Taking My First Train Trip to Varna
It is June 3 and I am standing at the train station in Blagoevgrad. I cannot believe that I am actually here. Because now it is 7.30 pm and the train to Varna will arrive in 15 minutes. What surprises me is that it was only two hours ago that I decided to travel to Varna.
While waiting for my journey to begin, I noticed that all the passengers were sitting and communicating or playing on the phone. One old woman, almost the same age as my grandmother, caught my attention the most. She was the oldest among the passengers, but she was the only one standing exactly right next to the tracks, excitedly waiting for the train. She seemed in a gloomy mood, lost in her thoughts, but she looked like she had a little hope as well. In my imagination, she was going to meet her son in Sofia whom she had not met in a long time.
In two hours, I arrived in Sofia and transferred to the train to Varna. I thought I had bought a ticket with a bed, but that was not the case. Surprisingly, the nine hours of traveling on the train without lying properly was not as bad as I expected.
I wake up. It is 5.30 in the morning. Finally, I am going to watch my first Bulgarian sunrise. I feel like I can taste the smell of this beautiful morning. If I had to describe the aroma in words, then it would be fresh sweet mint with rose extract. Maybe it sounds too much but believe me it was wonderful.
After an hour, the views from the train window became so spectacular that I truly worshiped the Bulgarian nature. It was very peaceful and I remembered my country’s wide-open beautiful steppes. The combination between soft vanilla clouds and baby blue sky looked very romantic. An impressive green field crop under the sky reminded me of my last train travel in Mongolia. At that moment, I was one hundred percent delighted with my decision to travel around Bulgaria even if the current pandemic is dangerous.
Getting closer to Varna, the air became moister and moister and I felt that sweet perfume of a rainy day.
Here I am in Blago. No, I am sorry, I am used to saying Blago.
Here I am in Varna. Welcome to the city of tourists, roses and fruits. I was so excited and I felt like I am not a foreigner in this city because people here are used to seeing tourists. They were not looking at me strangely like people do in Blagoevgrad.
The first thing that I noticed in Varna is that drivers are not that polite as in Blagoevgrad, they don’t always stop when someone is crossing the road. Despite that, I was so pleasantly surprised to find out that I was traveling during one of the best parts of the season. Sunny but cool days were a great present for someone coming from the coldest capital in the world, Ulaanbaatar, and hot weather is not usually my preference.
Varna is one of the busiest cities in Bulgaria because of its precious location at the Black Sea. Every day from 8 am to midnight, Varna’s beaches fill up with tourists from around the world and locals from different parts of the city. It is a place full of young energized people.
The best experience in Varna is definitely having dinner at the beach and chilling on the sand at the same time. There are many different modern and traditional restaurants with special dishes and they offer very good prices.
As I was trying seafood for the first time, a surprise guest came to our table. At first, the cat was staring at me very appealingly and cute since I had food in front of me. Then, he started getting suspicious and mad. In the end I surrendered and gave him almost all of my food.
It is June 5. After having lunch at the beach, I went to the Sea Garden to photograph the stunning nature and how people spend their free time. The park is so huge that I walked for almost an hour. One of the surprising things that I observed is that people smoke much less than in Blagoevgrad. It definitely relates to their environment in which they live. Closer to nature and more beautiful places to visit.
It is hard not to speak about Varna’s classical style buildings, with majestic flowers on their balconies. Flowers, especially luxurious multicolored roses are growing everywhere on the streets.
Some of the most fascinating places in Varna for me were the different types of art shops and galleries. For someone who adores painting and art, I would say to not miss those places.
It is 9 am on June 8. I’ve prepared my luggage for the second train adventure, this time back to Blagoevgrad. I have a ticket and I am going to the station the same evening. But before leaving this city, I went to the beach once again to see the beautiful sea side.
The last day’s weather was even more beautiful than the days before. The sea water was perfectly warm and the color was a brilliant blue. This view almost convinced me to stay but I had already bought that ticket.
I arrived at Sofia’s train station to change to the train to Blagoevgrad. I felt like I fulfilled my desire to see new things. Now, I am even more confident and happy with my decision to come to study in Bulgaria. Country of roses, beautiful nature and people.
Soon, I will be back in Blagoevgrad. City of mountains, AUBGers and calmness.