Bulgarian Pit Stop

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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. Long walk to Hostel Mostel - which turned out to be booked - but they were nice enough to help me find another close-by and I got myself settled in there (email, bags down, etc...). Then I started pounding pavement.
Grabbed a real cheap bite on the street, and decided to try the little yogurt-water(?) drink that they supposedly love here in Bulgaria. It was way too sour for me, and I dumped it after a very short while. Basically, I spent my afternoon wandering around the older part of the city, swinging by the university, national library, and the outside of some foreign art museums. Not really too bad walking. I did see a good number of older churches, the cathedral and the largest Sephardic Synagogue in Europe. You can see the past glory of the building, but it is clear that the building has lost it's grandeur. I actually bumped into 2 older Israeli couples there doing some sightseeing of their own and had a nice little chat. I would say, though, that the highlight of the city is really at the Presidential Palace. First off, every hour, on the hour, they do a changing of the guard. Apparently, they wear different uniforms on different days, as I saw them in white, but a girl I met later on had them in red. Secondly, in the courtyard, there is a really old, Roman-era church that is barely holding itself together. Really cool stuff.
I then headed back to the hostel, got a quick nap in, and headed off to a restaurant for Bulgarian food at the suggestion of the hostel keeper. They had Bulgarian music, but that didn't start until later, so I walked around the university area a bit more, and after asking some school-aged looking people, who fortunately spoke some English, had a beer at a nice little beer garden. Dinner was good, but it took forever, and is very meat-heavy (not really unexpected). The music was also fun, and for some reason the Bulgarian folk music includes something that is suspiciously like the bagpipe. I never really figured that out.
Then back to the hostel and to bed. Getting up early for the train to Veliko Turnovo in the morning.

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