The Black Sea and Balchik Palace

From first through thirteenth grade in Germany, I had a classmate whose father was Bulgarian. Every summer, this classmate of mine traveled to Sofia to spend several weeks with her grandparents who always took her to the Black Sea. As a child, this entire experience seemed so wonderful and exotic to me that I vowed to myself that some day I would see the Black Sea with my own eyes. I am amazed how so many years later life presented me with the opportunity to follow through on this dream via our daughter’s adoption. I couldn’t believe it when I found out that her hometown is only 35 km from the shore of the Black Sea. I decided right then and there that this was the universe’s way of telling me to go for it, so I did.

Half way through our week in Bulgaria, we took a taxi to a small coastal town and resort called Balchik. Our translator had arranged this little excursion for us after I expressed my desire to see the Black Sea, so we didn’t have to worry about anything. The taxi dropped us right at the entrance to Balchik Palace and waited for us for over two hours while we explored the area.

Balchik Palace, also known as Quiet Nest Palace, was built between 1926 and 1937 by Romanian royals who had control of the region at the time and wanted a summer residence near the sea. Today, the palace grounds include everything from the original buildings, to botanical gardens, to a chapel, to open air baths, to historic water mills, bridges, waterfalls… All of it is stunningly beautiful and in excellent repair overlooking the Black Sea. I have now put it out to the universe that some day I would like a patio area with the same atmosphere as this amazing place:

We were able to walk through the palace grounds right to the beach and the Black Sea. It was a bit windy by the shore and the waves were crashing in, so I couldn’t get really close to the water without danger of drenching my lower half, but I still gleefully managed to get myself sprayed by Black Sea water as seen in the photo. Yippeee! It was a dream come true.

And as I looked across the sea to where it meets the sky, I couldn’t help but think that less than 200 miles beyond its distant eastern shores, our son is waiting for us while his sister lives only a few kilometers away from the western Black Sea coast where we were standing.