Bulgaria

Who knows anything about Bulgaria? Not us. Only that yoghurt comes from there. And this is not unimportant - we were told a number of times how the Bulgarians invented yoghurt and how many aliments can be cured by Bulgarian yoghurt. 

It turned out to be absolutely fine, and apart from the noisey kid in the front, we had a pleasant trip through northern Greece, which looks a lot like Mpumalanga, actually. At the border we all had to file out past the border control, where we were interrogated a bit on the Bulgarian side before being sent on to the restaurant on the other side, hoping that our bus and our belongings would follow soon. They did, and we headed on to the capital. 

Our short walk from the metro to our AirBnB spot was interspersed with “Wow, look at that!”, “Check over there!” and so forth, as there seemed to be amazing buildings, sculptures and edifices around every corner. 

Once we had settled in we had to do some rapid research on what to do with our three days in Sofia. Fortunately (or unfortunately), there are hundreds of things to do in the city. We were also very fortunate to find www.sofiaadventures.com, a travel blog by two Americans living in Sofia who provided us with all the critical intel we needed.  The first two activities that appealed were the free walking tour of Sofia and the free Balkan Bites food tour. The walking tour is run by an NGO, www.freesofiatours.com, passionate about promoting tourism in Sofia, and operates these tours free-of-charge 365 days a year; while the free food tour has deals with several local restaurants and operates on tips. 

Our walking tour guide, Viki, gave us a short history of Bulgaria and its people in a very human and amusing way. She decried the corrupt and irrational government, admitted to the Bulgarian love of garlic, yoghurt and conspiracy theories, and laughed at the Bulgarian habit of being late. From her and other Bulgarians we came across, we got a view of Bulgarians as introverted, but humorous people who don’t take themselves too seriously.  As we had witnessed on our arrival, Sofia is absolutely crammed with historical buildings and other sites of interest. On our short tour, some of the sites included the Justice Palace, Sveta Nedelya Church, the Roman ruins of Serdica, the Statue of St Sophia (amusing story – see below), the catholic Cathedral of St Joseph,  Banya Bashi Mosque,  Sofia Synagogue (all four important religious sites are visible from Tolerance Square), the thermal baths (now a museum), the thermal fountains (where locals fill up on the healing water), the last Tsar’s palace (converted from a police station to save money), former headquarters of the Communist party (now the Bulgarian Parliament, St George’s Rotunda  (oldest building in Sofia), Ivan Vasov (interesting guy) National Theatre, the Hagia Sofia Church (after which the city is named) and the impressive St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral – all in 2 hours! I challenge any city in the world to beat that.

The afternoon food tour was led by our young guide, Ivo, who took us to some interesting restaurants in the city centre while explaining the Bulgarian and broader Balkan food culture (hint: lots of yoghurt and garlic). First stop was a ‘soup bar’, of which there are many in Sofia, to sample a cold cucumber soup with…yoghurt and garlic! It was also flavoured with walnuts and dill and was very tasty. Then we tried a Bulgarian white wine at a wine bar where they have wine in barrels on tap – you just bring a refillable bottle, pay for the wine, go off and drink it in a local park, come back, fill and repeat. Genius.  Third stop was for a traditional Bulgarian pastry called banitsa - very like little vetkoeks, dusted in icing sugar. Next up was a pancake filled with two kinds of Bulgarian cheese, served up at a trendy new food hall. Finally, we went to a very traditional Bulgarian restaurant, Hadjidragonov’s Cellars, for a tray of different types of delicious appetizers. A great exposure to some Bulgarian fare and by the end of the day we felt truly spoilt.

Travelling north to Bulgaria also meant descending back into the cold of an Eastern European winter and in has started to snow quite heavily on our first morning there. Thankfully, Bulgaria is known for its many thermal springs, leading to the next one of ‘Mom’s Crazy Ideas’ – a day outing to a Bulgarian hot spring (in minus 5 degrees). We taxied just beyond the city edge, into a landscape of snow-covered pines and a lake frozen at the edges. We changed into costumes, wrapped ourselves in our jackets and headed over snow and frozen ground past the solid ice ‘kiddies pool’ towards the steaming thermal pool. The loungers lay under 10cm of snow so we put our towels gingerly on the floor and dipped toes to check the temperature. 35 degrees is enough to give a shiver of pleasure as we fell into the water like excited hippos. We explored the cave, found the hot water inlets, watched our fellow bathers, listened to the blend of Bulgarian pop and 80’s covers, and had to keep going under the warm water to stop our ears and noses from aching with cold. A local was bathing with a red beanie on – clearly not his first rodeo! We kept postponing getting out, but after nearly 3 hours, our hands and feet were more wrinkle than skin, so we summoned our strength and climbed out into the stinging cold, the 40-degree temperature difference shocking our systems. Our towels were frozen, and the dash back to the basic but warm changing rooms was wide-eyed and shallow-breathed. We left feeling exhilarated and weirdly exhausted, and returned to our pad for an afternoon nap before returning to Hadjidrogonov for an excellent traditional Hungarian supper (the free food tour is a win for everyone!).

We spent our final two days in Sophia exploring the small but brilliant Museum of Illusions (we were there for hours playing with the displays), trying out soup bars across the city, making a compulsory visit to the church of St Nicholas the Wonder Worker, exploring the Ladies’ Market (full of crockery, copper jugs, and fresh food) and catching up on some schoolwork. We felt enriched by our experience of Bulgaria – Sofia is an under-rated gem of a city, and we were reminded again how often the unplanned connections, destinations and experiences, where there is no expectation of anything, are often the most wonderful gifts that travel can give.