Sofia, Bulgaria - Day 2-3

“You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?”

~ Oh! The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss

When we last left you we were on the plane to Sofia, Bulgaria. While the flight may have been uneventful, the descent into the city was quite the opposite.

Natalie: I was extremely excited. We descended into a city surrounded by mountains. On the left side of the plane were mountains partly covered with snow along with black clouds ready to unleash their rain. The country side was incredibly green and beautiful. I had to crane my neck to see out the right side of the plane, which looked like a city with very old sky scrapers - if you could even call them that.

Morgan: The views from looking down at the open land surrounding Sofia are absolutely phenomenal, it’s just mountains and perfectly green forests and fields and then you see Sofia. Let’s just say that if Sofia were a person it would be like some one hit it with giant creepy ugly stick. First thought when Sofia came into view = “This place is SKETCH AS HELL!” It was honestly the first time that I started to think what have I gotten myself into. The out skirts of Sofia are crowded with decrepit ruin like Stallenist style buildings... i.e. essentially giant slabs of concrete that are crumbling around the windows and doors.

So clearly we had very different impressions of what visiting Sofia would be like based on the plane ride in. By the time we got to the gate and off the plane, we were hit with a completely new realization. Bulgarian is not exactly our strong point, and neither is English for most Bulgarians. After being approached by a creepy taxi driver we ran for the desk marked OK Taxi (our hostel recommended it). So having found a legitimate taxi company to drive us to our hostel, we made our way across the city for only 15 Euro. We found out later that others at the hostel had paid 45 Euro! I'm glad we did our research and actually listened to the recommendations of our hostel as many taxis are scams. There are no laws in Sofia that set a minimum and maximum rate a driver can charge.

After having driven through the Soviet Buildings leading into the city center area, not going to lie, we were pretty scared. Essentially the outskirts make this a place where you expect to be jumped and stabbed. But part of this could have been that we were sleep deprived, in a city where we can't speak or even read the language, and it is dark and rainy outside. Anything can look scary when it's rainy, why do you think horror movies use it. Think about it.



Wine makes everything fun!

 When we finally got to the Hostel we were greeted by some of the nicest people I (Morgan) have met in Europe. The girl at the front desk was absolutely phenomenal and she made sure to run through a crash course of what there is to see and do in Sofia. She also highlighted these places on a map, as well as the places we should be on guard while in (god damn pick pockets). She then took us across the street to the apartment building where our room was located. Lets just say entering it was a little scary and when we realized that our balcony door in our room has zero locks we got a little freaked out. But in truth the place is a hidden gem. I feel completely safe in this place and as long as you take all your expensive belongings with you when you leave for a day it is an amazing place to say. Looks truly are decieving and some times beneath the most decrepit of ceilings you'll find the most honest, caring, and friendly people. Spoiler alert: we later learned on the last night that Wine helps make life less scary.
 

This is where we got the hot do

Later that night after a bit of exploring and sampling of the fine Bulgarian hot dog infused pastries, we had our first meal at the hostel. It was a free spaghetti dinner which they have nightly. We sat down at a table where we heard some people speaking some aussie accented english and got to mingle with two Australian women, a Canadian Tasmanian high school teacher, and a woman from the east coast who travels the world. The Australians were incredibly nice and the teacher was crazy. We followed the standard protocol in hostel socializing....asked if we could sit down, exchanged info about where we're from, why and where we're traveling (essentially we graduated, Natalie is starting Med School and Morgan is doing the Corporate thing and this is our last horah) and finally just random discussions over the places we've traveled to and the things we've seen.

One of the best things about Hostels is talking to all the foreign travelers. It's almost like they are their own tribe of people who engage in certain forms of communal bonding and celebration of rites of passage. Hearing the incredible wealth of knowledge they have of so many areas of the world and the processes to travel to them is absolutely fascinating and down right inspiring. Seeing their faces light up when describing their need to apply for additional passport pages because they have already traveled incredible amounts of time across infathamable distances makes you want to readjust your plans for the future and embrace the beauty of frequent traveling.

Anyways enough ethnography breakdowns, after telling the group we were going to Belgrade, Lisa one of the women at the table got up and moved to talk to Natalie. Matt, the Canadian Tasmanian Teacher began telling an interesting story to the rest of the group.

Morgan: First thing to know about Matt is that he is very intense and super energetic and yet still laid back. He's what I'd call a type A hippy teacher. So he began his story by telling us that he had an amazing time in Belgrade and that he ended up staying an entire week despite having only planned on being there two days. So he looked at me then pointed to Natalie and said "I assume you two are together?" I laughed it off and said no, we're just good friends from freshmen year of college. He then told me "you'll have some fun in Belgrade, the Eastern European women are always looking for western men, just be careful but then again there's nothing a little bit of penacillin can't cure." He then proceeded to explain how I should avoid the MILFs out at the clubs that are hitting on younger men. He told us about a situation in which a 44 year old woman hit on him (he's about 32) at a bar but she didn't speak English so she called her 11 year old daughter and had her translate inappropriate things. Let's just say this story goes on to end with him leaving the bar after an hour of talking to this woman through her daughter. He finally apologized to the daughter that her mom subjects her to this and that it's well "fucked up" (his words, not mine). Angenette, one of the Australian women, chimes in with "Don't tell him that not all older women are bad, plus maybe he's into Cougars." Matt then did a very alarming impression of a cougar, the animal, not the human type. This by far was a hilarious and well inappropriate conversation that was thoroughly entertaining.

Natalie: The group conversation was going well, then the American woman came to sit next to me. She wanted to have a direct conversation with me, which was a little intimidating. I sensed she grew up on the east coast. She was very smart, new a lot about everything, and a great name dropper. She was a world traveler - with her current trip starting in Indonesia and ending in Iceland. So she has been around. She was incredibly nice, and really wanted to know about my future as a doctor. Overall, I really enjoyed having conversations with these people from all over the world.

The following morning the hostel served breakfast, which included salami, tomatoes, cheeses, bread, spreads, tea, and coffee. We had a conversation with a girl from Finland traveling with her friends.

Next, we went on a free Sofia tour organized by Sofia University students. It was an incredible amount of information with tons of history. The symbol of Sofia is the Lev, which means lion. Lev or Leva is also their currency.

Current Bulgaria is a huge mix of French influenced Renaissance buildings, Byzantine Empire yellow and red buildings, and Communist monstrosities of buildings. A single block can reflect every type of influence. There are many religious buildings including an area where a synagogue, catholic church, mosque, and orthodox church are all within in few blocks radius. The guide called it the square of tolerance.

Natalie: I noticed a few things about Sofia. The first is how INCREDIBLY noisy it is. With the screeching electric trams, honking taxis, jack hammering construction, police sirens, low flying airplanes, and water fountains, there is not an ounce of silence. The women here also where the highest heels I’ve ever seen. The ground isn’t exactly pavement either. It’s old, broken, slippery cobblestone! These women also wear the most outrageous tights/stockings I’ve ever seen. Crazy colors and patterns that clearly do not match their business suits. The men here resemble Russian gangsters from a typical American movie. Sofia does have an abundance of trees for a big city. Beautiful chestnut trees line most streets, and there are parks every few blocks.

Morgan: When I started planning this trip with Natalie, I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Sofia, when I saw it from the plane I thought it looked rather terrifying, but after walking the streets, watching it’s people and interacting with the people I found it to be a charming city in an unconventional sense. While the buildings may be repetitive in four different styles there is beauty in them. Sofia has a very interesting history and one that is marked with tolerance. Between the people, the food, the buildings and ability to see the history of Bulgaria visually through the transitions from old to communism to new is absolutely incredible. I am glad to have been able to seen all these different perspectives while they still are visible, especially since Bulgaria is becoming westernized so quickly.

Afterward, we went to a traditional Bulgarian cuisine restaurant. There was this stew (almost gravy like) with meat, grilled onions, potatoes, and carrots = HEAVEN. Also had some lamb, a neat cucumber and tomato salad, the butteriest mashed potatoes ever, and of course their draft beer. It was all delicious! We walked in to their Central Park, which housed more Communist statues. We grabbed some great desserts on our way back to the hostel, including some chocolate cakes, chocolate mouse, and some white cake. Please forgive us for not knowing the names of foods - not many of the local food shops speak English, so we just point and say “DA” (Yes). Now we are drinking some great Bulgarian Villavinifera King’s Wine Merlot, while uploading pictures. We leave for Belgrade tomorrow!