17 August 2011
My overnight stay in Bulgaria was in the Black Sea coastal town of Varna. Another maze of one way streets had the GPS working overtime looking for my programmed hotel. I seemed to be going down dead ends that showed as through roads on the GPS time and time again.
It was hot also.
The heat when riding at motorway speeds is bearable. The constant flow of air through the open vents in my riding suit stops me from overheating.
But take the speed away and add a few “push the bike” turns in narrow dead end streets and its easy to overheat.
After 20 minutes of going around in circles I gave up, headed for the main road and stopped right out front of the Hotel Modus. Looked very contemporary, great central location and under cover secure parking for the bike. Costs a few euros more but I would have melted if I kept riding for too much longer.
As usual the staff spoke excellent English and were most helpful, even pointing out the unusual shape of my front wheel rim and then ringing up a few local businesses that might be able to take a look at it.
After logging the issue with BMW Roadside Assist I went for a walk around the beach and the town. The population of Varna swells considerably in the summer months and there were plenty of holiday makers also wandering around the many pedestrian only streets through the centre of town.
After enduring the heat for a few hours I made my way back to the hotel to find some air conditioning. I settled down in the restaurant and tried some of the local delicacies i.e. beer, white wine and red wine. And of course a great meal which was thoroughly delicious.
Emails answered, blog posted and a full belly after too much Bulgarian food and wine, I retired for the evening to my comfortable bed and prepare for tomorrow’s journey to another new country – Turkey.
Here are some photos of Varna.
Nearly at my target destination on my Turkey motorcycle tour, what experiences and dramas would the days ahead of me bring?
