Rossi Hostel Sofia

got to the airport at half 4 in the morning, flight left on time at half 6, 3 seats between the two of us wohoo i can stretch out!

Got off the plane and was sooo excited I was going to see my dad in the next half hour I wanted to just leave the bas and get outside and meet him!! gray had to calm me down a bit!

Once we had bags we went to the entrance and turned the mobile on...argh it ...

... athens.

So, to continue on this blog in sofia. I ended up just going around Sofia, took pictures of the famous orthodox church. There was a smaller less impressive othorthdox church there. But, at this point, I'm just waiting to get out of there. One bonus was the hostel, art-hostel. It was great in a sense that it had crazy drawings everywhere, a downstairs pub, though, i didn't buy one drink, i brought all my drinks in because you live on a budget. But ...

... literally was Sofia's center. We waded through the antique markey that Megan's uncle would have loved, and contemplated what gifts we wanted to bring back from there. After getting some prices we decided to come back with money later and try to haggle for a bargain. So we crossed the street and took some great pictures of the Cathedral, went inside to see the architecture and all the beautiful artwork. It was a bit more grand than Agia Sofia in Thessaloniki and sitting in ...

... but the cities crowning glory has to be the Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral. The golden domed cathedral is named after one of Russia's greatest heroes in honour of Russian support during Bulgarias 19th century war of independence. (Nevsky was a Medieval Prince of Novgorod who defeated the Swedes in 1240 and the German Teutonic order in 1242, for those who are interested). If Sofia only has one breathtaking landmark, and it does, then it is this. I walked into a small ...

... happens every hour so we ran by there on our way to other sites. Alexander Nevski Memorial Church - A Memorial given to Alexander Nevski, a Swiss-born Russia who fought against the Ottomans. No expense was spared as the domes are covered with gold (yes, real gold). A new layer was just gilded as a gift from Russia sometime in 2000s. St. Sofia church was definitely not the prettiest church we have seen but it was built in the 5th century which is ...

... but finding instead only the harsh boot of the restless locals. The whole scene depressed me deeply and the penetrating cold broke my spirits further. It was a hellish wait for that train, during which time I had felt constantly on edge on account of there being no English announcement board, which left me with the nagging feeling that my train had been and gone. I had plenty of time to reflect on my brief stay in Sofia, however, and in doing so struggled to find ...

... highlight was to bake pulla (Finnish pastries) and birthday cake at one most helpfull baba's place. It is nice that i have good memories of the last weeks but, to be honest, I would have gone nuts of that partying had lasted a bit longer. :). I remember that when i left from Hungary and also from the Netherlands, it felt as if somebody had ripped off everything I had. Leaving Macedonia was different and i hope it is better so. Too much melancholy and ...

... were selling, including a Nazi issue gold plated Leica camera that pained me to have to turn down. It would have been my prized possession. Alas.... Afterwards we walked around a bit more, saw some squares and more cool buildings. Then I got a hot dog which came in like a falafel bun, and was delicious. Afterwards we went to the fruit market for a little then went to the Bulgarian culture center near the statue to commemorate the Russian military freeing them ...

... a 4 person tour, made it very interesting. I think that was my first mosque entry, but definitely not my last. One small thing I found especially interesting was a very large neon sign on the side of an important building. The sign simply said a number, nothing else, roughly 115 if I remember correctly. Of course I asked my guide what it was and, much to my surprise and intrigue, it is the number of days until Bulgaria ...

... I am at least savvy enough to know that the only reasonable use of any local liquor, anywhere, is as disinfectant or, possibly, paint thinner. My travels in Europe are over for now, and I have a week to screw my head back on before flying to Peru. I plan to spend the week unpacking, packing, re-unpacking, repacking, and intermittently running around the house demanding to know what my parents have done with my socks, shampoo, vital documents, etc. Business as usual in Virginia!