The Traveler Is Fine With The Road

Memory is a wonderful and strange thing, just like youth. These two have something in common, namely, they are both fleeting and at some point, you may find that you have lost both. That is, if you remember!

Relativity. I believe in relativity and that's why I say that what I said about memory and youth only refers to me, to what I see happening. I'm not speaking in general, I don't know if it applies to all people as long as I have no way of knowing if there are immortals among us.

My memory shows obvious signs of fatigue and behaves strangely. I remember events 60 years ago and can't remember what I did yesterday... I suspect I've said enough for any reader who is a doctor to make a diagnosis that is at least unpleasant for me.

Great luck with the photos. Unfortunately, I don't have many more... Photos are, for now (because I don't know if that will be the case for long), the best cure against forgetfulness.

The oldest photos I have, on electronic media, are from 2015.
These photos were taken during a trip to the sea in the neighboring country, Bulgaria. My favorite town on the Black Sea is Balchik.

Every time I look at these photos I am overcome with emotion and nostalgia.

I am one of those who believe that a holiday doesn't start when you arrive at your destination but starts when you leave home. The whole journey is already a holiday. I like to see all that nature has to offer while driving and that's why I prefer the back roads instead of the highway.

Once off the highway, there follows a stop for photos and to look as far ahead as possible. The side roads have a great advantage, they are less crowded, which makes driving and stopping very pleasant.

I like summer best. Summer in the countryside, even if it's a killer because of the heat, brings back a lot of childhood nostalgia. Flowers are also one of the joys.

To be as accurate as possible... My wife is in charge of the flowers. She can't stop picking a bunch of wildflowers.

The wife with the flowers and me with the photos. I don't even remember what camera I had back then, but, for sure, not a good one.

The impressionist photographer

I photographed the fields spread out to the horizon and only much later noticed that the photos lacked sharpness and the colors seemed to blend, like in a painting.

I like impressionist painters. They painted in "plain air", that is outside and very colorful, with lots of light. I have managed, without my own will, to get some pictures similar to impressionist paintings!

It's a saying in Romania but it can be everywhere, I don't know that:

"The traveler is fine with the road"

I followed the advice and after a breath of nature, space, silence, and beauty I set off to my destination, Balchik!

The Black Sea is blue, and so goes one line in a song. It is rarely almost black when there are strong storms. The rest has many colors... blue, turquoise, and green.

In Balchik, the main tourist attraction is the castle of Queen Maria of Romania.

I love this small town because of the light, which is hard to describe, but I can say that most Romanian painters have chosen this place for its landscapes and special light.

The almost Mediterranean vegetation is another reason for me to repeat this trip every year. The first one was 30 years ago.

Even though there are many dilapidated houses, the old town has a special charm and we like to walk around thinking about how people lived here a century ago.

Last but not least we appreciated the Bulgarian food and drink, a good cold beer, and relaxing at all kinds of terraces.

Reviewing these old photos I realize that I preferred fish soup to coffee, my passion today.

Of course, there is much more to see and do in Balchik. Each according to desire and ability. You have to get there. In Bulgaria, near Varna.

Goats

Returning home is always divided between longing and regret. I admit that after a few days away I get homesick, but at the same time, I regret having to part with a different kind of beauty and well-being that is Balchik.

Every trip has surprises; even if I follow the same route, I always meet something that will surprise me.

On this 2015 trip, the surprise was the goat encounter. This was in Romania, in the Dobrogea region that Romania shares with Bulgaria. I've never seen goats so good and obedient...

When I come back from Balchik I like to choose a detour road, which is longer, but which crosses less inhabited, wilder areas and, for a long stretch, goes alongside the Danube river.

_{The Danube is the second longest river in Europe (after the Volga, which flows entirely through Russia) and flows from the Black Forest Mountains in Germany, where two rivers, the Brigach and the Breg, meet at Donaueschingen, where the river gets its name.
The length of the Danube depends on the starting point considered: 2,852 km from the confluence in Donaueschingen, or 3,019 km from the source of the Breg.[3] It flows eastwards and passes through several capitals in central, eastern and southern Europe: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. The Danube Delta opens onto the Black Sea, is divided between Romania and Ukraine, is protected by a biosphere reserve(d) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Danube has been an important waterway for centuries. Known in ancient times as the northern border of the Roman Empire, the river flows through ten countries: Germany (7.5%), Austria (10.3%), Slovakia (5.8%), Hungary (11.7%), Croatia (4.5%), Serbia (9.4%), Bulgaria (5.2%), Romania (28.9%), Moldova (1.7%) and Ukraine (3.8%).
Its catchment area covers nine other countries: Italy (0.15%), Poland (0.09%), Switzerland (0.32%), the Czech Republic (2.6%), Slovenia (2.2%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (4.8%), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania (0.03%) and Kosovo. Source}

I am in love with the Danube. After the sea, the Danube immediately follows in my favorites and I am glad to be close to it. These journeys to the sea give me that opportunity.

These memories are so beautiful to me. I have found that the most pleasant moments remain in my memory and the unpleasant ones have faded. I love that so much!