Royal Victoria Sofia

... a crumbling staircase (next to a deceased
escalator) into a busy hub of activity down in the gut of the
station. After being delivered a fatal blow by the ticket office -
“NO tren.....Istanbool.....Tek Bos” we scouted around the
different coach companies and settled on one that looked the most
organised though the “sales” person was not in the mood to be
helpful. We whirled through the streets of Sofia catching glimpses of
Sofia, Bulgaria adamandmandana

... Then i head off and buy some food for my train trip, read a book and charge the phone at the hotel. Its stiflingly hot. I go to the station and buy a sleeper reservation. Later I go to the cafe plug in the laptop and blog with a cold latte. Since this involves uploading about 10 days of photo's it all takes time and I leave about 6.30. In the reception I meet the American girls and we go out for a cheap dinner of pizza. I'm ...

... Suur vaadiõlu maksis vaid 1,6 leevi (12,5EEK). Toiduvalik tundus lõputu ja tasuta. Ainuüksi snäkke oli 25 erinevat. Nautisime ohtralt head õllet ja salateid ning elu oli kohe täitsa timm. Arve oli lõpuks kahele 80EEKi. Loodetavasti lähevad Eestis need mõttetud baarid ja restod ruttu pankrotti, mis lajatavad kirveid! Õlled sees ja käisime läbi ka "Lady's marketilt". See oli Tsari peal paar kvartalit edasi. Tegemist oli tavalise toiduturuga, kus müüdi tiba ...

... headed to an outdoor bar in the main park and had a few brewskys. The outdoor bars were lovely, but toilet facilities being a port-a-loo are just not the nicest... Plov Div - a day trip Having our overnight train booked for that night we decide to head to Plove Dic. The original plan was to get the train down but as the next one was two hours awaym we jumped on a bus. 2 hours later we were there. 1st stop was the train station where we checkd to times and ...

... before reaching Istanbul and taking in the Turkish Black sea coast. Reaching the Ecotopia gathering near Sinop on the 14th August. Along the route, the Biketour links with local action groups and communities to support their campaigns. In Sofıa and İstanbul local activists have called a day of action on renewable energy sources and alternatıve forms of ...

... Bulgarian Orthodox monastery seems to be intrinsic for most travelers. Rila Monastery is the largest and the most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is renowned for its grandiose architecture, which boasts a main church that outshines the Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul, magnificent arches that seem to derive their influence from Andalucian Islamic architecture in southern Spain, and a four-story residential ...

... occasionally tried to take part in) the taunts that were constantly being hurled across the stadium to the idiots in red who sat on the other side. Overall it was an exciting game, if not for a little unnerving at times...particularly: - when flags of opposing teams were set on fire - when roman candles and flares were being shot from the stands - when one fan became so excited about a penalty kick that he actually bowled over Tania and I (I have the ...

... of people at the hostels so it's not so bad. I don't mind a couple days here and there being by myself. The times it's probably worst is just after hanging out with some cool people then being stuck by myself. For example, after leaving the gang in Olympos, Turkey. Every day was great fun then I went to just me being bored. But the good thing is I know I'll always be meeting more people somewhere along the way. That's one of the cool parts about traveling - the ...

... It was originally built in 927 but was practically destroyed by fire in the 19th century then restored. There is only one original tower remaining. It has a souvenir shop at the bottom where you can buy all your religious necessities. Rosaries, crosses, pictures of saints etc. We took loads of pics and wandered round the sleeping quarters. You can't go in any of them but there are great views from the balconies and you can peer into ...

... Nigel, Sam from QLD, Hatta from Japan and Susy from Korea at a local Bulgaria restaurant, although i wasn't feeling so good so had to settle for the superb shopska salad, soup and a cleansing ale!!! Glad that the restaurant wasn't far from the hostel, because there are alot of gypsies around at night, Sofia's not the safiest of places once darkness falls. Next morning I unfortunately severely damaged the Dalton, had a yack as well before the ...