Last stop - Sofia!!
So, the last post of my European Adventure! And what a really lovely place to be telling you about: Sofia. The first journey I made in Bulgaria was from Ruse to Varna. I'd booked my ticket the day before (in person of course - none of these online shenanigans for me... or anyone else for that matter!) and turned up super early for my bus that left at 6.50am knowing that it was going to be leaving from sector 9.When I arrived, there were what seemed like far too many people for the minibus I was taking but there was also a bus going to София from sector 9 which seemed to be quite popular. I remember wondering what on earth this place was and being incredibly thankful that for once, Google translate gave me a meaningful translation converting this (at that point) incomprehensible word to Sofia.
As I've traveled around Bulgaria, many people have questioned why I would want to spend time in Sofia, and it wasn't until I got to Plovdiv that I met the first person who really liked it! But I'm generally of the opinion that people like different things and so I figured I was just going to go and make my own mind up. So on Friday last week, I took a bus that wouldn't have been out of place in the UK, from a bus station that wouldn't have been out of place in the UK and made my way to Bulgaria's capital city. It's pretty much the only time in the last 3 months that I've experienced this and made it feel like I was at the beginning of the end of my trip.
When we arrived, the weather was absolutely awful! Fortunately the snow that had been falling in that part of the country was no more, but it had turned into rain that was set to last for the next two days. But I had my waterproof and I had my brolly and there was no way a little bit (OK a lot) of water was going to stop me with 3 and a bit days to go. Or so I thought.
That night I headed out to have a quick look round and very soon decided that I didn't have sufficient waterproof clothing on for the walkabout to be even vaguely enjoyable and so I went for dinner and then back to the hostel to dry out! In the hostel room I met Sarah from Texas who had been volunteering in a dog shelter in Romania for a few weeks and was then traveling around Eastern Europe. We got on really well and so I donned my very wet shoes and we went for a 'couple' of drinks but had such a fun time that before we knew it, it was 1.30am and they were ready to shut up shop!
The following day, it was raining again but I was properly prepared to suck it up that day because I really didn't want to miss anything. It soon became pretty clear that it was a good thing that I'd decided to visit Sofia, when one of the first buildings I happened upon was the Sv Alexander Nevski Cathedral...
And around the corner from there was the Russian Church which was so beautiful...
It was incredibly cold that but I soldiered on round to the Communist's Palace...
And then discovered the Church of St George, the oldest church in Sofia and its associated ruins that has had other buildings erected around it!
The Sveta Nedelja Church...
The Palace of Justice...
And then by that point I was completely frozen to death so I had the first of a number of hot chocolates I consumed that day! Just as I went into the cafe, the rain increased in intensity to the point that it really wasn't going to be any fun walking around outside anymore and as I was pretty close to the National Palace of Culture which the guy in the hostel had highly recommended...
I decided to take a wander down there to see what was so impressive. When I'd arrived in Sofia, I'd asked him if there were any Christmas Markets on in the capital but I couldn't make myself understood as to what I meant by a Christmas Market. As such he'd kindly given me details of every regular market where I might be able to buy Christmas presents and I didn't have the heart to keep telling him that wasn't what I meant by a Christmas Market so just let him say his thing and figured I'd google it! Google told me that the Sofia Christmas Market was in the Borisova Gardens but as it turns out, the National Palace of Culture was holding a huge Christmas Market too. It was amazing and I was gutted that I was traveling with a rucksack as there was a) no way I had enough room in my luggage to fit in everything I wanted to buy; and b) all the stuff I liked was fragile and would have broken in transit! But it was still wonderful walking round it and seeing all the beautiful handmade goods.
When I'd finished, the rain had let up a bit and so I decided to see if the Borisova Gardens also had a market on and headed in what I thought was the right direction, until I realised I was walking in completely the wrong direction, having taken the wrong exit in one of the underpasses I'd had to use to cross a road! However, in the tradition of this trip, it didn't turn out to be a bad detour as it took me to a shopping centre which had a CCC shoe store which I'd been looking out for as they had great boots and I'd decided to treat myself to a pair!
After that, I headed in the right direction to the gardens but either google was wrong and there wasn't a Christmas Market on there, or I didn't find it, which is entirely possible as the gardens were huge!!
By this point, the rain, which had let up for a while had started again and so I decided to get some dinner and head back to the hostel to dry out!
The following day I did the Free Sofia Walking Tour and as with the previous day, it was raining constantly. It is testament to how fantastic Nora, our guide, was in that everyone stuck it out for the full 2.5hrs in the rain! She was so enthusiastic and in addition to the places I'd seen the day before, we also went to see the Banya Bashi Mosque...
Some more of the Roman ruins...
And we ended up at Hagia Sofia.
So, interestingly, Sofia was originally called Serdika, its name changed to Sofia because of this church. In earlier times, the main church of a city usually had the same name of the city. However, in Serdika, the main church, and the first building that people encountered on their way into the city was called Hagia Sofia. People visiting would stop off, be awed by the church and remember its name but not necessarily the name Serdika so when asked where they'd been, they would say 'the place by Hagia Sofia...' which eventually became 'Sofia' and hence the name of the city changed! However, this church didn't have a bell tower and it wasn't really possible to add one but the bell from the main church in a town was the one that would be rung to alert the people to freedom in times of unrest. So they improvised and did no more than mounted a bell in the tree opposite... Necessity being the mother of invention and all that!!
After my walking tour I did a bit more meandering and then once dark, went to the night market...
Which was located next to the Ivan Vasoz National Theatre which was really pretty at night (and also in daylight too).
The following day was the last full day of my trip and after having to ask three different reception staff in my hostel I managed to book onto a tour to the Rila Monastery, one of the key places I'd wanted to visit in Bulgaria. The trip was organised by a sister hostel to the one I was staying in so on Monday morning I headed over to Hostel Mostel having had the most awful night's sleep for fear I wouldn't wake up in time! I spoke to the trip organiser and it turned out that the guy from my hostel who said he had, didn't actually book me on the tour! I was both livid and gutted at the same time. The Hostel Mostel guy said it wasn't unusual for people to drop out but that morning he'd seen everyone that was booked on the tour so wasn't expecting any spare spots. I figured I'd wait and see if luck was on my side and as it turns out, it was. A guy from Hostel Mostel who had booked on the tour that day was going to be staying in Sofia another 4 days and he incredibly kindly offered to go on the tour the next day so that I could go on Monday. What an absolute sweetheart!
Around 1.5 hours later, as we were winding our way through the mountains and I was eating mints as if they were going out of fashion to try to keep the contents of stomach in place I wasn't so sure I was pleased about it, but then we arrived and all my doubts were instantly erased! Rila Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There has been a monastery on this site since the 14th century but the current buildings were erected in the 1800s. As soon as I saw the entrance, I just knew this was going to be the perfect place to visit on the last day of my European Adventure...
Below is a picture of the monastery...
The sleeping quarters for the monks are on the upper floors of the complex...
Covering the walls of the monastery were some of the most amazing frescoes I've seen in all my time away. Some examples of them are below...
And if the frescoes weren't enough, there were lovely details on the buildings themselves such as the copper paneling...
And on the drain pipes!
The monastery had its own post office, medical facility and police station, and whilst I know they need to have communication channels, the satellite dish amused me no end...
It really was the most perfect day to end my trip and so I decided to have a special meal to end the day. I can only really go by reviews and I liked those that were for a restaurant called Checkpoint Charlie. The promise of good food, good wine and jazz music really appealed to me and so I took myself off there. When I walked in, the first song that they played was the Julie London version of 'Fly me to the moon' which to my mind, is the best version of this song, rather than Frank Sinatra (although obviously this is a good one too!) and then it was followed by a string of Nat King Cole hits, yet another of my favourites! I then had a wonderful meal of grilled sea bream with a delicious sauvignon blanc followed by a chocolate fondant and a glass of Courvoisier. It really was the most perfect end to the day!
The following day I packed up, headed to the airport and flew home! The last three months have been wonderful. I feel so incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit the countries I have and meet the people I did. But it doesn't stop here of course. In January I fly to Buenos Aires for my South American Adventure! As those of you who have been with me from the start of my career break will know that this year isn't just about exploring new places, this is a trip to help with my personal development and my aims for this trip are always at the back of my mind. Whilst away I really feel like I'm changing but it's being back in my usual environment that I figure I'll know whether this is really the case or not! So stay tuned and if I haven't made my mind up on this soon, on 9th January I fly to South America where I'll get to explore this some more and I'll be sharing my adventures from there with you until June 2018!
Comments
Post a Comment