BULGARIA, Part 7: Burgas with the coveted destination 'Black Sea'

The train journey from Plovdiv to Burgas took four and a half hours. Four and a half hours for about 250 kilometers, which is relatively fast for Bulgarian standards.

As a tourist, you often strike up conversations with curious people carrying large backpacks like mine during such train rides. They want to know where you're from, where you're going, and what on earth could have possibly made you decide to travel through Bulgaria by train... An older gentleman assumes I'm probably in Bulgaria because of a love affair. He also tells me that he listens to music for two hours a day, ranging from classical to rock music. He hums the melody of "Wind of Change" because, as he says, the Scorpions are his favorite band.

I travel with a young lady from Russia all the way to Burgas. We have lively conversations in English and I find out that she is on her way to Sunny Beach in Slanchev Bryag to meet her sister, who lives in the USA, and her American husband... Train rides in Bulgaria can be quite pleasant and exciting. And not just because of the beautiful scenery.

In Burgas itself, I spend a day and a half just lazing around, strolling, lying on the beach, and swimming in the sea. Rocking in the relatively high waves of the Black Sea gives me great pleasure. There are certainly much nicer beaches in Bulgaria. Sozopol, Nessebar, Slanchev Bryag... But for me, the one right here is enough, because the experience of having been at the Black Sea and having swum in the Black Sea is cult enough.