Nesebar, BG - Несебър -

Nesebar, BG  -  Несебър  -  

My Face When I Think Of Nesebar 

It was a bit of a distance from the Rila Monastery all the way to the Black Sea port of Nesebar. We did not ride all of it in one day. We took our time and found a hotel close to Nesebar for just one night and then, the next morning, fresh and not tired we made it into the ancient town of Nesebar. I don’t like riding in the dark, especially in a country I don’t know too well. I will pay gladly for another hotel stop before actually pushing myself to get to the goal town. No matter how close we are, it is safer to wait out the night and then start anew to find the destination the next day.

No Traffic Allowed Into 'Old ' Nesebar 

Our destination in Nesebar was the St. Stefan Hotel. We had a difficult time finding it because the Hotel was in the middle of the Old City and the whole of the Old City was barricaded with only certain residential traffic being allowed in. Guards made sure nobody entered without the right credentials. There were no street signs within old Nesebar. The roads were ancient, rough and narrow. Nesebar has been made into a tourist attraction; a pedestrian area full of ‘old’ stuff. But with a little NYC brashness Carol and I did take our bikes past the ‘guards’ and around the barricades. After some searching on foot, then getting back on our bikes, we found our hotel. We parked on the sidewalk but the hotel clerk said that was OK. So we rolled our guilt feelings of riding into the town on bikes over to the hotel clerk who said we were OK.

Picture Perfect But....

Mostly Ruins 

Actual Living Quarters In Nesebar

Nesebar is a walking town. It is said the town is so old that it defies logic. Settled on an isthmus, it was very early fortified and this small town served the Thracians, Greeks, Persians, Romans and God knows how many other people. After the Ottoman Empire took it over, it declined and was almost forgotten because who would want to live in those ancient ruins? Some typical, for its time, Bulgarian fisherman houses were built and today this old town of Nesebar is a mix of all kinds of architectural oddities. During years past the whole town, was fortified and even today some of the ancient walls have survived. Oh, it is a tourist haven, full of restaurants, shops that sell items nobody really needs and in the summer it must be mayhem. 

Touristy!

I am so glad we came in early October because while still busy, it was bearable to be with so many gawkers and sight seers. I get a bit peeved when locals try to hassle me to buy stuff, when they step in front of me trying to sell their stuff; when restaurants hire ‘yellers’ or ‘sellers’ to entice me to eat in their place instead of at their competition. It was one of those towns. Carol is nicer; she listens then simply says ‘No, thank you!” I have to copy her more, I get mad and just tell them off. Tell them off in not so nice ways.

Not My Kind Of Stuff 

Beaches?

Ah, we say Nesebar, now I know what the town is like but I can tell you it’s not my kind of town. The beaches are dirty, the place is over-run, the water actually stank from I don’t know what.

We saw it, took some pictures and the next day were gone. Turkey was calling us. I don’t understand why people visit the Black Sea, whether it is in Romania or Bulgaria, I did not find the beaches so beautiful.

Rain Boots With the Toe Cut Out?

Rila Monastery, BG - Рилски манастир -

The Rila Monastery, BG 

The Church Within the Monastery 

We were lucky with the weather; it was windy but no rain. To get to the Rila Monastery we had to drive towards Sofia and the easiest way was the Highway. There is no need for a Vignette for Motorcycles in Bulgaria, so we had a good ride and made good miles today. All went well; even the ring road around Sofia was OK, much, much better than Bucharest and our GPS, soon after the Ring Road, directed us off into more rural areas.

We met wonderful roads, twisted and a bit up and down hilly territory until…..we came to the worst construction site you could ever imagine. What are those people thinking? How can anyone work like this? For about 3 or 4 miles the road was torn up. There was mud all over the roads about a foot deep. Cut up sections with sharp edges, filled with sand. In some spots we had to ride over the sidewalk but had to ‘jump’ the curb at a wrong, shallow angle, which you normally avoid like the plague. We had no choice once committed to this road. We started riding into the construction site and there was no place to stop, no place to turn around. We were committed to continue or crash. And crashing was just not an option, we were in nowhere land, the ‘workers’ were not around, the area was abandoned. Mud spattered on us, the tires slipped a few times, the rear trying to break out. It was with the greatest concentration, with eyes peeled straight ahead, with me saying "Keep on looking up, go straight, breath evenly, keep on going, steady," to myself. It was horrendous! I could hear Carol on the intercom hyperventilating. All I could do was tell her what I kept telling myself, steady, slow but steady. Keep the bike straight, look straight ahead. Hang on! I could hear her saying: “I don’t want to do this anymore", but once committed, there is just no way out. It was absolutely terrible. I have been in tight spots but this spot was the worst. We expended a lot of energy getting through this section. I am not sure if my past experience helped, it might have, but it sure was a doozy. We made it through; albeit our adrenaline was still pumping after we got out of this hell-hole section. Phew! I would not want many of those spots ever again.  We could not believe the sloppy way this construction was laid out, or the lack of warning signs, or how people could work under these conditions, even on foot. With a heavy bike it was a suicide mission. We ran into it by accident, and it left a mark on me. Never again if I can help it!

The Monastery Is Within This Forested Area

As fast as the construction started, it suddenly ended and from then on it was an OK ride but I felt drained and still on edge until we found our hotel. 

The hotel was a bit difficult to find since even our GPS had no clue as to where it was on the long road leading to the Monastery. I asked a honey vendor and he pointed in the direction we were traveling so we kept on going but buildings were only sporadically seen along the route. Close to the actual Monastery, we finally found our spot for the night. It was a more-or-less 'normal' house behind a high wall with a restaurant sign that turned out to be the spot we were looking for.

Old Cobblestone Streets, Narrow Gates To Go Through 

We were in the middle of a forest. This is the only road leading in and out; hardly any traffic. It felt like the end of the world. Lucky for us the Hotel Pchelina had a Restaurant; there was nothing around to get any food. We ate and drank well, actually. The specialty was ‘rainbow trout’ and it was excellent. Never had better.

The bikes were safely parked on the cobblestones within the walls, the food was good, we were safe and sound and I had the good feeling we had survived day unscathed, but the construction experience overshadowed all. I still cannot understand how easily we got trapped into this huge mess of a road.

Larger Than I Thought It Would Be, Happy Colors 

We slept well and the next morning we took the self-guided tour of the actual Rila Monastery. This Monastery is at, or near, the end of the road and deep inside the mountains. It is a wild looking neighborhood; forlorn looking, surrounded by fog and mountains and a perfect spot if you are a hermit.


Exactly how this Monastery got started, Ivan of Rila, the hermit, lived here and became a Saint.

A Bit Of History 

Gilded Inside Of the Church 

Elaborate Frescoes Inside and Outside the Church

The Monastery, the way it is now, was rebuilt after a fire in 1840 or so, but was rebuilt beautifully. The Moorish looking façade only helps the general appeal. Naturally, the Church itself is full of icons, full of gilded items, full of Christian Orthodox regalia but I was impressed by the look of the Rila Monastery. We took some pictures where we were allowed to do so and I was glad we took this long (dangerous) ride just to see ‘another’ church or monastery. This is a UNESCO spot and it well deserves its’ nomination as the most visited Monastery of Bulgaria. It simply is a classic, well-hidden, gem. We were not swamped by tourists, which helped too. The Rila Monastery has my yes vote for a visit.

Kazanluk, BG - Казанлъ̀к -

  Kazanluk, BG  -  Казанлъ̀к  -    

An 'Old' Picture Showing How the Tomb Looked 80 Years Ago 

Thracians, a name I have heard seldom enough, but most times the name gets overshadowed by the Greeks. Thracians are many times called Greeks, but they were not really Greek. Thracians had their own culture, their own Kings and their own way of living. The area they controlled in Anno BC was large and included part of Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and yes, Greece. There are only a few traces of these ancient people left in the world and the town of Kazanluk has a Thracian Tomb for us to look at. Well, not the real grave, that one is by appointment only and you need to get a tour guide and you need to pay a hefty fee. But almost next door to it is a ‘reconstruction’, a copy if you will, of what is in the original.We looked at the copy.

A Grand Entrance To the Burial Site 

At Least I Could Read Some Of It

Water Damage, Even In the 'Copy' Of the Burial Site 

Part Of the Round Cupola Of the Actual Grave 

But before we could get to Kazanluk we had to battle rain, fog and traffic. I already said that leaving V.T. was a bit of a hassle; rain on cobble stones is never a good thing. The fog did not help when I am trying to find my way visually and I cannot see too far ahead. We were soaking wet when we arrived in Kazanluk but luckily the hotel had a large, covered outside area and we could slip under that, strip off the wet stuff and then enter the hotel. The bikes were put near the front door, with a security camera watching over our steeds. The rain did not abate for some time leaving everything wet and puddled. 

Interesting Burial Rituals 

We were only a 5 minute walk away from our hotel to the ancient grave site, but the road did not have a sidewalk, so walking was awkward and again, going to the grave, it was all ‘uphill’.

The Cupola 

Stairs, No Matter Where We Go

It felt like a weird day to me, we really just rode to this town to see the Thracian Tomb and that was it. There is not much else in Kazanluk. And really, even the Tomb (copy) itself was for experts only. I did not get much out of this excursion. Maybe I did not understand the rarity of what I saw, it was a grave site. The ‘round temple’ within the ‘cave’ was painted in murals and depicted funeral rites with a very Hellenistic overtone, Hellenistic meaning Greek. Scientists dated this site to the 4^th Century BC but are very clear that it is of Thracian origin. I guess having Greece so close, so nearby, some of the looks or ideas were transferred. The dress, the general look to me looked Greek, yet what is the difference between Greek and Thracian?   Something I have to look up on the internet!