Our last day in Bulgaria will be spent in its capital, Sofia.
Sofia - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Since the host told us when we took over the room that we didn't have to hurry to leave, we took advantage of this and called him around 10 o'clock. We successfully hand over the apartment and move to the bus station for the shuttle to Sofia. The journey took about an hour. We arrive in Sofia around lunchtime. It's still early to check in, so we go to eat at the nearest place we can find on the maps. To my displeasure, they only have Staropramen on tap. For lunch I have Tarator and schopack. Al and Janet add dessert. This makes the time fly by, so we can take the metro to Mladosti 1A, where our last accommodation is located. For the price of about 150 CZK per person per night we get a large duplex apartment with two rooms, a living room and two bathrooms. But we don't stay too long, we put down our backpacks and head out into the city. On the way we stop at the post office because some people want to send postcards home.
We take the metro to Serdika station. It's interesting because at the exit of the metro there are original buildings from the Roman period. And they are nicely integrated into the modern metro station and the surrounding area.
Sofia - Mladost 1A metro station
Sofia - Serdika Metro Station, Banja Bashi Mosque
Sofia - Around Serdika station
The station is located near government buildings and the presidential palace. We are here at a time when there are regular protests against the Bulgarian Government. This is no different today.
Sofia - National Assembly Building
Sofia - Residence of the President
We continue to the probably more unknown monument of Sofia to the Temple of Alexander Nevsky. On the way to it we will come across the picturesque church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Sofie - Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Sofia - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
It's going to rain at Sofia University. We find refuge in the underpass under Vasil Levski Boulevard. We shorten our wait with a milkshake at the McDonald's located here.
Sofia - Monument to Emperor the Liberator
Sofia University
Once the rain stops we continue along the main avenue to the Perlovska River. On the way to it we pass the Soviet Army Memorial. Nearby is the Vasil Levski National Football Stadium.
Sofia - Memorial to the Soviet Army
Sofia - Kids
Sofia - Vasil Levski Stadium
It starts to rain again, so we continue in the rain to the National Palace of Culture. From there we walk along Vitosha Boulevard, which is full of restaurants, small shops and souvenir shops. One of them we will give our last Leo to. At the end of the boulevard is the Cathedral of St. Sunday.
Sofia - National Palace of Culture
Sofia - Bulgarian Square
Sofia - Vitosha Boulevard
Sofia - Cathedral of St. Sunday
After shopping, the boulevard will lead us back to the metro at Serdika station. From there we will take you back to Mladost 1A. We are not going to our room yet, there is a Billa not far from the metro station and a branch of the Happy Bar & Grill restaurant chain next door. Unfortunately they focus on Greek cuisine, so our last dinner was more in that style than Bulgarian. After dinner we retreated back to the hostel. Tom arranged a taxi for us at the reception, as nothing sensible can be arranged at 5am and taxis are cheaper than a bus here with more people. We take a shower and go to bed as we will be up at about 4am.
Sofia - The Last Dinner
Sofia - Happy Bar & Gril
Getting up is cruel. Taxi arrives on time. But it only takes four people, with a second coming soon. So Tom sacrifices himself and the girls and I go to the airport in between. We pay 6 Leva for the journey. Everyone's temperature is taken at the entrance. Security check without any problems. There are only a few of us on the plane again. And everyone has a threesome to themselves. During the trip we are given registration forms for the Slovak side, which are left on the plane. At the airport we receive similar forms again. In between, I finally experience the legendary 100-meter ride on local buses from the plane to the terminal. At passport control, we witness the arrogant behaviour of the Slovakian customs, who literally slap away a Bulgarian woman several times who doesn't know how to fill in their forms correctly and instead of help, all she gets from the customs officer is abuse and contempt. For this reason we changed our queue and went to the colleague next door who was very helpful and advised us on what to do, how to fill it in correctly. Because at that time, upon arrival in Slovakia, a five-day quarantine was compulsory except for transit, which was our case. We just didn't know how to fill it in correctly on their form. When we left, they took our temperature and then we were free. We didn't wait for anything and took the first bus to the main station where our Regiojet to Bohemia was due. We said goodbye to the group in Brno, as we were still going to Ostrava and the rest of us were continuing on to Prague and then Boleslav. This is the end of our Bulgarian adventure.
Bulgaria is an interesting country full of beautiful mountains and services at reasonable prices. The only complication is the public transport, which is not very dense. Nevertheless, I hope to visit Bulgaria again.
Useful links:
Metro Sofia
Timetables from Samakov
BLOCK 531 ApartHouse BLOCK 533
Regiojet
Wizz air
