We traveled once again to Bulgaria to see and feel the sea. The Black Sea. This year is already my third trip. My favorite destination is Balchik. I have been to this place dozens of times and I have written about this place so many times that I think I have bored many people, although I try to show places and describe new situations. I like to think that I make some reports, I can even call them photo-reports in which I show, in an almost chronological order, places and events that I hope may be of interest to a reader who will either never get there and then can say that he has learned something new, or maybe will decide, after what I have presented, to visit this corner of the world in Eastern Europe.
I am glad to tell you about a famous resort in Bulgaria called Albena.
Albena is about 7 km from Balchik and although I approached it on my walks, I never went inside to see what it is like. I was satisfied with the image of it from a distance, as I saw it from Balchik, the White hotels on the beach in Albena.
This time I satisfied my curiosity to see this resort up close and thanks to some friends who accompanied us. The entrance to the resort is hidden by a large garden parking lot, with the sea out of sight. I was so amazed by how this place looked that I forgot to take a picture from the moment I stepped there.
I recovered quickly and started to photograph, but that didn't mean the end of the photographic challenges I had...
The Park
When it's time for the beach, all the terraces are deserted and there's nothing to see but this string of flags of some countries where most tourists probably come from.
It's that time the Italians call "Dolce far niente", the pleasant moment when you do nothing. A time appreciated even by the carriage horses.
Albena is a resort built when Bulgaria, like Romania, was struggling in the clutches of communism. At that time big hotels were being built...
I saw an interesting monument, modern art shall we say. An old motorcycle, probably German, from World War II.
The harness was replaced with a rocking chair, the machine gun with a guitar, and a pig's head. The artist's vision I don't understand, maybe if it had a title it would have helped.
One of the successful businesses in such tourist-filled places, drawing portraits and caricatures. An "artist" with no customers and only one lady curious to see the "paintings".
Another successful business, braiding hair in pigtails of all shapes and colors.
It is more a place for young girls to relax and socialize.
However, not everyone comes to the seaside to relax and have a good time, some come only for work and use any good time for a short rest.
I forgot to say it was hot. An early July that was more like mid-August. It's the hottest summer I've had so far.
Albena is like a big park, the alleys and most of the hotels are hidden in the park which resembles a forest. It's predominantly green and earthy so the heat is more bearable. There's a shade for everyone.
The walk through the park was pleasant, we could see the sea and we remembered that the sea is why we came here.
All steps lead to the sea, all roads lead to the sea...
Just one more step and the vegetation will be replaced by sand and beach.
The Beach
And so we arrived at the beach. A few more things need to be said here. We didn't come here to sunbathe. We haven't been sunbathing for many, many years. We came here to see the beach... and the beach people. We want to remember the good old days... when we didn't think they were so pleasant and quickly fleeting.
My wife and our friends chose to stay at the edge separating the garden from the beach, to get out of the sun.
The path to the beach and the sea is calling me!
I'm sorry, the following photos are not so good. Actually, what happened? I photographed with an aperture that was too wide for the light that day, and I didn't notice this at the time, I discovered this mistake when I saved the photos to my laptop. I tried, as far as I could, to fix this mistake when editing and now you will see how successful I was.
I find these areas with umbrellas and sun loungers strange, like islands in a sea of sand.
I was used to the beach being entirely occupied by people, randomly placed as they wanted.
This huge beach has its advantages. It is sufficient for sports and games plus the distance from the hotel to the sea allows you to take long walks, for your health.
I said at the beginning that the beach at Albena is big and I hope you can see that from the photos.
My walk along the beach has a specific purpose, to find where I can see the city of Balcic, where we are staying. At the beginning, I put a picture showing how Albena looks from Balchik. Now I want to see what Balchik looks like from Albena.
Temptation
I was very close to giving up this desire when I saw a group of tourists returning from the beach.
It was the temptation that made me change direction and give up looking for the view of Balcic. Fortunately, old age and a little wisdom brought by it made me resist and continue my journey to the end of the beach in Albena.
Finally, my guess came true. On the hill in the distance, I can see Balcic.
Once the problem was solved, I was free to go back to my family and friends, and with them to our hotel in Balchik.
Goodbye, Albena! Maybe we will come back. Maybe others will visit you for the first time!
