Sofia Backpacker's Inn

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!<br><br>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!<br><br>Once we had bags we went to the entrance and turned the mobile on...argh it ...

... I went for dinner with Tomoki, who is starting her final year of studying econ in Tokyo, and who invited me to meet up in Yokohama but forgot to give me her email address this morning before checking out. But that was more than made up for by meeting at breakfast Erynn, an American-born Israeli who will start serving in the IDF in Nov, and has friends spanning from north to south that can hook me up with places to stay and things to do ...

... the night before as mid-morning creeps up. It's taken me that long to find the place after a long walk from the bus station and the confusion arising from multiple McDonalds when directions depend on such landmarks. Alas and alack that hostel is full, but they've got another around the corner that shares an entrance with an Irish pub, apparently presided over by a real live Irish person, or at least a Brit. That's who the patrons are ...

... get any sleep on this train. The seats, which were supposed to be red, were mostly black from wear and dirt over the years. The cushions were ripped all over and some were patched up with another type of material or held together with tape. Yep, Jared and I were definitely in a horror movie now (or at least I felt so). When the train got moving, we put in our ipods and tried to pretend we were somewhere else. We rode for a few hours before we made it to the border and the ...

... 14 th century it was ocupied by Ottomans,and it was under Ottoman rule till 1878. Todays Sofia is a modern city with mixture of architecture from Byzantine (some churches) till modern times ( including Ottoman , Neoclassical and Soviet influenced socialistic 20 century architecture). The Sofia tour usually starts at St.Alexander Nevski Cathedral,one of the largest Orthodox church in the world, built in 1924 ...

... Planet has the wrong address written down. I asked him if he could recommend another hostel and he gave a couple, also advising me to steer clear of the one from which I was phoning. As it was getting late and I didn´t want to head further afield in a city with unrecognizable street names, I decided, against advice, to stay at the **** hostel and arranged to stay in the dorm. I heaved myself up the smelly, stained carpet stairwell to the dorm room and, upon entering ...

... to stay at a place...so don't stay at Internet Hostel... The lovely part of Bulgaria and Sofia are the cheap eats...and the signs which are more or less only in Cyrillic of course... For 5 euro you can have a MASSIVE meal! I was barely spending anything on eating and still leaving with a half full plate... Plus there was a delightful veg restaurant, where for 7 Euro Sam and I got 5 veg courses! Wow was it ever good! Anywho time to move on from Sofia

... next to the Synagogue. It was clean and spacious. Both cooked food and raw ingredients are sold there. It looks like a smaller and less touristy version of the Grand Market Hall in Budapest, the first Eastern European city I visited this year back in May. However, unlike the one in Budapest, there were hardly any foreign tourists in this market hall. Unlike Budapest, Sofia, or even the whole Bulgaria is still waiting to be ...

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... endearing "nuances" that make ex-pat living so rewarding. I love being given change in band-aids, chewing gum, or whatever is available when proper change isn't. I love seeing giant bears crossing the main street of Sofia (at the crosswalk, of course). I love having my fortune read weekly by a guinea pig named Gabriella. I love walking outside on a crisp winter day and smelling the burning coal everyone still uses to heat their homes (yes, I know how ...