Silver House Sofia

... work we didn't get it set up to work abroad...oops. go outside to find the father...he's not there. ask where to get change and get pointed to a small exchange office. decided that we'd just get a drink at the cafe and get changethat way, picked up a can of coke and went to pay for it....5 LEV. gave a 10 and got a 5LEV note back. but we need change please....go to the bank we don't give change ...

... We were up for awhile talking to them about their travels. Spaniards never seem to have a care in the world. They were a good group to hang out with. There were 6 seats - 3 facing 3. Each couple sat across from each other and moved the chairs down so it formed a really narrow bed. Brian and I were at the window so we were booked in pretty well. We couldn't make a narrow bed because there's NO way we would have fit in it - without kicking the couple next to us. Oh, the fun of train travel.

... and you could tell he was as strong as on ox. Three years ago he was diagnosed with a failing heart that was only 37% operative, when it dropped to 36% they said he would most probably die. He was still going strong, and told me about the 825 Russian soldiers that had frozen to death on the mountain fighting for Bulgarian independence. This rather sad tale reflects the good feelings Bulgarians have toward Russia ...

... to go. All of the cars looked like sleeper sections and we did not pay extra for that. We walked towards the back of the train and ran into another one of the ticket men and asked him hoping for some better assistance. He looked at our tickets and pointed to the last car on the train. Apparently there, it's every man for himself and you just take your pick at a seat rather than having assigned ones. We climbed our way up to the last car and immediately felt like we had stepped ...

So Igor and me on the last moment decided to go on another IFSS (International Forestry Students' Symposium), this time like ALUMNI. So we took a train on Sunday midnight and our adventure began; the train trip lasted from midnight till 19 h next day, so it was a quite long trip, but it would be faster if the train weren't so f.... slow. After we finally came to Sofia we were placed in hotel which was almost ...

I arrived in Sofia two hours late and, having forgotten about the extra hour lost for the time-zone change, it was already a dark and cold evening by the time I left the station. I headed in search of the hostel I´d picked out and, despite Cyrillic sign posts that were infinitely more indecipherable than those of Belgrade, I found the road of the hostel with surprising ease. The hostel, however, was nowhere to be seen. I wandered around for what seemed an age, circling ...

So we are on the train to Sofia and all is well we have a compartment with four people in it and very relaxed mood.. until we get to the Bulgarian border.. now it is funny all these customs people and police jump on as do people they try and cram in the door to get a seat..two ladies tried very very had to come through the door at the same time. Interesting concept.. what is that about.. so the police have screwdrivers and are checking the panelling of the train and under the seats and ...

... took over, some of their cultural heritage survived. It is interesting to visit a place with complicated heritage like this. And unlike Sarajevo, another multi-cultured city, ethnic and religious differences never seem to evolve into a unrepressable mutual hatred here. Of course, most of Bulgaria's grand past is associated with its Byzantine connection, mainly the multi-domed Orthodox churches. Among all the churches, the ...

... some of the most fasinating people I have ever met. This did not seem to lift his spirits much, but he did thank me for coming back and was happy that I seemed interested in Bulgaria. After a dinner of good local food at my favorite Sofia restaurant Pri Yafata, I met up with the South African guy who has just seen his girlfriend off to the railway station. He would not see her for another five weeks, and then in South Africa. He met me at ...

... the sunset. One can go up north and have dinner on the Danube while taking in the glorious views of the Romanian mountains across the river. This is a country that has gone through so many transformations dating back to prehistory - almost all marked by horrifying events and years of bloodshed. That being said, the initial apprehension felt towards foreigners is completely understandable. They have been ruled by, stretched and squeezed, and butchered by ...