Bulgaria's gulf oasis "Cape Kaliakra"
A travel diary by Elsa Honecker
A FAM trip to the northernmost tip of Bulgaria at the beginning of May was to provide our small group of golf tour operators and journalists with an unforgettable experience. In addition to the 5-star Lighthouse Golf & Spa Resort and golf on the three 18-hole courses Thracian Cliffs, Lighthouse and Blacksearama, the program, designed by Perry Einfeldt, also included participation in the Easter Tournament at Lighthouse GC. Yes - and we were also given a "light" sightseeing program - with a botanical garden, castle, culinary delights and wine tasting in the town of Balchik. All in all, a well-rounded and exciting 4 days on the Black Sea coast. Announced highlight: Thracian Cliffs Golf Course!
Golfing between sea & legend
We landed in Varna, Bulgaria's third largest city, and were taken by the Lighthouse Hotel shuttle a good half hour across the pampas to the hotel - a modern multi-storey glass building surrounded by the lush green fairways of the 18-hole course of the same name, designed by Jan Woosnam. We do miss the lighthouse that gives the 5-star Lighthouse Golf & Spa hotel its name, but it is due to be erected in the area soon.
Lighthouse Hotel with villas
Orthodox Easter is currently being celebrated here, which is why the 180 rooms and suites designed in white and cream are almost fully booked. The light-flooded, modern lobby is also crowded with families with children, golfers and holiday guests. No problem, however, for the extremely friendly and helpful staff and for the chef, who has two restaurants to look after - the "Alexandra" as the main restaurant and the "Fouquet" as a specialty restaurant. The 3,000 m² spa with wellness center is also impressive, with a fitness studio, sauna, steam bath and Turkish bath. The ambience is dark Asian with romantic candlelight and scented oils that impregnate the air.
You are spoilt for choice with the internationally adapted treatment program with detox, wine therapy, seawater treatments, Ayurveda, Balinese healing art and beauty department. There is also a huge indoor and outdoor pool with a terrace overlooking the sea and a private beach. So it's no wonder that Bulgaria's high society likes to spend their vacations here.
Directly in front of the hotel are holes 12 to 14 of the 18-hole Lighthouse Golf Course, which appears to us to be a real vacation course with lots of bushes and flowering shrubs. The signature hole could be hole 4 (par 4), where a small lake poses the question: "Carry over or round?"Hole 8 (par 3), whose green is enthroned directly on the rocky cliffs above the Black Sea, offers another treat. The last few holes before you reach the spacious and modern clubhouse are also visually appealing. A beautiful vacation course - for the eye and the score!
No fear of Thracian Cliffs
"You will not find a golf course like this anywhere else on the planet," Gary Player proudly announced at the opening in 2011, predicting a great future for the course - even as Bulgaria's flagship golf course. Five years later, he was to see his vision of the future confirmed. Not only has his signature golf course gained international recognition, but his BlackSeaRama Golf Course, together with Jan Woosnam's Lighthouse Course, has also become a hot spot in the south-eastern European coastal region.
But - as we stand in front of the Thracian Cliffs Course, we agree: the course looks even more spectacular in person than in the already breathtaking photos. Terrifying for all score hunters on the one hand, inspiring for all those who simply love the layout, design and the surrounding area on the other. Especially when you stand on the 200-metre-high cliffs of Cape Kaliakra, high above the roaring Black Sea, with the hilly terrain of the Front Nine in front of you, it sends shivers down your spine. But the fright, or rather the "devotion", is taken away by a first beer on the small terrace in front of the first tee.
Perry Einfeldt - the former master of this part of the world - tries to explain the strategy of the game to us. He can tell us like no other how everything here came about - from the idea of the great Gary Player to build his "Pebble Beach of the East" to receiving the IAGTO award "Bulgaria - best golf destination of the year 2012". Today, he is mainly active as a consultant, i.e. "girl for everything" - both in terms of hotels, golf courses and looking after golfing tourists from home and abroad.
Of the 18 absolutely spectacular holes of the Thracian Cliffs golf course, eight run directly along the steeply sloping white chalk cliffs for four and a half kilometers to the north before returning to the resort at an even higher level. If you want to talk about a signature hole here, you would actually have to list all 18. For the designer, however, it is the 6th - a par 3 with a tee shot onto a green 40 meters below, right by the sea. My hook lands in the Bulgarian maquis, a colleague's slice never to be seen again in the sea. The next heart-stopping moment for the gentlemen comes right at the 7th: from the island tee, it's a carry 160 meters over the water to a seemingly tiny green.
One thing is for sure: this course is not for wimps, golfing rabbits or dreamers. Ladies with their straight strokes, on the other hand, have hit the jackpot and can safely hole out under the envious gaze of their male colleagues. That's why I had my proud 35 points framed!
The golf course, Perry tells us afterwards, was financed by a Bulgarian investor. Georgi Tsvetanski has put down 110 million euros. This also includes a luxury resort, the Marina Village with 64 suites and the Hillside Village with 87 suites and apartments, which are laid out like a village - with a view of the sea and golf course. Golf icon Gary has also bought a place there and appears about four times a year.
For the eye & for the score - Blacksearama
It is only a few minutes from our hotel to the 18-hole BlackSeaRama golf course - also designed by Gary Player, who created his second signature course from the combination of thousands of years of history and a seaside backdrop. The course was actually intended to be a links. The wildly blooming, extensive rough areas, which vary from poppy red to purple depending on the season, stand for this. We liked the first 9 best - especially the holes between 4 and 6, where a wetland biotope provides visual enhancement and a playful thrill on all three holes. The elevated ninth tee offers a great view over several holes, the natural stone clubhouse and the rippling sea below. The second nine has the sea in its sights on the 12th, 13th and 17th, while the 18th ends the course with a long par 3 of 211 meters with a panoramic view and a rich sea breeze.
The fact that ecology is taken seriously here can be seen from the fish ponds and vineyards along the first holes, which will soon be producing their own wine. To ensure that this 100 million euro project pays for itself, a boutique hotel and around 400 villas, some with their own pool and garden and fantastic views of the sea, have been built on the 100 hectare site above the cliff
Balchik on the Black Sea
The most famous fan of Balchik was certainly the Romanian Queen Marie of Edinburgh, the wife of Prince Ferdinand of Romania, the nephew of King Charles I of Romania and later King of Romania. She was so enthusiastic about Balchik's location that she had a small summer palace and botanical garden built in 1924 - with hundreds of different plants, trees and subtropical plants.
Right next to the castle, Anna Koleva invites us to taste wine in her "Queens Winery House", where we try some very unusual things: Wine with honey, with almonds, from watermelons, with rose oil, from frozen apples, smoked wine, brandy from pumpkin and much more.
But almost everything tastes great. The only thing missing is Bulgarian cuisine. Because, as they say, it has a few culinary surprises up its sleeve for us. Perry's wife Sandrina has the right tip - the "Korona" restaurant in the old town of Balchik.
Traditionally, Bulgarian food starts with a generous Schopska salad, peppers stuffed with feta cheese, eggplant puree and yoghurt or bean soup. After that, you've already had your fill, but the meal continues with grilled minced meat rolls or baniza, a puff pastry filled with sheep's cheese and eggs or any vegetables and herbs.
Another hot tip is mussels, which come directly from the "Dalboka farm" and are prepared in various ways. Traditional hard sausages such as Sudschuk, Lukana or Babek are also extremely tasty.
They are accompanied by good local beer or one of the well-known Bulgarian red wines such as Mavrud, Cabernet, Gamza or Merlot from Melnik. The dessert menu offers mainly sweet pastries - almost always with honey and to top it all off, a grape or plum brandy. Na zdrave - cheers!
Info under:
Perry Einfeldt
President and CEO
PE CONSULTING LTD
Vilna Zona Ovcharovski Plaj: Ulica 4ta, N 74
Balchik 9600
Bulgaria
Phone: +359 888 796 543
Fax: +49 3212 10 56 281
eMail: info@peconsulting-ltd.com
Golf packages at: www.golfreisen1a.com
