We are about half-way through our trip and Sofia is our last stop in Eastern Europe. Our next stop is in Thessaloniki and then Athens in Greece. From Greece, we'll take the ferry to Italy. From Italy, we'll keep going west through France, Spain and Portugal.
Not many tourists come to Sofia, as you can tell by the number of people who speak English. We arrived by train from Bucharest at almost 10 pm in the evening and after asking about half-a-dozen people we finally found someone who can or is willing to tell us where we can buy tickets for the tram and where the stop is. Some of the Bulgarians told us that the older generation generally speak Russian. When we got to the hostel, we found the staff all speak excellent English.
We stayed in a hostel called Hostel Mostels, about 10 minutes by tram from the train station. Before WWII it was a Country Inn but during the war it was occupied by the Nazis as an administrative office and then occupied by the Soviets. It opened a few years ago and it's like a big dormitory. All the co-ed rooms sleep 6 or 8. It can take up to about 150 people a day. It costs about $17 per person per night and it comes with free breakfast and pasta dinner with a glass of beer. This is one of the cheapest places we've stayed and one of the liveliest as well. You find all kinds of travelers from all over the world traveling in the region: Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, etc. Most of them concentrate in a small region for 2-3 weeks and some for a few months. I met a retired school-teacher from Taiwan and a Floridian in his 50s' or 60s' riding his "fold-up bicycle" in the region. Both were traveling alone.
I followed a "Free Walking Tour" in Sofia. I found these "free" walking tours to be excellent way to learn about a city. The guides are usually very knowledge and energetic. Their tips depend on how well they are received by the tourists. The tours usually last about 2-3 hours. It takes you to the highlights of the city.
Sofia itself is not a big city. But, it reflects the multi-cultural and multi-religious makeup of Bulgaria. Although most of the Bulgarians are Orthodox Christians, you find signs of the Islamic faith. It was ruled by the Ottoman Turks for about 500 years. You still find Turkish baths in the city.
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| Alexander Nevski Cathedral |
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| An Old Ruin in the city |
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| Bania Bashir Mosque |
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| Central Market |
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| Olives are popular here |
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| So-called Ladies Market |
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| Natural warm spring water provided free |
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