Sofia, Bulgaria

Saturday, May 17

This morning's skies were still overcast, but showed signs of brightening as we headed to the city center for a walking tour conducted by a non-profit, Free Sofia Tour.  The tour took us through much of the same territory we scoped out yesterday afternoon after our arrival, but really gave us some historical, cultural, and political context for the places we'd seen.  Our young guide, Nickola, was both informative and entertaining, and our congenial group of travelers represented several continents.  

Among the things that stood out for us were the Roman ruins that have been discovered throughout the center city.  Some of them are visible, others have been identified but not excavated, more have been left pretty ignored as construction has taken place above them.   

In the center of the city, the presence of places of worship of four religions (Orthodox, Catholic, Islam, and Judaism) within sight of each other has created what the citizens of Sofia proudly term the Square of Tolerance.  During World War II, Bulgaria was aligned with Germany and was under great pressure to give over its Jewish population.  The king used what to be a national value, procrastination, to avoid complying with Germany's demands, and no Bulgarian Jews were lost; this remains a source of great national pride here.

 

Sofia has been known for centuries for its many varieties of mineral water; one of the four symbols of the city on its crest represents its waters.  We  visited a busy square where there were many spigots of running mineral waters.  The locals flock there to fill all manner of jugs and containers with the warm water, which they use freely in their homes for drinking and its salutary effects. 

 

Much of the core of the city is paved in yellow bricks.  They were the work of a king with dreams of elevating his capital to the status of the great cities of Western  Europe.  They're an important part of the city's identity, one we'd completely missed before our tour.

Bulgaria is also the home of the Cyrillic alphabet, another source of huge national pride here, and of huge confusion for us!  Many of the signs are indecipherable to us and there is MUCH less use of English translation here than we've found so far on this trip, or on our other travels.

We owe much of our appreciation for Sofia we owe to Nickola and Free Sofia Tour, which you can find online or on Facebook, should you ever venture this way.  Their parent organization has similar offerings in several other stops on our trip, and we plan to take advantage of them.

After a brief stop at our apartment to pick up our car (The only rain we had today was while we were in the apartment!),  we drove to the nearby suburb, Boyana, to visit the Boyana Church, which dates from the tenth century, and is now a national museum and a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The small church is covered in several layers of frescoes from later periods.  In many places, the layering is visible, along with the varying styles and techniques of each.  Only eight people are allowed in the at once , and only for ten minutes.  Many centuries, and lots of beauty to take in.

We stopped at a great supermarket on the way "home", and the only reason I mention this is because we really enjoy seeing what the "real" world is like in places we visit.  What's for sale, how it's packaged, what's different, what's the same as back home -- not the kind of thing you find in guide books, but it helps us get a fuller picture of life as it's lived.

We've enjoyed Sofia -- lots of lovely parks, traffic cops in kiosks at intersections "easing" the congestion, horse-drawn carts alongside trucks and  SUVs in this city of two million, and -- above it all -- Mount Vitosha, offering skiing in winter, cool hiking in the summer, and a looming green presence visible and easily accessible from the city at its feet.

If only they hadn't messed with the alphabet!