On 2011.07.13, I went by car to Balchik, Dobrich Province, Bulgaria, to see both the Botanical Garden and the Balchik Palace. Below you’ll find a video, photos, and my thoughts on the trip.
Video:
Photos (see them in full-screen):
Some thoughts about Bulgaria:
- I only went through one road in Bulgaria, though a big one; I can say that it was in a much poor quality than most of the roads in Romania; what’s more important, some part of the road was being repaired; the new road didn’t look that well, it more “patched” than having a full repair;
- People in Bulgaria seemed to have older cars than those in Romania; I can’t say whether this was due to the Romanians (who want to show off, for status symbol, with more expensive cars) or due to the Bulgarians (who can’t afford expensive cars), but there was a difference in the cars in Romania and Bulgaria, in favor for Romania;
- We bought ice cream; in Romania the most likely concept is “a cup is X lei”; but the cup can have different size; “Oh, well, this will do for you”, a typical Romanian seller would say; but in Bulgaria they were very precise, and had a weighing machine, and a very precise one; I’ve seen this in two different places; you bought 184.5 grams, you pay for that exact amount;
- People – the plus side: the waiters at a restaurant were very eager to help; some people seemed a bit too energetic, asking too many questions, but all-in-all they showed they care and this was nice; asking people around proved successful, the Bulgarians we met were very kind and eager to help; after we bought watermelons, the seller (a lady) cared about us; at some point we had difficulty proving in any way that we went to a restaurant and got a discount, but it was fine, the persons at the parking lot were flexible and trusted us and gave us the discount, 0.5 Euros for parking;
- People – the fun side: at the border, I asked a person who seemed official if there is a tax for passing from Bulgaria to Romania; he jokingly said that there is no tax, but if we would like to pay something …
- People – the not-so-full-of-light side: one seller, when I took photographs, put his hand in front of the camera, a bit aggressive, fast, not saying anything;
- I was amazed to see how many people in the area spoke Romanian, and some people knew English;
- I liked the organization and order for the tourist areas – both the Botanical Garden and the Balchik Palace;
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Final thoughts: I’m not too much into travelling, but I did consider it a worthwhile experience. Yes, I can get better pleasure out of different things, but yes, it was a new experience, worth trying.
Final thoughts: I’m not too much into travelling, but I did consider it a worthwhile experience. Yes, I can get better pleasure out of different things, but yes, it was a new experience, worth trying.