10 January 2011
Well up at the crack of dawn and into the cold cold English early pre-dawn morning. The only good thing as that the streets are quiet and it doesn’t take long to get to Heathrow. On arrival at the huge Terminal 5, we dropped off the GPS bag for Avis – who have been very good about the missing bag and didn’t charge us an exorbitant fee as car rental companies love doing. We then ventured tentatively into the British Airways Executive Club (there is no Qantas Club in Terminal 5), and they let us into the hallowed club lounge and it was fantastic, can’t believe the array of food, drink, snacks and a variety of other things to keep you amused and occupied while waiting for your flight. In future we will get there earlier. Anyway our flight was called, so we loaded up our bag with packets of chips, fruit, bottles of water etc in case of the likely event I don’t get my vegetarian food, something that happens more often than not. We had managed to get exit row seats and had to listen to the spiel about getting the doors open etc etc etc, of course I can honestly state that I would probably only really care about me, but nodded etc to keep the seats. It was a fairly uneventful flight – I got my vegetarian meal which was nice, and Scott who had made the decision not to worry about gluten free meal was faced with pasta, so lesson learnt, book him a special meal in future. The flight to Bulgaria only takes approximately 3 hours and there wasn’t much to see, even during the landing as it was just bleak, no greenery, just snow and ice.
Sofia Airport is new and we passed through all the immigration formalities quickly – they didn’t worry about how long we were staying etc, got our bags and found our driver who escorted us to our car. So we bundled in and were greeted with the melodic sounds of Metallica at full blast. Strangely I wasn’t surprised, as I always had the impression that Eastern European countries loved heavy metal. The trip to the hotel highlighted the large amounts of ice and snow everywhere and also the huge amount of new buildings going up – I think they need to invest a bit more in the road infrastructure as the tarmac only seemed to hold the potholes together. Before you knew it, we were at the Hotel Anel, not sure where it is as it isn’t on the Lonely Planet Guidebook map and we couldn’t find the street, so could be anywhere. We checked in easily and were soon ensconced in our huge room. The hotel is decorated in the art deco, overzealous art collector and floral style, with patterns everywhere and all over the place. Of course centre of our room was a large concrete pillar which added to the strange layout. We had enough furniture to fill a house packed into a large room. Anyway as it was only mid afternoon and sunny outside we decided to brave the minus temperatures and headed back to the reception counter to get directions of where to go and get some money etc (no maps, so we left hoping we were going in the right direction).
We found the Mall Sofia, Sofia’s newest shopping centre, probably about the size of Garden City, but housing some very ordinary stores. We found an ATM and took out some Bulgarian Levs (or shit bits as Scott calls them) from an ATM that was located in the front door of the shopping centre, now that possibly was a big mistake as we found out afterwards. We wandered through the shopping centre, finding a supermarket and getting some snacks, wine and beer. There isn’t a huge variety of groceries, but everything looks fresh and is certainly very cheap. So far we have realised that people can’t understand us and we can’t understand them, so may be having fun in the coming days. It was starting to get cold and dark outside, so we continued back to the hotel. The roads and sidewalks are treacherous with ice, making walking fun (not) and then you throw in the fact that everything is on the opposite of the road, we can only follow other people when crossing, hoping we don’t get him but trucks, cars, trams etc and stay upright.
Due to the cold weather – it takes about 20 minutes to get rugged up to go outside, and the fact that we can’t find anything in English, we are going to eat in the hotel restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is meant to have views of the surrounding mountains, but as it is dark you can’t see much and as there were only two tables with people we were also the centre of attention for the seriously underemployed wait staff. The food was very good though – I had a greek salad that was lovely and fresh and full of flavours and Scott went with pork and vegetables which he said just melted in the mouth. So after eating and a few drinks we retired early, it has been a long day.
11 January 2011
OMG huge panic, Scott woke me up at 9:30 and as the breakfast buffet closes at 10 we went racing down. We have never been ones not to have a free buffet breakfast, so we entered the breakfast room with great trepidation, wondering what would be provided. It was a feast – there were tables just groaning with produce, and strangely we were the only people in there. So after filling up on yoghurt (Bulgaria is famous for creating this dish), muesli, nuts and fruit, we rugged up and headed out into the ice and snow.
We had bought the Lonely Planet guide book as our Cyrillic isn’t the best and couldn’t find much information that was in English. So we worked out where we were and where we wanted to go and off we went, slowly ice skating our way across the non-existent pathways.
Banya Bashi Mosque: Sofia’s only working Mosque, we were unable to get in and almost expect the Mosque to be in the process of being demolished or maybe refurbished, hard to tell. The Banya Bashi Mosque was originally built in 1576 and architecturally stands out from the other buildings, with its minaret. We also did not hear any calls to prayer etc. Maybe it is closed for the winter.
Mineral Baths: this building is behind the Mosque and between the two is meant to be a modern fountain and hot-water drinking fountain. The modern fountain was boarded up and the surrounding area looked like a rubbish tip. The main building is beautifully restored on the outside, but not open for viewing, so not sure how far they are going with the new civic museum – slowly I would have thought as it has been ten years of renovating so far.
At this point Scott suggested I navigate to where we should go next, so off we headed and as usual in the wrong direction. Although we had been walking for what seemed like an eternity of taking our lives into our own hands, Scott finally asked where we were going. When I showed him on the map, he took over and we backtracked for a while. I have no idea why he lets me navigate, as I have never been able to, it is unlikely I will in the future.
Sveta Nedelya Cathedral: This is a massive domed church that you seen from a lot of the capital. It was built in 1856 on the foundations of older churches. We couldn’t find the glass case with Sveti Kral Stefan Miloten. But then again we couldn’t see much, it was very dark inside, lit only by candles. It is a working cathedral though with people constantly lighting candles and visiting their favourite saints. This cathedral is famous for the explosion in 1925 in an attempt to assassinate Tsar Boris III – 120 people were killed, but Boris survived.
Sofia Synagogue: This was the only place we have visited where we had to pay. We weren’t sure if the person we had to pay worked for the Synagogue or just had a rort going on, but anyway, we were let in and left to our own devices in wandering through the Synagogue. This is a relatively new building (1909) and has the biggest brass chandelier in Bulgaria – it was huge. There is room for 1170 worshippers, but there aren’t that many seats and it was also one of the coldest places we have been inside – that is saying something considering where we are.
Sofia Monument: This was originally a monument of Lenin, was changed to a gigantic civil symbol which is a female figure that bizarrely seems to have half her face in gold and the other half in concrete (the guide book says bronze).
Royal Palace: we didn’t realise we had even seen this until we retraced our steps and went back. It is now used as an Art Gallery and isn’t that impressive from the outside.
Sveti Nikolai Russian Church: It doesn’t matter what religion is the church, they are all basically similar with golden domes and glittering mosaics. Particularly today when the sun was out, they did look beautiful. This church was also very dim inside and considering it looked big on the outside it was very small and you can’t imagine more than a couple of people in here at one time. So far the churches we have visited are in serious need of restoration inside, as you can see the basis of the murals, but they are blackened due to the candles or other lighting used.
Sofia City Garden: Accordingly to the guide book, this is a hive of activity with people sitting around amongst the flowerbeds. Hmm in winter, it is covered in snow, the pathways are covered in ice and people are only scurrying through on the way to somewhere warmer or more interesting.
Presidency: We came across this by mistake, wondering if it was originally the Royal Palace. There were a couple of weather hardened soldiers out the front, but no other visible signs of anything military or presidential apart from a long row of blackened window Mercedes. It really looks like an office block. Of course the other half of the Presidency is the Sheraton Hotel.
Sveti Georgi Rotunda: wow this was very impressive and for me the highlight of all the sightseeing in Sofia. In between the Presidency and the Sheraton, this small preserved building (the oldest in Sofia) was originally built in the 4th century AD and is a roman structure. It was rebuilt in the 6th century and converted into a mosque in the 16th century. After being damaged in WWII it is now opened to the public and you can ramble through the ruins and see the restoration works that see the different murals. Definitely a highlight and also looks beautiful with ruins covered in snow.
Aleksander Nevski Memorial Church: This is huge, although relatively new in the scheme of church dates here in Sofia. Built in 1912 to commemorate those 200,000 Russian soldiers that died fighting for Bulgaria’s independent. Again it has huge golden onion domes that compete with the gorgeous mosaics. Inside, the church is massive, but very sparsely furnished and adorned. One thing that we have noticed is the lack of graveyards and also the lack of memorial plaques within the churches themselves.
Church of Sveta Sofia: for a country that is relatively small, there are a lot of churches. However, this is another old church and the oldest Orthodox Church in Sofia being originally being in the 4th century; however the present structure only relates to the 19th century. Outside is a tomb to the Unknown Soldier and its eternal flame which is guarded over by a huge lion.
Sofia University Botanic Garden: Another garden, which I am sure will be beautiful in Spring/Summer. However, in winter it is fairly bleak and you can’t see what it includes except for rubbish.
Borisova Gradina: This is a huge park that seems to have been overtaken with graffiti and skateboarding ramps along with a large collection of broken bottles and rubbish. It is a shame as there are some beautiful pathways and sitting areas.
Yuzhen Park: From this park you are meant to be able to see Mt Vitosha the large mountain that overlooks Sofia, but there seems to be a constant haze of fog, smog or both and you can’t see anything. Again this would be a beautiful park except for the rubbish. There are loads of bars and cafes here, but they seem to have shut up shop over the winter months and everything looks derelict.
So our sightseeing day drew to a close along with the afternoon and with the cold increasing, we skated back to the hotel. Our mini-bar isn’t working, so luckily we left the wine and beer on our balcony as they are suitable frozen for a pre-dinner glass. We did venture to have a look at the gym/pool area of the hotel which is very impressive and made a note about coming back tomorrow, and then went to dinner and had another glass of wine.
11 January 2011
We are again down for the buffet breakfast which is the same as yesterday with plenty of variety and freshness. We have our fill as I am off to the office and Scott is heading out for another wander around the town to see what there is off the beaten track. The office is only a 10 minute walk, but certainly gets your heart rate racing with the treacherous conditions and the addition of a lot of traffic that makes crossing the street a nightmare.
Scott spent the day finding some local markets and walking the streets looking at different places to eat for dinners and trying to work out the language.
On arriving home from the office, we had a refreshingly cold glass of wine before staying in the hotel for dinner again. It is just so cold that going outside really involves approximately 5 layers of clothing. Besides everywhere seems to encourage smoking – even the restaurants with non-smoking, allow you to sit at a smoking table which are interspersed with the non-smoking ones. Not sure if they understand the problems, but it is their laws. If you are a smoker, this is the country for you though.
12 January 2011
Another day in the office for me. Scott today was going in the other direction of the Hotel to find some of the local growers markets and some of the areas that people live in. He managed to find a market that you could bring your own bottles and fill up from wine casks. Some of the fruit and veg were of good quality and there was mounds of cheese. It is one thing we are loving and that is having the variety of cheeses – you name it, you can have it in a cheese.
We had dinner with a few people from the UK Office in the hotel restaurant, where yet again we were the only people. They surely cannot make any money and that is considering the hotel is nearly full and there aren’t many places close by to eat at.
13 January 2011
Scott found a restaurant on his walk today that we went back too. A pizza/pasta/salad and other bits restaurant. We entered through the smoky haze that we are getting used to and found a waitress that could speak English and a menu that was also in English. So we ordered a salad and pizza, along with the prerequisite bottle of wine and the food was great. The pizza had a thin crust with exactly the toppings we ordered and the salad was freshly made and full of flavour. Rozko Pizza was just around the corner from the hotel and did a great selection of meals, definitely recommend it.
14 January 2011
I am only working a half day in the office today. So as soon as 12:00 comes I zoom back to the hotel to pick Scott up. It is sunny and the snow and ice has almost melted so we can enjoy the walk around the city and get some different photos. On our wander up through the mall and shopping districts, we come across a wonderful Indian restaurant. We enter with trepidation as it looks deserted, to find that downstairs the restaurant is full. We order our usual staples of Indian cuisine – Palak Paneer, it is my thought that if a restaurant can cook this dish well, it is a good restaurant, and we weren’t disappointed; the food, service, drinks and atmosphere were great. So if you are in Sofia, check out Kohinoor (www.kohinoor.bg).
We made it back to the hotel in time for my massage that was booked and Scott was also going to venture into the gym. Considering it has been there all week, we haven’t made it any further than the bar. I have a really sore back and neck from the chairs in the office, so Scott has booked me a massage for an hour. I will call him Sven – wow, I could feel my back groaning under the pressure, but sucked it up and let him work on my back and neck and when the torture was finally over I could actually turn my head sideways, amazing. Should have done this each day. Scott in the meantime had gone through a few machines which he rated as good quality and worked up a sweat. So what is the best way to recover – a few beers on our last night.
15 January 2011 (Saturday)
Our flight isn’t until lunchtime, so we can go out for a walk around the town and wandered around back to the Sveti Georgi Rotunda where the snow has now totally defrosted. It is an interest city, but what would be more interesting is to come back in the warmer months just to see the change in people (who all seem depressed and without a smile amongst them) and also see the gardens and parklands.
We then queued for the agonising wait at Immigration for Scott. This time we are fairly prepared, itineraries, bank statements etc, however, yet again they questioned us about our plans and cannot believe that anybody could afford to have 6 months off work. However, Scott was given a three month entry visa and we were also advised that for the foreseeable future he can come through the EU residents passport control lines. Yippee, now we can actually make some real plans. We then piled onto the tube for the trip back to Holbourn and some well deserved champagne.