Sleepless in Sofia

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After another 24 hours in flights/layovers, (Beijing - Hong Kong - London - Sofia), I was back in Europe. I was missing Asia a bit, but looking forward to such creature comforts as toilet paper, Western-style toilets, babies wearing diapers, and no street-spitting. Bulgaria was a country I'd been really curious about, as I'd met a fair amount of Bulgarians in the past few years, and was curious to see what their country was like.

After some problems with the ATMs, I was able to get some Leva out and was ready to start exploring. I was a bit disillusioned to find out that the Lev was pegged to the Euro, with the dollar at its present standing. Luckily, the prices are deflated so that Bulgaria remains a pretty good bargain for travellers. Another nice thing about the city compared to everywhere else I'd been, was the relative low number of tourists.

I met up with my friend Mel, who I hadn't seen since college, and we went out to do some feasting Bulgarian-style. My first impression was how amazing the cheese was. I realized that I hadn't had real cheese in nearly two months, and the feta in Bulgaria is amazing, as is their pizza. They seem to put cheese on everything, which being the dairy-holic I am, made me real happy.

We headed out to a nice bar for some drinks, and then to this super-swank bar called Cielo. Mel's friend Nora seemed to have all the hook-ups, and we were there for one of the first nights it was open. The place looked like the inside of a spaceship, and was nicer than nearly anything you can find in DC. Interesting bar snack served there: carrots and celery in lemon juice. We hit some other bars until I started to get real tired, as I was still on Asia time.

I woke up way too early, still super-tired. I couldn't fall back asleep no matter how hard I tried. Oh yeah, I had jet lag yet again, and it sucked. Mel took me on an insiders tour of Sofia, which is a pretty, vibrant, super-walkable city. I was exhuasted by the end, and crashed for a few hours.That night, Eric Prydz, (perhaps best known by his hit Call on Me) was in town and we headed out to the swankest club in town to see him. Nearly everyone at the disco had about a pound of gel in their hair, and most people there were "too cool for school". The place erupted when Eric Prydz took the stage; some people had brought some pretty heavy duty camera equipment to take pictures of him.

I spent the next few days relaxing and trying to catch up on sleep and get rid of my jet lag. The Bulgarian people are very nice and the food is good and plentiful. Again, I'm amazed at how in-shape the people in Europe are in comparison to North America. Walking the streets can be really distracting... I can't believe some of the outfits Bulgarian girls wear: see-through shirts, and skirts so short that if they were any shorter, wouldn't be skirts anymore. I'm convinced that that dress code is probably the leading cause of car accidents in Bulgaria.

I met a French Canadian guy at the hostel who was the doppelganger of my friend, Malonzo back home, and we were able to book a cab down to the Rila Monastery, 2 hours outside Sofia. It's considered the holiest site in Bulgaria, and is surrounded by streams and mountains. The Bulgarian countryside was stunning, and we got to sample some buffalo sheep's yogurt on the way. The monastery is beautiful, and I think, a "must see" if you're in Sofia to get a feel for another other face of Bulgaria.

Mel took me to different parts of the cities to check out some of the parks, different eateries, and just get a feel for the whole city. The best of all was going up the Vitosha mountain to a grill-place at the top. The air was clean and cool, and you could see a lot of stars. I was sad that I'd be leaving this enticing country the next day.

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Comments

[Steph Winchester]

Thanks for the great blog
Alex, it has been great to read about your travels. I keep meaning to comment and tell you that your stories are great. I am so jealous. Living vicariously through you, Steph

[Malonzo]

American Malonzo
Even though I couldn't be travelling in Bulgaria at the moment, I'm glad my name and Canadian twin are there! For the record, I'm taller than he is and believe I would win an exchange of fisticuffs easily.

[alan]

bulgaria
your blog was very complementary and i am glad you enjoyed bulgaria. Unlike some US tourist who seem to have nothing but critisision for the country.