Satellite
  • Day 33

    Sofía: The Jewel of Eastern Europe

    August 31, 2017 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Early in the morning we started out for Sofía, Bulgaria, along with three Serbian men in a shuttle bus. Half way through our four hour journey we reached the border of Serbia and Bulgaria. Serbian immigration officers didn’t seem bothered about what or who was leaving the country, but Bulgarian immigration officers interrogated us much more, even more than the Serbian men who were traveling with us – and they probably fit the criminal stereotype more than we did! You can’t trust those damn Aussies!

    Sofía is a relatively small city, with a population of just over one and half million people. While the city isn’t as big as Prague or Budapest, it doesn’t have the swarming tourists and congestion on the streets. The people also seemed a little more helpful and the cars didn’t want to mow you down as you crossed the streets.

    Immediately Ricky was excited by the Roman ruins scattered around the city. One of the highlights for him was a tour of the Roman necropolis underneath the Church of St Sofía, a tenth century church that was built on top of earlier Roman churches. The tombs dated from the late second to the late fourth century CE. Near our accommodation we explored the ancient city of Serdika, which had been built by the Romans during the reign of Constantine the Great and had only recently been discovered. Some of the other tourist attractions that we visited included: Ivan Vazov National Theatre, Sofía Central Mineral Baths, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Boyana Church, Church of St George and Largo (the National Assembly of Bulgaria), where we witnessed the changing of the guard.

    A constant theme through our travels is that we keep being mistaken for German tourists. Not sure what makes people think this but it’s becoming a running joke. The other theme of our travels is the constant battle to find postcards, stamps and a mail box. English is relatively limited in the former Eastern Block countries, except for the youth, who when asked if they speak English respond with “of course”, or sometimes “a little “, and often with a very thick accent. When we stumbled upon a shop that sold postcards we immediately bought them, thinking that we may never see any others. The woman in the shop could only speak Bulgarian and German and gave us instructions on how to find the Post Office in German. Ricky’s grade 8 German meant we understood some of the instructions – we knew we had to go to the end of the Street and there would be a big building but then we were at a loss as to whether it was left or right. With some assistance from Google Maps, we eventually made it to the Post Office but then the fun began. Which room do you buy stamps from? Going from room to room asking for stamps and sometimes not being steered in the right direction, we made it to the right section of the building. The Post Office experiences have provided some entertainment and adventures for us, and we have even found helpful strangers who were willing to give us suggestions on places to see and go.

    Another theme has been testing all kinds of beers, usually at ridiculously low prices (around 50-80 cents per 500ml). While Jason was a non-drinker before our gaycation, he’s become quite a drunkard on cheap Eastern European beer, yearning to taste the yellow ale at any opportunity.

    Next stop: Thessaloniki
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