A bit of Bulgaria
We left Serbia very tired, very early in the morning. The bus to Sofia was fairly short, so before we knew it we’d arrived at Hostel Mostel. Home of the famous waffle buffet breakfast. We met up with Lucy and Matt again, whom had come from Albania. We decided to go check out a museum after getting some coffee. I think it’s a testament to travel weariness that we merely got on the local bus to take us to the museum, and instead of getting off at the museum stop, we all just stayed on the bus. Dazed, in our own thoughts, having a little snooze, we were suddenly back where we’d begun. So off we got and promptly went back to the hostel where we had an actual sleep, gathering our energy for the bar crawl that evening. We never did make it to the museum.
To say we met some interesting people in Sofia would be an understatement. From the Aussie guy who’d just spent a year in Bulgarian prision (he didn’t want to elaborate on the details…), to the English lad who had gone to eBay to buy a guitar but ended up with a house in the Bulgarian countryside for 1500GBP instead, to the loud English men who had been getting together once a year since the dawn of time to go on a trip together.
The following day we rolled out of bed to head to the free walking tour. Odin and I love doing the free walking tours around Europe, they’re such an amazing resource and such a fantastic to way to see the city. We usually try to do one on the first or second day in a city, but of course that doesn’t always happen!
After Sofia we made our way down to Plovdiv. Plovdiv was a really pleasant surprise. Old Roman ruins, a gorgeous winding old town, delicious food, and nice people. What more could a girl want? A box full of kittens would be nice…yes, there was a box full of newborn kittens. Too adorable.
The inevitable stop after Plovdiv was Veliko Tarnovo. Another charming Bulgarian town, surrounded by greenery, characterised by an impressive fort and alleyways around the hill.
Bulgaria was, in short, beautiful. Kind people, delicious and cheap food, and lots to do. I don’t understand why more people don’t visit the Balkans, but I’m glad they weren’t when we were there. It’s nice to visit somewhere that isn’t bursting to full with other tourists. After Bulgaria came Romania!
