Closed days on the Black Sea

Saturday, June 24th and Sunday 25th Tsarevo

We have a beautiful, quiet accommodation in Vasiliko, the old town of Tsarevo, which is now dominated by hotels and apartment buildings. Nevertheless, everything is clear and peaceful. Ideal for us is the proximity to the largest and most beautiful beach, Nestinarka. We quickly find relaxation, sleep in, enjoy the morning with breakfast on the balcony, spend the day at the beach, and have good fish in the evening. We also have enough time to remember the beginning of the tour in Finland, the solitude there, the few people we met, and how comparatively easy it was to handle the stages and find accommodations. Despite the sparse population and incredible vastness.

Day 1 Return journey - Cycling day: Tsarevo - Burgas 75 km, a few meters of altitude

Already at home, we were driven by the question - and then what? The big challenge was the tour to the Black Sea, which fully demanded our preparation and implementation. But if we manage that, we also have to go back - and not by plane 😉. The Black Sea is very far from Basel. We have made some preparations, now we are getting down to it and let you experience it step by step. We cover the first 70 km north to Burgas by bike. Fits, right? In between, we had considered cycling to the mouth of the Danube to Constanza and then taking one of the Danube cruise ships to Vienna, but Dominique immediately vetoed it - it doesn't fit us and the tour, which she is right about once again.

So we travel the first part of the return journey by bike along the coast to Burgas. As so often when we get on the bike, it is hilly and... it will be adventurous. First, we ride on a little-traveled secondary road and pass by large holiday resorts. Then we have to ride about 20 km on the main road, which is not much fun. At a holiday resort, we want to leave the road, but the suggested way leads through private property. So back on the main road and after a hill on a well-developed secondary road right by the sea through some tourist-oriented villages. After a large 5-star hotel, Dominique reports the next flat tire on the downhill. This is because in the morning I had to pump up the front tire again 🙃. Actually, it was probably a shard. Together we quickly change the tube, just in time before the first rain showers. We continue, almost parallel to the main road heading north without traffic - probably this used to be the main road. Today it is cloudy again and suddenly we are caught in another thunderstorm. Since we are no longer on the ICT, the surrounding area is more densely populated, and we find a place for shelter. The consequence of continuing is that we have to go through large puddles and expect mud and dirt where there is no asphalt (sounds somehow familiar, doesn't it?). After the muddy path, we are on the main road, which is now four lanes and heavily traveled. On the right, there is a muddy path that goes off, the alternative is the main road. We are undecided and discuss for a while. I find riding on the main road too dangerous, so into the mud and the puddles. But after only a few hundred meters, the path is easy to ride. Lucky us! Later we have to use the main road for a short distance, but there is a small strip of asphalt at the edge and the police are there, so the cars drive slower. We reach a cycle path on which we can ride the last 10 km to Burgas. In the outer districts, the city looks rundown and poor. Only when we leave the harbor area behind do things become more pleasant and more presentable.

Day 2 Return journey: Stay in Burgas

There is little to report about today. A day at the beach on the kilometers-long city beach of Burgas. Absorbing impressions of the city, which apparently offers a good quality of life. Bathed in the sea once again before we take the train to the Danube tomorrow.