Hi morph.

dont worry more chapters to follow

I hope so Mondeo. Really enjoyed your posts and hope others can also contribute.

Many years ago now, out on a day trip, can't remember where to.

The usual scenario, long queue at the Ladies and the Gents vacant. There was a Toilet Lady standing there and a saucer for contributions. I put in a small donation and was immediately pulled out of the ladies queue and ushered into the gents cubicle whilst she stood guard outside. The looks on the other ladies faces as I came out was priceless.

Patka

Patka

I can just imagine!

Years ago I used to have a mini moan about having to pay for the loo anywhere you went in Bulgaria (even hotels). Then in later years I realised how things worked over there and that whatever money you dropped into the plate went to these little old ladies as wages in return for them looking after the toilets and dishing out the loo paper.

On a change of topic I wonder if your memory is better than mine. Can you remember anything at all about the Balkan trip to Bear Meadow (Golden Sands) . I think it may have had another name as well. I am trying hard to remember where the actual trip took us to but just remember that it wasnt far away and remember we all had a great time there. Have been studying my GS map but just havent a clue where the location is and if it is still there. Just idle curiosity really.

Sure someone will remember.

Hi Morph

as promised here is some more memories.

Chapter 3

We arrived back in Bulgaria in october 1990 just at the time when the Bulgarians were starting to campaign for their first free elections we had by this time made quite a few friends and some of them were actively campaigning for the C.D.C. party which was the main opposition to the Communist party we became involved with them and spent many an hour during the day and also at nights out in the streets,of Pomorie where they were giving out leaflets and holding rallies, we also met members in other towns including Bourgas,and Varna we spent many an hour drinking coffee in their various cafe's that they set up to gather funds and arrange further rallies on the night of the election in Pomorie to elect the first free deputy we were invited to join them for what they hoped would be a celebration and as things turned out it was just that.

I had the priveledge of taking the first photograph of the first free deputy in the Bourgas region a very friendly guy
called Petko. At the time all the people hoped that this would be the start of freedom and the chance to improve their lives,however as we became aware and as we know now it only meant that where before the communists were openly in power the same people still had the power but were now calling themselves something new.Sunny beach at the time was very different hotels started to change owership and some major changes started to take place, there was a group emerged called the (Angel group) who bought over about 15 of the largest hotels in the resort for for what was reportedly a very small amount of money

suddenly instead of getting approx 100 lev for ten pounds, the exchange rate started to Fluctuate and things became unclear as to whether freedom would be what the people actually wanted,or thought it would mean, things started to get dearer for example on friday a litre of cola would cost say 3 lev but on the sunday the same bottle was 30 lev but instead of getting 100 lev for ten pounds you w ere now getting 1000 lev this made things interesting to say the least.

Still as tourists things in the hotel still carried on as normal, at night we would more or less take over the reception area and have a small soiree where we would get together with staff and other guests and have a small party to ourselves,
while we started off with maybe just one or two British families by the end of most evening's there were usually English,
Scot's,German,Swedish,Russian,Bulgarian,and any other Nationality that cared to join in, one night we had been watching
a small gentleman who each night appeared in the hotel and parked his small bicycle underneath the stairs in the ground
floor of the hotel,we asked if he would care to join us for a drink (more out of nosiness to find out who he was) it turned out that he was Robinson Crusoe on the island for the excursion that Balkan holidays ran. The thing that surprised us all was that while we sometimes had difficulty with the languages that were being spoken he had no problem and could quite happily switch from one to the other whenever someone asked a question. while the parents had their drinks in the group the children could be safely put to bed and the kids club rep Jen would check on them and we were all secure in the knowledge they were quite safe. The only thing was tht Stephanie our daughter and Tina the receptionist seemed to change places it caused quite a few stares from hotel guests to be given their keys by a ten year old scot wearing the receptionist's red jacket, while the porter and her sat with us having a short break.

While elections were being held on Sundays in Bulgaria and is still the case the bar's close and there is no alchol sold
this we found out when the night bar man Anton told me on the saturday night " Robbie the bar must stay closed tomorrow for the election as there will be no alchol sold " he told me that he would leave the fridge in the kitchen open for me and I could square up with him when we next saw him, tell me where else would you get an offer like that especially now ?

The children used to keep asking for things to do and one afternoon we more or less had our own world cup competition on the rass outside the continental, wher children from germany, england,and scotland played football with bulgarians,swede's and all managed to communicate quite happily with one and other.On another afternoon we asked on of the drivers of the Horse drawn carriages if he would take the kids for a trip round the resort for a little while,we paid him and of they all went,
they turned up about two hours later with the driver rather the worse for wear as the kids asked him to stop at a small bar
so they could get a juice and to be friendly to him the proceeded to buy him a few drinks while there,just as well the horse knew where, he usually sat outside the hotel.

I hear people on the board talking about the ladies of the night well even back in 1990 they were about but the staff in the hotels used to watch out for them trying to get past reception with their gentlemen clients and is is not the first time
we have heard a receptionist saying stop where do you think you are going and making them leave. at this time in the resort there was as there is now a measure of uncertainty as to what the future would hold.

Mondeo

Thanks very much for this lengthy and very interesting report. It was worth waiting on.

I don't have as many interesting things to write as you do but I do feel a little nostalgic when I think back to my early visits to Bulgaria and the way things were then. How things have changed.

I would love to hear other peoples tales as well.

our rep getting drunk at the wine tasting and telling dirty jokes all the way back from madara to golden sands

Being left in charge of the hotel bar, whilst owners disappeared for some bedroom gymnastics.

Patka

can you tell me the name of the hotel, sounds like heaven

Can, but wont, unfortunately the owner has passed away since those days.

Patka

Hi Patka.

that is what happens if you try bedroom gymnastics without the use of a safety net

our first trip was in the late 80's ive never brought so much money back,it was so cheap.mind you there was not a lot to spend it on.
when we landed at bourgas i went to the cash desk and changed a few £ just to get the feel of the money.
Onthe way to the Pomeroie hotel we also had a chap get on the bus offering a good rate which i took him up on.
Then when we got to the hotel the waiters were offering 3 times as many lev to the pound.So i bought even more.
Then in the old days you were given meal tokens to pay for your food.these lasted well into the 2nd week.they accepted them for our drinks.
There was non of the stalls that line the streets now and very few hotels.and even fewer swimming pools.We used the facilities in the hotel Burgas.I think everything closed by about 10pm except for the casino.
We were pestered for our clothes,shirts jeans trainers etc.The sister in law gave the waitress her shoes,and we saw her out in them one evening at a dance at the hotel round the corner.
But the holiday was great and we were hooked on Bulgaria

Hi Seahunt

I know just what you mean about the locals trying to get your clothes of you my first experience of this was in the Globus hotel when a waitress wanted the shorts I was wearing for her husband who as it turned out we had been served by in The Kapitanska Shresta in Nessebar . well that turned out to be a friendship that lasted for about 10 years and when we were leaving to come home tht first meeting we learned that the Bulgarian way that if you give a gift they will give you something in return, when I left her the shorts for Him she gave me a bottle of 12 year old congac. was really great to drink!

the wine tasting at balchik tasted brandy[I think it was brandy] that had to have a passport to get out of the country tasted all sorts of wine[thats why I cant remember much about it]

Thanks everyone. Enjoyed reading all these little stories. Hope theres more to follow!