Kate: summer

2:36:00 PM

Holidays in Rhodes

When I first visited Greece I was 2 years old and I don't remember anything. So I decided to make new memories and go to Greece again... after 23 years.

(And I apologize in advance for too many photos of the sea. I don't live near the ocean or the sea and I just love the feeling when you're standing on the beach and watch the waves. #sorrynotsorry)

Rhodes

I visited Rhodes-west coast of the island and the capital. The beaches on the west coast are pebbly, with rather bigger waves and the weather is windy most of the times. Not ideal for families with little children, on the other hand, suitable for me, because the beaches were almost empty. (Yeees!) And the sunsets! Every night, people gathered on the beach with their phones and took tons and tons of photos with their beloved ones and with the sunset in the background. Ok, I did that once or twice too, but the rest of the evening I was just sitting on a sunbed and watched the Sun goes down.

These photos don´t even show how insanely beautiful the sunsets looked.

Everyone loves something different, I adore sunsets.

Little bit of history and mythology

Okay, back on the track. The only thing I knew about Rhodes was that one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was standing there - The Colossus of Rhodes. And I also read a myth about Helios. Back in the days, when the world was rulled by Gods, Zeus decided to divide the Earth between the Olympian Gods. Unfortunately, during this dividing, one of them was busy and Zeus forgot about him-Helios (Sun God), however, when Helios found out, he wasn´t mad or anything, he just said that the island that would emerge from the sea the next morning would be his. And this island that emerged from the sea at dawn the next day was Rhodes - an island of Sun (300 sunny days/year).

Past and Present

After 54 years of protecting the city of Rhodes, The Colossus of Rhodes was destroyed during an earthquake and fell into the sea. That is why nowadays, instead of huge Colossus, you can see a deer and a doe. If you are wondering why, the fallow deer is a symbol of Rhodes.

Another significant part of the city of Rhodes is an old town. It´s surrounded by medieval walls and has seven gates. These gates separate two different worlds. However, these days, the Old Town is full ou tourists, shops, bars and restaurants. Luckily, there are still tons of romantic streets and old buildings.

And did I mention we drove to Rhodes City twice? We wanted to see the city at night...

and it was absolutely worth it!

And I also shouldn´t forget about our accomodation. I spent hours and hours reading and searching the best hotel and I thinks I found it. I didn´t know what to expect, but it turned out just fine. Even great! We had one of the best rooms in the hotel, the staff was amazing, the food was delicious and on our last day we were soo emotional and didn´t want to leave.

And one last thing: Greek donuts! Oh. My. God. I miss them so much. And also Frappé. Of course, you can buy coffee almost everywhere, but drinking Greek Frappé in Greece, on the beach it´s perfect.

I am already looking forward to next summer.

Take care and have a great day,

Kate

P.S.: Soon after my arrival home, I decided to visit as many Greek islands as possible.

because Greece really got me!

12:32:00 PM

Bulgaria, treasure near the Black Sea

Summer is almost over and I've decided to share something about my vacation,
because I already miss hot and sunny days.

The Black Sea, Bulgaria

This summer I travelled to Bulgaria and it was amazing! I visited Bulgaria because I haven't been there before and I was curious. The flight from Prague took two hours and on both ways the plane was late. (Apparently, my choices of airlines this year are not perfect, but I love flying on planes anyway).

Basic info about Bulgaria

Bulgaria is a member of European Union, so it wasn't a problem to travel only with my ID.
The capital is Sofia (haven't been there, maybe in the future) and it is also the biggest city.
Typical Bulgarian cuisine: yoghurt (kiselo mljako), shopska salad, moussaka, shashlik, stuffed peppers, kavarma, kebapcheta, red wine, beer. (I tasted every single of them and all were delicious!)
The Black Sea is really clean and its name may refer to the direction. According to some theories, many Asiatic languages use colors to refer to directions and black color stands for the north. So don't worry, the sea is not black at all!

Typical me-spending some time after lunch on a balcony with a romantic book and a cup of coffee.

Sunny Beach

A well known resort in Bulgaria, full of bars, casinos, hotels and entertainment for tourists. I spent there few hours and it was enough. I was curious and wanted to see this well-known spot, but it was too much. I love the sea and sandy beaches, but all these people around me, it was overhleming. I am not that kind of person who enjoys partying all week long and I dont' like overcrowded places, so staying on the Sunny Beach would definitely kill me. On the other hand, I have to admit that we visited an amazing restaurant there! It's called Lapa Lapa and I had a delicious tomato soup and kebapcheta there.

Okay, these bars on the beach looked great and they were literally everywhere!

Welcome to Sunny Beach-overcrowded beaches, sand and clean sea

Sveti Vlas

Small town near Sunny Beach, with a lovely church and a romantic promenade along the sea. There are also many hotels and restaurants, but only one casino (or at least I noticed only one). In the center is a lovely small square with a fountain and little shops and post office.

Church of St. Blaise in Sveti Vlas

Bulgarian cat

Do you like Paris? The people are going crazy and they are buidling new and new hotels,
so in the future it would be possible to stay in this hotel with the Eiffel Tower in front of it.

Bora Bora? No, Sveti Vlas, Bulgaria :-)
For some reason, tourists lprefer to stay near the hotel pool all day long...
and beaches are almost empty.

Mainstream.
I noticed that especially Czech tourists love taking selfies with palm trees.
I prefer palm trees with boats and the sea :-)

Burgas Airport is so small that you can walk it through in less than 5 minutes :-)
However, there is an outdoor bar/restaurant outdoor in the gate area where you can
buy pizza and beer while waiting for boarding and watch planes take off.
Disadvantage? It's the only place where you can smoke,
so non-smokers probably don't enjoy this bar too much or for too long.

Bulgarian cuisine

I tasted almost everything. Fish, shopska salad, kebapcheta, stuffed peppers,... it was all very tasty. Just one thing I had a real problem with - you can buy pizza and English Breakfast in almost every restaurant in tourist area. Ok, I get it, not everyone likes to taste local meals, but this was really mad.

Summary

I enjoyed my stay in Bulgaria, I had some difficulties with their language, but I learnt few phrases such as hello, thank you, good bye and I think locals were pleased to see effort from my side. In tourist areas it's not a problem to speak English, but we also met few people who could speak only Bulgarian and Russian, and eventhougt I learnt Russian alphabet (so I was capable of reading), speaking is much harder for me and I didn't understand very well. But after all, it was an amazing holiday and I enjoyed every single day!

Soo, if you haven't been to Bulgaria, give it a try, I am sure, you won't regret!