bulgaria

Highlights of 3 Days in Sofia, Bulgaria

I had three days between a Danube river cruise that ended in Sophia and the beginning of a trip to Romania. My first challenge was to figure out a way to get from Sophia to Bucharest. 

I went online and found that an airline, which is the national airline of Romania, called Tarom flies from Sophia to Bucharest. I am usually hesitant to fly national airlines of other countries if they do not fly to the United States. If an airline flies to the United States, it is required to meet all U.S. safety standards. I was very pleased to discover that Tarom is a member of the Delta Alliance and immediately booked a ticket.

Once I had my flight booked, I could set making plans for my time in Sofia. I decided that the first day I would just sort of hang out and recalibrate and recoup from my busy cruise.

 My first day began with a funeral at the Hagia Nedelja Church which is across the square from the Sofia Balkan Hotel where I was staying. The church was built in the 10th century.  As I was taking pictures several well dressed people were entering the church all of whom were carrying flowers. An older woman was trying to explain to me what was happening but she spoke no English so she called a priest over. He was trying to explain that it was a service for "going on" and as I turned around there was the corpse in an open casket who had been rolled in while I was talking. I was invited to remain and even placed some flowers on the corpse.

I then wandered Vitosha Boulevard which is the main shopping street in Sofia. It is filled with chic stores, bars and restaurants.I was looking for my two favorite European clothing stores, Zara and Benetton, because their European merchandise is so much more fashionable and fun than their American merchandise. My prized purchase was a dark yellow soft leather tote with a wide shoulder bag style strap, VERY Italian.

Because I knew exactly where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see during my time in Bulgaria, I thought it would be more efficient to hire a  car and driver rather than taking tours.

On my second morning, promptly at the agreed upon time, my driver/guide appeared wearing a grey Benetton long sleeve T-shirt with grey shoes, very stylish. He had  graduated from University 3 years ago with degrees in Logistics and Traffic Management. He is now a supervisor at the car company but does not like being in the office so tries to get out and drive as much as possible. We had very interesting conversations on a wide variety of subjects and his English was excellent. 

Our first stop was Boyana Church which is located in the  Vitosha Mountains south of Sofia, amidst a beautiful green setting of tall, old pines including two American giant Sequoias. Access to the church is restricted and only allowed with a guide who is available on arrival.  No picture taking is allowed inside the church. Boyana Church is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox Church built in the Middle Ages. It has wonderful murals, 89 scenes with 240 human figures, the work of unknown artists.

At the beginning of the fourth century, Emperor Constantine the Great wanted the capital of the Eastern Romain Empire to be in Serdika (Sofia) but he was over ruled. A small Byzantium town on the Bosphorus (Byzantium) was chosen. We now know that town as Constantinople or currently as Istanbu

 The church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979.

Our next stop was the Rila Monastery which is the largest Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It was founded in honor of St.John of Rila ( 876 - 946 AD). He is also known as St. Ivan of Rila and was the first hermit of Bulgaria. He spent the last 20 years of his life praying in relative solitude and was declared a saint while he was still alive

During the 10th century, his students built the monastery in his memory It was destroyed, robbed, and razed by fire but it emerged from the ashes. It was re-erected by a feudal lord between the 12th and14th centuries and rebuilt again in the 15th century.

On the outside, the Monastery resembles a medieval fortress. The stone walls are 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick and are up to 24 meters (79 feet) high at some points. The monastery is divided into six sections by means of fire proof walls with iron gates built into them. In case of fire the gates could be closed to prevent the fire from spreading. The kitchen prepared food for the thousands of worshipers who gathered on religious holidays.

The walls of the church and the outside gallery are covered with murals. The murals in the gallery are of text  from the Old and New Testaments. Currently the monastery includes a museum, monk cells, a library filled with rare manuscripts, and four chapels. Its domes , black and white architecture, and medieval paintings make it a masterpiece of Medieval Bulgarian Architecture. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983.

 I spent hours just wandering around, which is a big advantage of exploring on your own, enjoying the peaceful aura of the place.

On the third day, the driver/guide appeared, once again promptly, in a dark red Benetton T-shirt with matching dark red shoes.

 We went to the city of Plovdiv, the second largest city and the economic capital of Bulgaria. Plovdiv  is built around 7 hills and is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, dating back to the 6th millennium BCE. My walk began in the upper city, the old town, with its cobblestone streets. Accessibility can be an issue. There is a barrier preventing non- residents from driving into the old town which is still pretty much of a residential area. However, the general atmosphere of the place, the multicolored beauty of the old houses, and the architecture was very unique and not to be missed. I also found several small shops selling locally made china. There were very interesting back yards with their caches of “antiques” for sale. The streets are steep in places and the cobblestones uneven, but worth every minute of cautious walking. The old town is completely different than the New City with all its shopping areas and all the stores and restaurants.

It was extremely hot, 30 degrees C (approx 90 F).  On my way down to the New City I found an open restaurant with a white canvass top. There was a lovely green park behind the restaurant and a cool breeze. Lunch was a cold beer and one of my favorite meals to eat in ITALY: a salad of lettuce, tuna, corn and fresh tomato. The tomatoes in Bulgaria are unbelievable, they actually have "meat" inside and taste like ours tasted  before GMO's.

In addition to great food and excellent service, the  restaurant had a  view of the Roman Stadium Square. The square is where the two main pedestrianized streets meet. The Stadium was built during the reign of Emperor Hadian. It has well preserved, marble seats arranged in 14 rows in the northern curved part of the stadium. The stadium is set below the current street level. The stadium was discovered in 1923 after part of it was seen after a mudslide. Most of the stadium has not been excavated and is under the foundation of actual houses.

After lunch I decided to walk along the pedestrian street. I immediately found a shop with the most unique clothing which was relatively inexpensive but of nice quality . A fast try on led to a quick decision and 3 new fab t-shirts.

I found the car parked under a tree in the shade at the agreed upon time and two hours later I was back at the hotel. Hiring a car and driver is my preferred way to travel as it gives me the freedom to wander at will, talk to as many local people that I can, and pick up unique items that I simply cannot find at home.

After last minute packing, I walked around the corner of the hotel to my favorite outdoor restaurant,  One last Bulgarian beer and salad and I was ready to start my next adventure with a flight on the Romanian Airline, Tarom from Sofia to Bucharest.