03 - 09 October 2020: Sozopol (Bulgaria)

On our way from Greece to Bulgaria, we make a short stop at Fort Roupel, just before the border. This fortress, which was built directly into the mountains in 1914 along with more than twenty others, was part of the Metaxas Line, which the Greeks used in World War II to stop the German Wehrmacht. Despite being greatly outnumbered both in terms of equipment and soldiers, the Greeks managed to delay the German advance in April 1941 for a few days.

After this morning history lesson, we continue on to Bulgaria without any traffic jams, unlike on the way there. We have an overnight stay in Plovdiv. We really like this nice city with its beautiful parks, well-preserved old town, and vibrant atmosphere, and we are looking forward to spending equally enjoyable days on the Black Sea.

But when we arrive at our hotel in Sozopol that we booked in the morning, we are told that the season is over and the hotel is closed. After some back and forth and an overnight stay in no man's land, we are given another apartment that provides a place to stay for the next few days at least.

But here too, our first evening confirms the impression: the season is over - the place, with its extensive new residential areas beyond the old town, was built exclusively for the tourist hordes of summer, is dead and abandoned. We are the only guests in the hotel, surrounded by countless other empty hotels and apartments. Even in the old town with its two-hundred-year-old houses, the display windows of the countless souvenir shops are boarded up with plywood.

The waiter at dinner tells us that this is also his last evening here and that he is moving to another place where the winter ski season is slowly starting. We seem to be the only guests in this ghost town: during our afternoon trips to the beach, we pass by a few bars where only those who have no other plans for the winter are sitting with their beer and schnapps.

The beaches are empty and seagulls are reclaiming the beach among the remains of beach umbrellas - and yet they seem to be just subtenants in this broken world. The Black Sea greets us in a delicate blue with big waves that remind us of the best waves on the Baltic Sea. Despite the enjoyable splashing around, we feel strangely lost in this place where we no longer belong. We retreat to our hotel room: studying, cooking, chilling, and when the last day brings thunderstorms and rain, it becomes clear that summer is over here and we want to move on quickly: we will see whether we go south to the Mediterranean for an extended summer or head to the mountains for autumn hikes.

The destination for the next few days is Istanbul!