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Published: July 31st 2009
Well I have finally started my travels, and first stop is Sofia, Bulgaria. A country I know little about, and whose language completely escapes me. I feel somewhat disabled by this and struggle not start speaking Spanish as my brain only knows two languages; English and Foreign.
We arrived today at noon, Nikesh my travelling buddy who I met for the first time at Gatwick this morning, but had planned to travel to the IFMSA conference together via email. Luckily we get on! We were welcomed to Sofia with sunshine and blue skies, and given a glimpse into the Iron belt. It feels very European here with some very attractive architecture, but at the same time you can't ignore the Soviet style concrete flat blocks, and the obvious notes of poverty.
It is a very small city and you only need a day to travel around on foot, but we did experiment with the trams for fun. We visited the oldest cathedral in this part of Europe, and was taken back to my youth - although at 23 do I have a youth yet? - of going to the Greek Orthodox church in South Africa. As soon as I entered my nose was filled with the heady scent of incense, and soon my ears were greeted with the familar sound of deep chanting. It was surprisingly comforting, and we spent about 10 minutes watching the Priests, and taking in the stunning decor. And to complete the Orthodox experience I lit a few candles, kissed the Icon - It would be too rude to transfer Swine Flu via an Icon I hope - and said a pray.
We both agreed there is something magical about places of religious worship, if you are religious or not, but as I'm Chrisitan and Nik Jain, we have an appreciation we can share. Later to contrast with the cathedral, we visited the local Mosque; hooded and covered up with a big green Lord of the Rings-esque coat we walked around and too tried to take in the atmosphere and the ornate design.
We had tried to visit the Jewish museum - which is only appropriate as the other main religion - but sadly it was closed to tourists.
Otherwise we just walked around and tried to take in Sofia. The best part of the day was having lunch - typical for me to concentrate on the food! - in a traditional Bulgarian restaurant. For a mere 7 pounds I had a huge salad with lots of delicous vegetables, and a really yummy dressing with sunflower seeds, vine leaves with zaziki style dressing - they seem very Greek influenced here - and little dolmades. Very satisfying!
We retired to our fabulous hostel - Hostel Mostel, a court yard hostel which has all the facilities a traveller could want, plus beign clean, spacious and friendly, nto to mention cheap. they even include a simple dinner with beer and breakfast. - for a nap and now we are jsut finishing our beers before heading out to sample what Sofia has to offer for night life. I'm hoping cold beers and some live music.
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Alexandra Lewis
non-member comment
Hey your first entry
I was really pleased to see a blog already. Sofia sounds lovely and the contrasts fascinating (I mean the European and Soviet influences). I was not prepared for the Greek influence although I should have been if I had thought about it. Glad that you get on with Nik, not much good travelling with someone you don't like. Was your meal an expensive one for Sofia or about average price? I hope that you are taking lots of photos so that I can see what you saw and get even more jealous. I presume the next entry will be from Macedonia. Anyway, hope you had a good trip there and I look forward to hearing from you soon. I miss you already and miss not being able to phone you. I phoned Yaya this morning and just managed to catch her before she went off on her trip to Cape Town. She will be back on Sunday week. Take care, have fun. Love you lots. Mom xxxxxx