The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

The Red Riviera

The driver, smoking defiantly out the window, whipped the mammoth coach around hairpin curves relying on Allah's benevolence in the form of prayer beads hung from the rear-view mirror. Finally, the Derenkoy crossing came into view. Everybody off; time to be scrutinized by eagle-eyed border guards who know perfectly well that you're only leaving Turkey to come right back and continue your semi-legal tax-free existence. For anyone seeking sunshine and relaxation to go with a new visa, consider this, the Niþikli tour, a convenient bus trip to the sandy beaches and cheap eats of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Burgas: Burgas is the westernmost point on the Black Sea and the first town of any consequence in southeast Bulgaria. It earns its keep as a shipping center owing to its deep-water harbor. For the casual tourist, however, there are a few tricks up Burgas' sleeve.

In a classic case of corporate efficiency, Niþikli stops in Burgas at a gas station two km from the town center. After a twenty minute walk my fiancée and I arrived at the heart of Burgas; a clutch of late Victorian buildings of no great significance and, sticking out like a giant Lenin statue, the Brutalist Hotel Bulgaria.

In the Centrum we found accommodations at Hotel Elite: dingy with no breakfast but cheap and equidistant from the Black Sea and the bus office. Our hotel was just off, Bogoridi Street a typical 19^th century historic jaunt plying for dollars with gaudy fashion boutiques and Italian cafes. To its credit Bogoridi is clean, pretty and the street peddlers don't harass. Halfway along the boulevard the ethnographic museum offers pretty much your only "cultural" experience in town. Further on lies a large park, Morska Gradina (sea garden) surrounded by churches and hotels. The sight of skateboard punks doing grinds on the railings is a comforting touch of authenticity.