Baba Marta Welcomes German Tourists

[Charlotte]

The first 150 guests who will open the new summer season in Albena ( the Black Sea coast) arrive on March 1. ( This is the Day of Baba Marta or Grandma Marta. It's an ancient Bulgarian custom to wear red and white tassels - martenitsi - during the month of March, as a symbol of good health and fertility.)

The information came from the Marketing and Sales department of the resort. The tourists come from Germany and their visit has been organized by the German tour operator Verreisen. Bulgarians decided to present the tourists with martenitsi and tell them the legend of Baba Marta.

Verreisen is a tour operator that specializes in spa tourism. Another tour operator, called Resort Club working with the Bulgarian seaside resort Albena will bring a group of 70 German tourists on March 13. Tourists brought by the Austrian tour operator Senioren Reisen will visit the Bulgarian resort from April 11 to April 17. The Austrian Pensioners' Union will organize the trip of 6500 guests. Last year, the Austrians chose once again the Albena Resort after their vacation was spoled by the mass construction on the Bulgarian southern Black Sea coast. The first Frenchmen arrive on April 29. Tourists from other countries are expected on May 5 and May 6.

Krastina Marinova

www.standartnews.com

[Suzanne]

Germans Dance Rumba on the Beach

The first tourists for the season were welcomed with martenitsas (twined white and red threads with tassels at the end, worn on March 1) and bagpipes

The first tourists for the season at the Bulgarian seaside will enjoy Latin dances and massages. One hundred and fifty pensioners arrived on a charter flight from Leipzig yesterday.
They will stay two weeks at the Dobroudzha hotel in Albena (northern Black Sea coast) which provides renovated balneologic facilities for its guests. The newest acquisition of the center is a hall for rumba and cha-cha. The German tourists will dance to the sound of sultry Latin rhythms in front of huge crystal mirrors. In the summer the guests of the hotel will have the opportunity to join groups for jazz ballet.
The German tourist who first stepped on Bulgarian soil confided that some 20 years ago she spent her vacation in our country and was fascinated by the wonderful seaside and the beautiful Bulgarian mountains.
All the tourists were decorated with martenitsas on their arrival at the Varna airport (northern Black sea). Charming girls dressed in folk costumes treated the holiday- makers to the traditional for Bulgaria bread and salt which are believed to bring the people who sample them health and prosperity. The sounds of a bagpipe welcomed the German guests.

Krastina Marinova
Dobromir Radushev

www.standartnews.com