EN:
It’s been two
years since I visited Balchik and other places in Bulgaria, but I thought about
sharing my experience on the blog. Who knows, maybe one of you intends to go
there someday or in the near future and could use the information. Plus, I
though you would enjoy seeing the pictures from the trip.
Let’s start
with a little bit of history and additional information on the location:
Balcic (or
Balchik) is a town situated on the Black Sea shore, in Bulgaria, approximately
60 km from Vama Veche. After the Second Balkan War, the town became part of
Romania from 1913 through 1940. In 1940, just before the outbreak of World War
II in the region, Southern Dobrogea (Cadrilater) and Balchik were ceded
by Romania to Bulgaria, by terms of the Craiova Treaty.
The Balchik
Palace was the favorite summer residence of Queen Maria of Romania and her
immediate family. It is surrounded by the Balchik Botanical Garden, unique in
Central and Eastern Europe, especially due to its cactus collection. Balchik is
also known as the White Town because of the chalk hills surrounding it.
From Constanta
it should not take you more than two-three hours to get there, especially if
you leave in the morning when there’s little traffic. The road is pretty bad
once you reach Bulgaria, or at least it was back then, I don’t know if they did
anything to fix it in the mean time. If you're wondering which are the main
attractions, I will let the pictures speak for themselves:
RO:
Au
trecut doi ani de cand am vizitat Balcicul si alte obiective din Bulgaria, insa
m-am gandit sa impartasesc experienta mea pe blog. Poate, cine stie, cineva
dintre voi intentioneaza sa mearga acolo intr-o buna zi sau in viitorul
apropiat si informatiile i se vor parea utile. In plus, m-am gandit ca v-ar
placea sa vedeti pozele din calatoria mea.
Sa
incepem cu un scurt istoric si o serie de informatii asupra locatiei:
Balcic
(sau Balchik), este un orasel situat pe tarmul Marii Negre, in Bulgaria, la
circa 60 de km de Vama Veche. Intre anii 1913 – 1940 a apartinut Romaniei, in
urma celui de al doilea razboi balcanic. In 1940, Dobrogea de sud
(Cadrilaterul), inclusiv Balcicul, au fost cedate de Romania Bulgariei, prin
Tratatul de la Craiova.
In Balcic se afla celebrul castel, resedinta de
vara preferata a Reginei Maria a Romaniei, inconjurat de o la fel de celebra
gradina botanica unicat in Europa centrala si de est, in special datorita
colectiei de cactusi. Pentru mult timp orasul a fost supranumit Orasul Alb, din
cauza dealurilor calcaroase din jur.
Pornind
din Constanta, drumul pana acolo dureaza maximum doua-trei ore, mai ales daca
plecati dimineata, cand e trafic scazut. Drumul este avariat, o data ce treceti
granita in Bulgaria, sau
cel putin era atunci, nu stiu daca s-au facut reparatii intre timp. Cat despre principalele atractii, voi lasa fotografiile sa vorbeasca de la sine:
EN:
After visiting
the Castle, the botanical garden and the surroundings, we went to Cape
Kaliakra. According to legends, the fortress used to guard the treasuries of
Lyzimah, successor of Alexander the Great. The two Bulgarians selling tickets
at the entrance spoke a very funny Romanian and managed to make us laugh. We
still get amused and make jokes about it when we look back on that day.
RO:
Dupa ce am
vizitat castelul Reginei Maria, gradina botanica si imprejurimile, ne-am
indreptat catre capul Kaliakra. Legenda spune ca in aceasta fortareata erau
pastrate comorile lui Lyzimah, succesorul lui Alexandru cel Mare. Cei doi
bulgari care vindeau bilete de acces la intrare vorbeau o romana stricata
foarte amuzanta si ne-au facut sa radem in hohote. Inca ne amuzam si glumim pe
tema asta atunci cand ne amintim de ziua cu pricina.
EN:
It was way past
noon, so our next thought was to get something to eat. The place we had in mind
after having read numerous reviews about it was Dalboka, a seafood restaurant
and farm of Black Sea mussels. The food is extraordinary, the prices are affordable
and the scenery is great. The terrace is by the sea and you have a nice view of
the mussel farm, placed in the middle of the sea. We had the Sea Mirage (mussel
soup) and mussels natural flavor with hogweed (we wanted to try the tiger
prawns, but they were out for the moment), both served with a very spicy sauce
based on red peppers on the side. In case you are interested, you can see the
entire menu on their website.
Around 4:30 PM
we headed back home, because it was a melting hot day and we were tired from
all the walking and visiting in the sun.
This was my
short Bulgarian adventure. Let me know if you’ve ever been there or if you
intend to visit any of these places.
RO:
Deja era trecut binisor de ora
pranzului, asa ca urmatorul nostru gand
a fost sa mancam ceva. Dupa ce am
citit numeroase recenzii pozitive referitoare la el, am decis sa incercam
restaurantul Dalboka, specializat in fructe de mare si, simultan, ferma de midii
de Marea Neagra. Mancarea este extraordinara, preturile sunt mai mult decat
accesibile, iar cadrul este superb. Terasa se afla chiar pe malul marii, iar in
zare se vede ferma de scoici, pozitionata in mijlocul apei. Am comandat supa de
midii si midii natur cu condimente (am vrut sa incercam crevetii Jumbo, insa nu erau
disponibili in acel moment), ambele servite alaturi de un sos extrem de picant,
pe baza de ardei iute. Daca sunteti interesati, gasiti meniul pe site.
In
jur de ora 16:30 ne-am indreptat catre casa, deoarece era o zi caniculara si
eram deja franti, dupa mult mers pe jos si vizitat sub soarele arzator.
Aceasta a fost scurta mea calatorie
in Bulgaria. Astept sa-mi spuneti daca ati vizitat sau intentionati sa vizitati
vreunul dintre aceste locuri.
