The spring season in Bulgaria offers a number of public holidays and we used one of the three-day weekends in the beginning of May to make a road trip to the northeast side which is relatively far away from Sofia. The final goal was the observation of the wild peony blossoms along the Black sea coast (coming in the next post of the series), but the first part of the journey took us along the Bulgarian coast of the Danube river which has its own magnificence. I’ll try to show you a bit of the beauty of this region in my photos adding below my usual (hopefully insightful) comments.
The first evening of the journey we traveled from Sofia to Pleven, a town in the middle of the Danube valley which is a bit further away from the river. This is a photo of a delicious little pizza restaurant in the centre of Pleven which was nicely decorated with many light bulbs and blue wires.On the next day our first stop was Ruse, the largest Bulgarian city on the Danube river. Ruse has a lot of beautiful end of 19th century architecture, but unfortunately in the recent years population has been decreasing and many of the houses are rundown. At least the theater building that you see here is still well-maintained.The park along the river in Ruse is also rundown, but there are still some cute looking benches and statues.This is the opposite view from the same spot as the photo above. On the other side of the river you already see another country: Romania.A last glimpse of Ruse city centre after a short lunch break. This old guy on the balcony of the old house was calmly watching the people below and contemplating life.On the road again: the way between Ruse and Silistra goes right along the river and passes through some very picturesque places. We stopped by to enjoy the view of this yellow field of rapeseed I believe.I had to take a few shots of the yellow field that contrasted dramatically with the grey skies above.These are the pelicans in Srebarna nature reserve, a swampland near the town of Silistra which is home to a list of endangered bird species. This is why we were only allowed to observe the birds from far away via binoculars. The camera here managed to capture a mix between the zoomed image from the binoculars and the actual view with naked eye.A short walk from the nature reserve one finds some small wooden houses along the river belonging to local fishermen. These are their boats and another view towards the Romanian coast.Shortly before the sunset we finally arrived in Silistra, our final stop from the journey situated along the Danube. The park in Silistra is freshly renovated and offers some great spots for observing the sunset along the river.A “love” statue where couples in love can legally leave their locks.Another view from the park in Silistra, here from the ancient ruins of the Roman town of Durostorum that was situated here two thousand years ago.It was only natural to finish the evening at a nice fish restaurant along the river, offering us a last glimpse of the sunset from its humbly decorated terrace. It was pretty much all we could hope for – fresh fish, amazing view and complete tranquility.A final shot from Silistra and the Danube river at night with a few lights from the north side of the river. As beautiful as the towns along the Danube are, they are also some of the poorest and fastest decreasing in population in Bulgaria which explains the lack of people enjoying the parks.
I love the header shot and the unique photo of the pelicans. We have a similar place, a rookery, not far from where we live. The number of birds that nest there is incredible and you can’t go near them during nesting season.
Fabulous photography! Thank you for the follow. I only use my iPhone 6 as wetravel and sightsee. Hubby uses a Nikon Coolpix P90. He’s trying to take better photos. Yours will be an inspiration for him!
Very nice. Interestingly, I am willing to see both of these countries, Bulgaria and Romania. I like all the images, especially 10th one. And I also ‘On the Beautiful Blue Danube’.
Your photography is truly spectacular! I doubt I could pick a favourite among them. Each is captivating in its own way, lending nuance to the words that accompany them, but in all reality, could stand alone and be awe inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing these. I was captivated, as always!
Intrigued… Picture are beautiful. I would never think of using a 50mm for landscape though. Why did you choose that lens over a wide angle or even 35mm?
Good question! One reason is purely practical, the 50mm lens is much smaller and lighter so it’s easier to carry around..the other thing is that the 50mm is better at focusing on particular objects (i.e. blurs the background more than a wide angle lens) so it creates an effect that I often like. Obviously it has its disadvantages so I carry both the 50mm and the 35mm lens when I travel by car, but have to pick one if I am by foot…
Beautiful photos! I’ve never seen one like the pelican one. That’s cool!
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I love the header shot and the unique photo of the pelicans. We have a similar place, a rookery, not far from where we live. The number of birds that nest there is incredible and you can’t go near them during nesting season.
janet
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Fantastic photos, the binocular shot of the pelicAns, the yellow open fields, well, actually all of them. Christine
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Wonderful photos, although the best is the one through the binoculars.
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I also like the binocular shot.
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Breathtaking as always.
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Thank you for this wonderful article, your pictures are beautiful ❤
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Agree 🙂
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Stunning photos from you as always. Love every pix!
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Lovely pictures!
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Very good photos, very laid back. I live also near the river Danube.
with lovely regards, Christian
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Beautiful photos! They make me want to be there!.
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Adding my thanks and kudos for the great picturea!
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Brilliant photo through the binoculars! Thanks for sharing such fabulous images.
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Great shot of the pelicans. Also liked the sculpture, the Roman ruins and the locks. 🙂
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These are gorgeous photos, I love them.
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Fabulous photography! Thank you for the follow. I only use my iPhone 6 as wetravel and sightsee. Hubby uses a Nikon Coolpix P90. He’s trying to take better photos. Yours will be an inspiration for him!
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Love so many of them pictures, I was going to list my few favourites but everytime I scrolled down another one got added to the list 😆😊
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I liked the ancient ruins photo, as well as the lavender and purple sunset of Silistra. Beautiful!!
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Beautiful pictures
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OMG… These are some seriously special photographs. Honoured to have you check my blog too.
Mindblowing beauty captured in all its essence.
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Very nice. Interestingly, I am willing to see both of these countries, Bulgaria and Romania. I like all the images, especially 10th one. And I also ‘On the Beautiful Blue Danube’.
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You’ll be surprised how many things there are to see in those counties. Especially in Bulgaria;)
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Your photography is truly an inspiration.
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Your photography is truly spectacular! I doubt I could pick a favourite among them. Each is captivating in its own way, lending nuance to the words that accompany them, but in all reality, could stand alone and be awe inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing these. I was captivated, as always!
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Spectacular view through lens. Gookluck
Thanks
Talent Hunter
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Reblogged this on From 1 Blogger 2 Another.
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Beautiful captures of the landscape. The yellow field was my firm favourite! 🙂
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Intrigued… Picture are beautiful. I would never think of using a 50mm for landscape though. Why did you choose that lens over a wide angle or even 35mm?
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Good question! One reason is purely practical, the 50mm lens is much smaller and lighter so it’s easier to carry around..the other thing is that the 50mm is better at focusing on particular objects (i.e. blurs the background more than a wide angle lens) so it creates an effect that I often like. Obviously it has its disadvantages so I carry both the 50mm and the 35mm lens when I travel by car, but have to pick one if I am by foot…
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Beautiful.
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Reblogged this on .
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Beautiful Danube
Thanks for these photos.
Paul
http://www.tourismobserver.com
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O my God.really,Bulgaria is a most beautiful country.!
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It is 🙂
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Nice pictures!
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Beautiful and interesting
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Great shots
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A superb set.
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Wonderful photos. You have a real gift.
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