Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria and was founded 7000B.C by the Thracian tribes. Since then it was ruled and occupied by many different superpowers, including the Romans and the Ottomans. In fact many Roman ruins sit directly under the center of Sofia. As they build subways and hotels they continue to discover ancient ruins. As was the case of the Arena Sofia hotel which began construction in 2004 only to find a Roman Amphitheater about 15 feet underground.

Bulgaria has had a diverse political situation. They were once the republic of Bulgaria which gave way to the Ottoman invasion and occupation up to the 19th century. The Russians helped Bulgaria win their independence from the Ottomans in the early 20th century. From there Bulgaria was Communist for over 45 years from 1946 to 1990 when they won their independence and are now a democracy. Today the country still has a pro-Putin political party, a pro socialist party, and an ethnic Turkish party. Those 3 make up about 40% of the votes in the last election, which happened during our stay in Sofia. They are soundly in the minority as other 2 main parties got about 50% of the votes together.

We took a very interesting Communist tour in Sofia where our guide pointed out historical sites and people of impact. When we landed in Sofia we were not sure what to expect. We knew very little about the city and country outside of our experience last year visiting northern Bulgaria. Bulgaria is supposedly one of the poorest countries in Europe and yet prices for restaurants and groceries remain relatively high compared to the rest of Europe. To provide an example restaurants averaged the same cost as Italy, groceries are cheaper in Germany a much more developed nation than Bulgaria. This is due to political instability, corruption, inflation, logistical issues and proximity to the war in Ukraine. However one thing is for certain,

Sofia is a beautiful city with a population of 1.2 million. We were a bit caught off guard at its beauty. They have numerous parks throughout Central Sofia, grand buildings from the early and late 1900s, very little tourism from outside their nation, and beautiful street art, that give this city a relaxed yet grand feeling. It was lovely and perhaps one of our favorite cities of the Balkans. Sofia has also been known for centuries as having "yellow brick roads" for streets.Читать далее