Hotel Drujba Albena

... for these really bad quality bicycles. They were very friendly and we decided to cycle together to Varna. I fixed their gears, oiled their chains and gave them elastic so they could attach their bags to their bikes instead of carrying them on their backs, a far more comfortable way to travel.<br><br>It took all day to do the 30 km to Varna but it was nice to chat to them and help them out on the finer points of long-distance cycling, such as avoiding traffic and staying ...

... last 5 years. Varna has the largest shopping centre in Bulgaria. Varna's population has doubled in the last decade. Bulgaria exports clothes, shoes, cosmetics, medicine, and petroleum products. Tourism and wine producing and bottling is also very important', as is agriculture as the soil is very fertile. They grow corn, wheat, barley, oats, beet and veges. There is a major chemical industry not far from Varna (Debni?) with a cement producing ...

... She tries to visit once a year and I begged her to let me tag along. She was gracious enough to conceed and we had a wonderful time.<br><br>Her husband Rick was very jealous that he could not get away from work to join us, the beaches were wonderful the weather mild, and the prices cheap. We were in heaven.

A very nice place and quiet resort, is ideal target for family with kids, food and drinks very cheap and the people are friendly. About the security reasons I saw all the time the officers from Security companies -armed- and Police patrols on the street, here you need just to choose the proper location and enjoy the time.<br>

... where the hot, fresh water and the cold(ish) Salty water meet, and the kiddos splash around and the old people soak their bones. Cute. There is also a natural hot bath along at the end of the beach where I went one night for a soak. Its the little things in life. <br><br>A strange tradition that we stumbled on in Varna is called July Morning, which is based on a song by Uriah Heap by the same name. Apparently, since the end of communism, everyone in Varna, and along the ...

Arriving in Varna you instantly get the feeling that this is one of those places you are either going to love or hate.<br><br>We walked the 1.5km from the bus station to the hostel, still to cheap to catch a taxi.<br><br>Shona wanted to leave the Flag hostel as soon as she had arrived. We were greeted at the door by someone, a guest or a member of staff we were not to sure who. OK "greeted" might be ...

... breakfast for the grand total of $24A for the night &#8211; bargain! We had lunch and then walked down to the beach via the usual souvenir shops. The specialty here seems to be old fashioned dress-up photos and to have your portrait drawn (they were actually very good). We arrived at the beach and wandered along the water's edge (it was too hot on the sand) past the many umbrellas and chairs set out for rent. We ...

Due to the Cold War being over and the world seems to a much more settled place now, Russia has an over abundance of FSB officers with nothing to do. So, as not to have them wandering about the workplace with nothing to do, the Russian Government has rented out these ...

Woke up to a great sunny morning after a good night's sleep. Damyan and Erina were already up, planning our trip. We decided to go to Balchik, a small town on the Black Sea coast where a Summer Palace was built for Queen Marie of Romania in around 1926 when Romania had control of this region. Beautiful gardens also surround the Summer Palace covering an area of about 65,000 square metres and has over 2000 species of plants growing ...

Finally got to Varna and caught up with Damyan, though was tiuch n go as my mobile battery was just about flat and \damyan did not yet know where the bus would drop me at. Finally we meet up, and we head back to his place, say hello to his parents, and wife and then we head out for dinner at an \italian pizza parlour. After dinner had an early night as \i was completelly exhausted and was looking forward to a good night's sleep.