of restless-foot syndrome can be traced back to a singular cataclysmic decision my parents made.

When I was a small child, they bought me Pokémon Red Version. Virtually all my travels are the closest thing to real-world application to the Pokémon exploration life-style.

There’s a very good chance I could’ve been relatively sane, well-balanced and rooted in a single place.

But I believe a Squirtle gave me something better. So back to wandering.

A Day Visiting Varna

After leaving Istanbul, I felt somewhat recovered and slightly energized. I think once this trip is over, I’ll need a solid set of months to just sit down and do nothing. But for now, I hopped back on the road, quickly moving towards Varna, Bulgaria.

Despite spending time in Istanbul, I usually loitered around the Sea of Marmara. I’d never been to the Black Sea before.

So directly after arriving in Varna, I made my way to the coast, keeping my feet in the water for as long as possible.

Varna is clearly a beach tourist-town, clearly coming off its busy tourism season as high autumn rolls in. The various public services I spoke with were clearly on their last nerve dealing with illiterate tourists. I was rebuked for existing several times during my lap of the coastal city.

Granted, I’m on the scruffy side once again, so perhaps they assumed I was a vagrant.

Sights Around Varna

Mild rudeness notwithstanding, Varna has an expansive “green zone” called Sea Garden Park in English. The long parks, gardens and entertainment centers follow the coast, with many of the activities tailored for kids. 

There are huge shady forest trails, long beds of flowers, a small amusement park, and the Dolphinarium Fiesta building. Apparently, Dolphinarium Fiesta is one of those “touch-and-swim-with-dolphins” programs that allows tourists to interact with the creatures. I decided to avoid the place entirely. There’s always a good chance that the creatures aren’t being treated well in the entertainment-heavy environment, and I didn’t have enough research finished to make a good judgement call.

However, despite skipping the dolphin center, there were other attractive areas.

Rappongi Beach was surprisingly gorgeous with course sands and a nearby colorful fence for paying visitors. The so-called Hidden Beach was also a decent area to walk after picking across some rocks.

Central Varna

Eventually, I spent a little more time exploring downtown Varna.

It’s a pretty zone with many brick plazas, small statues and a few buskers hanging on after the summer crowds receded. I stopped by an aquarium, listened to a guy on the bagpipes, visited the Naval Museum and decided to skip all the churches.

Eventually, I climbed a hill to find the Monument of the Bulgarian-Soviet Friendship, which is a sad, stripped down monument that was once the pride of the city. The daring sharp geometric shape is interesting, but graffiti, weather and weeds have diminished the structure.

I spent further hours exploring the Varna Roman Baths racing my eyes along the ruined walls. And then, as night fell, my time visiting Varna was done.

Sadly, this was my only stop in Bulgaria. 

Since I was here for such a short time, I don’t think it counts as a visit to the country. I didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of Bulgaria culturally speaking. 

But sometimes, those are the whims of rapid travel. After this trip finishes, I hope to slow my pace dramatically.

I’m off to Romania now.

So best regards and excellent trails,

Old Sean

Written September 21st 2018

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