Adventures in Europe: Sofia, Bulgaria

Finally, on my third try, I made it to Sofia!

The Marriot Turkish Airlines had put me up in is close to the Istanbul airport, but not exactly right next door.  The front desk told me to catch the 6:00 shuttle, but I decided I could probably get away with the 7:00 and steal an extra hour of sleep.  Actually, because I had not been told what time my flight would be, I was just assuming it was going to be at 8:35--the first scheduled flight to Sofia.

Turns out I assumed wrong on both counts--taking the 7:00 was a huge mistake, because traffic was awful, and I did not get to the airport until 7:25.  Turkish Airlines say they cut off check-in an hour before flight time, so if I had in fact been flying at 8:35, I would have been too late.  Thankfully, they had arranged a second flight to Sofia, at 8:45, and, after running through the airport, I managed to make check in.

Once in Sofia I noted that the only two canceled flights from yesterday were the two I was supposed to be on, so that just confirmed the suspicious-ness of Turkish Airlines blaming weather.  They were the only airline whose planes could not land.

Anyway, I was not going to let my frustration spoil my visit.

I caught the metro from outside the airport.

Unfortunately my guesthouse booking had been canceled, so I had to find somewhere to stay.  I did not want to waste a lot of time choosing a place, so I opted for a hostel near the city centre called Ivory Tower.

I checked in, dropped my bag, and headed out to see Sofia.  What a beautiful city!

It was about 0 degrees Celsius, but a lovely sunny day nonetheless, and a perfect day for walking around as a tourist.

After a stop at the post office, I came by this great pedestrian street, where, in front of the library, apparently every single day there are booksellers.

I excitedly identified these gentlemen as Freud and Jung, but later searched Google and found out I was wrong.  In fact, they are a famous Bulgarian literary father and son (I forget their names).

I happened to need a new novel to read, and most of the booksellers had a box or two of English titles, so I found a book and carried on my touring.

This gorgeous building is Bulgaria's National Theater.

The Cathedral Saint Alexandar Nevski is probably Sofia's most famous building, an absolutely beautiful church dating from the late 19th century, and one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in the world with a capacity of over 10,000!  I cicrlced it before going inside (where pictures were forbidden).

After the cathedral it was time for lunch, and I decided to enjoy myself.  I took a seat by the window of the second floor of a restaurant across the street from this beautiful little Russian church.

Then I ordered some dishes from the lunch menu, including a Bulgarian beer, . . .

. . . shopska salad, . . .

. . . and what Bulgarians call "mish-mash"--roasted peppers, onions, cheese, and egg.

I also had bread and dessert and coffee and left extremely satisfied.

After lunch I began museum-hopping.  First, back to the Nevski Cathedral, and this time down into the crypt, where there is an icon museum.

Next, another church, Temple Sveta Sofia, this one with origins going back to the 6th century.

While fairly boring on the outside, at least compared to the Nevski, this church's highlight is the archaeological work underneath.

In essence, there was an original church, which was added on to, built over top of, and so on.  Sofia was actually a fairly important city in early Christianity (Constantine considered making it his capital instead of Byzantium), and this church was for much of its history the most important church in Sofia.

The most impressive part of the "ruins" to me were the mosaics, some of which were nearly intact.

My next stop was not a musuem per se, but actually a hotel!  Called Arena di Serdica Hotel, it appears to be a very nice hotel, and during its construction, ruins of Sofia's Roman era amphitheater were discovered and incorporated into the hotel design!  The doormen were very welcoming when I asked to look inside.

As I continued my walk I passed some gorgeous public buildings.

In a courtyard created by some of these public buildings, including the presidential offices, there are Roman ruins, and Sofia's oldest building, the Church of St. George.  I went inside, but I could not take pictures, which seems to be typical of the Orthodox churches I have been going to.

Not far away, below street level near the main metro station known as Serdica (which was Sofia's name in Roman times), there are more Roman ruins that you can walk around.

My favourite museum of the day was the Sofia city museum, which is in the building that used to house Sofia's public mineral baths.  Lucky me, Thursday is a free day!

The museum included exhibits on Sofia's political, religious, economic, and transportation history, and all of them include English.  It was very well organized and presented, and the history of Sofia is very interesting.

Outside the museum, there are still fountains where apparently people come in the summer to get the mineral water.

Also in front of the museum is a mosque.  Interestingly, within a few blocks around the Serdica metro station, there is this mosque, a synagogue (which I did not get a picture of), an Orthodox cathedral, and a Catholic Cathedral.

My final museum of the day was the Archaeology Museum, which happens to be housed in an old mosque from the city's Ottoman days.

I returned to my hostel before heading out for dinner.  After my wonderful Bulgarian lunch I was excited to eat more Bulgarian food, so I went to a place recommended by the guy at my hostel called Mehana Mamin Kolyo.

I started with a cold eggplant salad, and . . .

 . . . ate lamb done in the "St George style," which as I understand is a dish traditionally eaten on St. George's day (and apparently lamb prices often go up accordingly around St. George's day!).

I was completely stuffed by the time I was done; it was a big meal!