Bulgaria
Sofia University

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    • Day 7

      Churches, Churches, Churches...

      August 12, 2019 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

      No, not the band. Sofia is Church capital! Most charge you to take photos, but we managed to do some sneaky ones.

      Plus another panorama outside the oldest church in Sofia, St Sofia Church. The city is named after it and it was first built in 5 A.D.

      The big one in the background with gold dome is the Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral
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    • Schöne Gotteshäuser

      March 28, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ 🌬 5 °C

      Heute schneit es und wir haben eiskalten Wind. Von Sofia aus schauen man auf schneebedeckte Berge. Wir verbringen viel Zeit am Hauptbahnhof von Sofia um unsere weitere Tour zu planen und in 4 Gotteshäuser.
      Den Nachmittag und Abend sind wir im Apartment mit der Planung wie es für uns weiter geht beschäftigt sowie Wäsche waschen, soziale Kontakte pflegen, Datensicherung .....
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    • Day 327

      Saint Sofia church, Sofia Bulgaria

      March 31, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      St Sophia Church is one of few preserved Christian basilicas in Bulgaria.
      The church was built in the 6th century on the site of several earlier churches predating it from the 4th century. After the occupation by the Ottomans in the 14th century it was rebuilt to include a minerat as it was converted into a mosque. During the earthquakes of 1818 and 1858 the minerat fell killing the imams son. That was seen as a bad omen and it was soon after abandoned.
      Today it serves as one of the oldest and most valuable historical sites of Sofia from the Roman period. It is located in the centre of the holiest place of the centuries old city, the "Serdika Necropolis". Beneath the church itself lies the archeological level showing the remains of ancient mosaics and previous foundations and burial areas from the 4th century.

      On a side note Serdica was the ancient name given to Sofia, Bulgaria. Bulgaria is one of the oldest countries in Europe and the city of Sofia or Serdica as it once was known as predates the Romans. The name comes from the celtic tribe that called this area Serdi. Neolithic burials were found before that up until 6000 BC. It was even said that Constantine the Great loved Serdica so much that he was considering making it the capital of his empire before settling on Constantinople now modern day Istanbul. For more info in Serdica see here; https://slowtravelblog.com/serdica-lost-city/
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    • Day 32

      Sofia

      October 21, 2019 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      On the first day in the capital of Bulgaria I escaped the hustle and bustle of the city and took the cable car to the nearby Witoscha Mountain (2290m). I was accompanied by a belgian guy, who I met in Belgrad before and did so coincidentally in Sofia again. He is on his way to Istanbul to improve his skills with the ney, a special turkish flute. As he brought it up the mountain, I benefited from a private concert.Read more

    • Day 328

      Sofia, Bulgaria

      April 1, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      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.
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    • Day 26

      Walking Communism

      September 29, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Unfortunately, as the Red Flat Museum was busy, I went to get 🍦and sit in the ☀️ until it was time to start the walking tour...😁

      This tour was about narrative, not 📸 and has left me with lots and lots of questions to find out more. A clip of Lenin himself summarises the sentiment of Communist ideology: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Lenin



      But what did Leninism leave out, alter or add which Marxism did not? How did this impact this ideology? How do you stop power abuses to achieve its aims? Is it democracy or an alternative? Should we stop at Socialism?...alot more to read and ponder...
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    • Day 7

      Auf den Spuren des Kommunismus - Sofia

      July 26, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

      Der Bus hat uns zwei Germanen mitgenommen und uns aus dem heißen Griechenland entführt ins schöne Bulgarien. Sehr bergig und sehr grün👍. Angekommen hat Mette sich ins Bahnhofsviertel verliebt :) weil es dort so sicher ist.
      Die Stadt ist sehr zurückhaltend und irgendwie net so wie eine Hauptstadt, aber das mag ich. Es fühlt sich so an als wäre man in Berlin Kreuzberg oder so, nur ohne jeglichen Trubel. Man merkt die kommunistische Vergangenheit und irgendwie fühlt sich das so alles an wie in einem nicht wahr gewordenen Traum. Am Ende war Mette doch überzeugt, nachdem wir in einem hippen Viertel und in einer Speakeasy Bar waren🤐. Für alle Miniatur Fetischisten die die DM Abteilung lieben, s. 3. Bild
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    • Day 32

      Sofia - Das Mittelmeer kommt näher

      June 23, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      Mit dem Zug gings von Bukarest nach Sofia. Hatte schon ruhigere Fahrten, dieses Mal waren 2 kleine Kinder dabei. Aber naja, Kopfhörer und einfach mal aus dem Fenster schauen hilft dagegen eigentlich schon ganz gut, die Landschaft war echt schön.

      Hatte nur einen vollen Tag in Sofia, da ich erst abends angekommen bin und 10 Stunden Zugfahren, irgendwie doch anstrengend sind und am Samstag früh morgens nach Thessaloniki fahre.

      Denn Freitag habe ich dann aber doch gut genutzt, morgens mal wieder meine Wäsche gemacht und Mittags habe ich dann eine Stadtführung gemacht.
      Dort habe ich dann Margreet aus den Niederlanden kennengelernt und wir haben uns danach dann noch die Stadt etwas genauer und ein paar Kirchen von innen angeschaut. Leider war es aber verboten von innen Fotos zu machen, außer man zahlt 5€:)

      Eine echt interessante Stadt, beim Bau der Metro wurden dauernd alte Sachen aus der Römerzeit gefunden, um die man dann rum bauen musste und die man sich jetzt anschauen kann. In der Stadt sollen wohl schon vor circa 8000 Jahren Menschen gelebt haben, was es somit zu einer der ältesten Städte Europas macht. Hier waren und sind alle möglichen Religionen vertreten, was man auch an den Kirchen sieht.

      In Sofia gibt's eigentlich echt viel zu sehen, die Stadt ist riesig.
      Hab aber auch schon schönere Städte in Europa gesehen, hätte wahrscheinlich eher in kleineren Städten Halt machen sollen.

      Was solls. Ab nach Thessaloniki.
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    • Day 2

      Monumento Vasil Levski

      April 1, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

      Sofia
      L’obelisco situato su piazza Vasil Levski è stato realizzato sullo stesso luogo dove avvenne l’impiccagione dell’eroe nazionale nel 1873. Per il resto la piazza è una grande rotonda che rappresenta uno degli svincoli stradali principali a ridosso del centro storico. Il monumento risulta così circondato da auto che sfrecciano e da palazzi in stile socialista che conferiscono alla piazza un'atmosfera particolare.Read more

    • Day 4

      Chiesa di Santa Sofia

      April 3, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

      Sofia
      ...e piazza
      Chiesa spoglia, destituita del suo ruolo sotto l'impero ottomano.
      Entro per fare il turista e una donna mi assale, manco avessi stuprato la Vergine. "Non si possono fare foto! È sacrilego!"
      Per 'sti quattro sassi? Una delle poche volte in vita mia che non ho voluto farne altre...
      Nota: ci sarebbe dovuta essere la parte museale. "È aperta" mi dico...aperta col lucchetto chiuso!
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