Anyone been to bulgaria recently?

[Candlebaby]

I lived in Bulgaria for just under a year in a place called Plovdiv. I adore the country and it truely does hold my heart (I speak some Bulgarian too but have forgotten a lot! I really want a teacher!) It is a beautiful country and the people are amazing. I made some fantastic friends. Altho when people see you in rural Bulgaria with light skin and strange clothes, you immediately get singled out by some for scams. I had a woman in a bar offer me 'Vuda' which is water in a tiny bottle and told me to pay 3 lv for it (about a pound) to which I politely replied to her in Bulgarian 'Not on your nelly!' What may seem cheap to you, is actually over priced so be aware. It helps if you can read basic Bulgarian also as many signs will tell English speaking tourists its one price, but if you read the Bulgarian, its a fraction. Fair enough tho, we are rich in comparrison!

Either way, I strongly recommend Bulgaria as a place to visit. I cant say I have done the tourist thing (ie sunny beach etc) but real life was and always will be the best time I ever had in my life. One day I hope to retire there and spend my days eating Syrenay, Hyliab and Banitza (my spelling is bad lol) and learning the language I adore

[whitewitch]

Ive been to Bulgaria a few times, Albena 2004, Rogachevo (I think its called) which is a just outside Albena in 2007, going back to Albena this year. In 2007 we hired a car and visited different places, the country is beautiful and so flat. We visited Dobrich which is like Varna (just have to remember, their shops shut on a Sunday) Balchik which is a harbour and is beautiful at night time, Nessebar which was lovely, Golden sands which was packed, not really my cup of tea. We went and found the catacombs, went to Kavarna which is breathtaking. The Bulgarian's are friendly people and when you eat out of the resorts it is so much cheaper. If your after a quiet holiday with lovely scenery you need to visit Albena, visit the old pirate ship on the beach for a meal and entertainment and I would also recommend the hour long pony trek