The Town that Adopted a Queen

It’s a quiet early afternoon in Balchik, a Bulgarian small town on the coast of the Black Sea. I’ve been staying here for the last 4 or 5 days and to be honest, I found it to be quite relaxing; not many tourists, calm sea, a definitely cooling breeze all day long (which is most welcomed in this torrid weather), good food and above else a place where one can find silence, if one is looking for such.

As a photojournalist / documentary photographer, long strolls within and without the town is a must, I believe. I like discovering the place at my own pace, so I take my sweet time to walk a lot, looking for non-touristic areas. I am there not to milk that place of the best documentary material, or to dismantle the place to its minutest piece in order to find a subject for me, but to learn, observe and understand.

One can find real gems just by trying to feel the vibe of a regular neighbourhood, as unobtrusive as possible, mingling with the locals, being open to new experiences and above all, friendly and unprejudiced. I have made many acquaintances and perhaps friends in many places around the world this way. I will most certainly never see some of them again, but the feeling remains that of a good time spent in a place where your heart and soul found themselves happy for a while.

The town is a very small one, and was put on the map almost by accident: in the very early 1920’s, Queen Marie of Romania stumbled on a small fishermen village here and she was charmed by the sea meeting the sun-kissed hills of Balchik, with its hard working and simple yet true-hearted people. She purchased land on the coast and developed it, marking it with what is now known as the Queen Marie’s Castle, with its magnificent flower-and-botanical gardens adjacent. Actually, these are still the main attractions of Balchik, visited by locals and foreign tourist alike. Queen of Romania she might’ve been, but she was loved by these people and they adopted her for good. Her name is synonym with Balchik nowadays.

Life is not very easy here though: with less visitors than usual, due to cost of living increasing in the last couple of years, the town and its inhabitants are left to wonder what future looks like. Balchik is not a large seaside resort, it does not have the beaches and infrastructure of one, but it strives to offer the visitors and tourists a good experience, fresh food, clean streets and hotels, all these wrapped in a heart-warming  smile.

As elsewhere in nowadays Europe, cost of living is going up in what seems to be a race which the local man cannot win. Small businesses and shops are closing here and there, going down under the relentless assault of economical crisis that looms over, without an ending in sight. This entire combination is a real threat to all such small but lovely places everywhere I visited, and Balchik is not an exception.

I only wish the best to this little gem of the Black Sea shores, and I hope that next time when I’ll visit, things will be different.

Shot on Ilford Delta 100 and 400, with a Nikon F3.

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