We would very much like to return to the places we visited and see some new sights. Next time we think we will fly into Athens and come up through northern Greece into Bulgaria. Maybe Mike can meet us in southern Bulgaria.

Does anybody have any experience on this route, using public transportation? It looks like one could take a bus or train from Thessaloniki in Greece to Marikostinovo (Kulata?) or Sandanski in Bulgaria.

A couple of young travelers in Romania told us some horror stories about taking a bus from Turkey into Bulgaria. Sounds like the bus was hauling drugs.

We had an "interesting" experience going from Bulgaria to Romania on the train. See detail under Romania above. It worked out fine in the end. But it was the kind of encounter we would choose to shy away from if we could.