The sea is so beautiful, I can look at it for hours without getting bored.
Sozopol is a town in Bulgaria on the Black Sea. The distance of almost 400 km between my home and this place prevents me from traveling here as often as I would like.
My first encounter with a Passiflora bush. It was love at first sight!
There are several kinds of Passiflora. I'm talking about the color. I like this blue the best.
The first Passiflora to bloom at my home.
When I bought the plant I didn't know what color it would be. The white was a surprise, I didn't even know this variety existed.
This year I have two plants that made it through the winter but didn't flower last year, so I don't know what color they will be yet. I am having a pleasant wait and am curious to see the first bloom. Probably in a month...
In the country where I live, Romania, there is a saying that goes something like this...
Where you hit and where it cracks
... and that has the meaning, that if you didn't understand the meaning of it, because of the translation. You can prepare something, do something and the result will be totally different than you expected!
I remembered the connection between the Black Sea resort called Sozopol in Bulgaria and my home in Bucharest, Romania.
I love the sea, but I'm not lucky enough to live near the sea. The closest sea to me is the Black Sea. The Black Sea borders several countries and even separates Europe from Asia. Romania and Bulgaria are neighboring countries and both border the Black Sea. For decades I went to the sea in Romania and then I discovered the Bulgarian side of the sea, which I liked more and remains now my favorite place for short summer holidays.
Sozopol, the town I just mentioned, is in the south of Bulgaria. The southern location brings the advantage of the Mediterranean climate, which means different flora and even a different aspect of the sea than in Romania.
The main purpose of seaside holidays for me is walking and relaxing (I'm too old to splash around in the sea or fall asleep on the beach in the sun).
On one of my walks, I came across a large Passiflora bush and instantly fell in love with this plant. It is a climbing plant and I love all climbing plants.
I wanted one of these plants at home. The problem is that it is a plant that does not withstand the cold, and in Romania, it is colder than on the southern Bulgarian coast.
However, it is a plant that I was able to buy and enjoy in summer.
Now I'm trying to get Passiflora used to the climate in Bucharest. In winter I "dress" the plant with different materials. Two years ago it froze and died but this winter, which was much milder, I was lucky. I'm hoping that this summer my yard will be flooded with the strange and fragile Passiflora flowers!
The connection to the above quote would be this: I went to the sea for the sea but came home with a passion for passionflowers (Passiflora). Totally unexpected!
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Nature tends to be fascinating, bringing the unexpected to our doorsteps or sidewalk. It is a wonderful thing to see the passion you developed just by meeting those flowers and the story that has begun to unfold. One thing I find satisfying is finding the marvelous things around me and admiring their beauty. It is good to have someone who keeps them in picture form for memory.
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Thank you, I appreciate your care.
I dream of visiting several countries in Europe and Romania is one of them.
You have some beautiful pictures there.
Thank you! I hope you can visit the places you want to see as soon as possible. One day they will all come true!
Here you totally like me, I also love to spend time sitting on the edge of the sea, doing nothing just seeing the water flow, the layers it makes and the peace it produces.
I'm glad we appreciate the same thing, something so beautiful and relaxing!
Damn just look at that view from up there, stunning! We dont have that kind of saying in Dutch but I understand where you are coming from. The prep and anticipation makes the difference.
Is the water already worth going in or is this more of an icy dip still? And...is this a sea even so big?
Well, the sea is big enough if a few countries have gathered around it: Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey! Or maybe small, I think it's about half of the Mediterranean. I don't know exactly. What I do know is that it's still cold now, since June it's possible to swim...
Haha allright that sea...yeah that is a damn big one indeed. Okay so a couple of more weeks and it is time to go for a swim then!
We have a similar phrase;
The calculation made at home would not fit to bazaar.
Which means that things may not go as planned.
It is similar, for sure. I think it's a Balkan saying, I see it's the same in Bulgaria.
We have the same proverb:
"Къде го чукаш, къде се пука."
That would literally translate to the same one from your post.
Don't try this in Google Translate or DeepL. They are pathetic in translating this proverb and use the "F" word :D
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Haha, I won't try! I think it's a common saying in the Balkans. I have confirmation that it is the same in Turkey.
Interesting!
I guess we only have to find a Greek and a Serbian to pronounce it All-Balkans proverb :D
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Thank you. I think it's a wonderful community!
Seeing your posts from Bulgaria made me change my mind when I hear about this country. The single connection I had with it was to meet some Bulgarian students in an exchange of experience many years ago and I was really disappointed. But it's a beautiful country for sure!
Well, @gabrielatravels, I too had a very bad impression of Bulgarians for a very long time, until my first trip to Bulgaria. The people are neither more beautiful nor more civilized than us but the country is very beautiful. Very much vegetation, and much fewer people! Driving a car in Bulgaria is a pleasure, even if the roads are sometimes worse than ours. The countryside is more backward than ours, the impression is that they are in the communist period fifty years ago, it is an interesting picture for those who did not live in that era. At the same time, Bulgarians are more serious and hardworking than us Romanians. They are on the road to modernization and I think they will soon overtake us.
If you come by car to our seaside, you can make a short trip to Balchik. From Mangalia to Balcic you can reach in about an hour (less than 60 km). If you do that, I'm waiting for you to tell me, I'll give you more details.
That's interesting. Had no idea of those aspects but traveling to foreign countries does teach you a lot of things and give you new perspectives as well.
Absolutely. Thank you for the details and I'll definitely contact you when my trips will take me on those roads. Thank you! :)
With pleasure!
I also have planted the passiflora vine in 20" pots but it is very slow growing here in my area. Although it loved the hot weather but I don't know what's wrong with my plant.
I couldn't give you advice. At mine last year they grew a lot but didn't bloom. Others died suddenly and I don't know why. It's a difficult plant.
Oops