From Thessaloniki in the North of Greece we took the morning train to capital of Bulgaria, Sophia. We thought that this by taking this train we would be arriving around 1pm however it wasnt to be, a greek lady that was sitting next to us told us that she had caught this train many times and it had never arrived into Sophia anywhere even close to being on time. So at around 4pm after a lot of starting and stopping for no real apparent reason we finally rolled into Sophia. This was the first time either of us had been into [View Full Entry]

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We're now in Sofia, after a 14 hour train. Nothing considering the past train trips we've done. It wasn't that great a city to arrive into as we got caught in some crazy rain; it just didn't stop hailing and after we waited for to stop for over half an hour in a bank there was only one to make a choice. Stephen was the one who paid for it the most; his pack got the wet right through. We seriously got drenched through our clothes and boots (they have taken two days to dry). Our hostel is great - we [View Full Entry]

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And so draws to a close our time in Bulgaria. Tonight at 2120 we'll be catching a night train to Belgrade, in Serbia, because you can't go straight to either Dubrovnik or Sarajevo from here. I don't know why, and neither does anyone who works at the bus station. So yesterday we got up kind of late because of a late night, but still just in time for some of the free breakfast here at Hostel Mostel - hard boiled eggs, toast with cream cheese, tomatoes, and salami. Just what you need. After that we hung out and socialised a bit [View Full Entry]

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here are many many pictures. hopefully soon I may post pictures that are up to date. [View Full Entry]

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So I'm here in Sofia, the first city of Bulgaria. It's much different from Greece, and I've only seen it from the inside of a bus, and between the bus station and my hostel. Which is called Hostel Mostel. Sweet. Greener, hillier, much much cooler. It's good to be out of the heat! How Canadian of me, I know. So today we left Thessaloniki, finally, around three thirty. I bought some shoes for five euros; they look like vans slipons made of hemp fishnet, and we've only seen fishermen and the homeless wearing them. My ploy is to look as poor [View Full Entry]

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Not a whole lot going on in Sofia. The place is actually kind of boring, though there are a few things to see. Perfect for a pit stop, unless you're there on a bachelor party (I saw a few of those), or on somebody's birthday (some of the guys I met later on had that) as the place is cheap with good looking girls. Tuesday, May 13th: Not a whole lot of sleep on the train this morning, as I kept on not wanting to miss my stop in Sofia. It was nice, though, having the sleeper cabin all to myself. [View Full Entry]

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Je parné bulharské odpoledne. Právě jsme projeli Sofií. Po pravé straně za sebou necháváme kopce pohoří Vitoša - místo víkendové rekreace mnoha Sofijčanů. Za pár kilometrů u jsou vidět vrcholy nejvyššího balkánského pohoří Rily i s její majestátní Musalou. My však míříme dál na jih po silnici spojující bulharské vnitrozemí s řeckým pobřeím. Po pravé straně se nám podél cesty poklidně klikatí řeka Struma na své cestě do Egejského moře a po levé ruce začínají vykukovat vrcholky Národního parku Pirin, jeho nejjinější cíp je naším dnešním cílem. Rádi bychom strávili dva dny v okolí městečka Melnik a ochutnali tak jedno z [View Full Entry]

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In theory I traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria for the EGEE-II All-Activity Meeting, but in reality I just traveled towards it. I will be damned if this doesn't become part of my travel blog to Sofia, Bulgaria. Here is my story - ENJOY!: Starting my day at 5am to catch a taxi to the airport for a flight from Pisa to Milan at 6.55am, only to have that flight cancelled for the second time. From there a bus was organised for 8am (again, but this time to Rome) where I was told to remain at the "Meeting Point". Come 8:15-8:30, being in [View Full Entry]

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Awo Ha, het Sofiaans dialect zou me een goede 15 jaar geleden op het lijf geschreven zijn. Waarom? Wel in deze regionale aftakking van het Bulgaars verbasterd men de 'l' tot een 'w', en ware het niet dat ik tot mijn zesde levensjaar de 'l' niet kon uitspreken, en die, surprise surprise, uitsprak als een 'w'. M'n klasgenootje Lily werd Wiwy enzoverder. Dit echter volledig terzijde. (Voor verdere info over mijn spraakgebreken uit het verleden, het heden en de toekomst raad ik iedereen aan zich niet beschaamd te voelen en me er gewoon even een mailtje over te sturen. Mijn secretaresse [View Full Entry]

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Waarde landkenoten, et les hollandais aussi Wat ik me net bedacht heb is dat ik eigenlijk nog helemaal niet verteld heb hoe Sofia zelf eigenlijk is. Voor de een is het mischien een magisch sprookjes land, voor de ander een storthoop, een enkeling denkt mischien dat het de godin van de wijsheid is waarin ik kampeer. Eigenlijk zouden deze drie fictieve personen (een, ander en enkeling) louter als beeldspraak moeten dienen maar het toeval wil dat ze allemaal een beetje gelijk hebben. Sofia is namelijk een beetje van dat alles en deze drie omschrijvingen zijn elke dag correct. Het sprookjes land [View Full Entry]

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