Sky Way Sofia

Due to a different perception of time we only travelled 13 instead of 18 hours from Vienna to Sofia which "enabled" us to spend 5 more valuable hours out in the freezing cold of Sofia, yeah!! Sometimes it's hard to believe that Bulgaria is a EU member... street conditions for cars and pedestrians are hazardous since there are many holes. The favourite food of Bulgarians seems to be pizza and we even met Mr. Flavio Ravioli alias Silvio Berlusconi who visited Sofia ...

... Diana has this tendency in the extreme, often interrupting her own sentences with her next runaway thought). My former manager Jacqui joked about publishing a book after my travels, but let's not kid ourselves. I don't fancy myself a Danny Wallace, or even a Bill Bryson; I'll be well pleased if I can contribute to Cracked.com once before I die, especially if Kranz found it worth forwarding.

A final note. This blog got 400 hits in ...

... that a hostel wasn't open 24 hours a day. It didn't make any sense. We figured there had to be people inside, so we started yelling up to the windows, but no one responded. It was only a little after 8, so we still had a while before the place would open up according to the sign. We definitely were not going to wait outside in the cold, so we walked down the street to a little cafe and got orange juice and sat and did our homework for a few hours. When it was 10:30, we ...

I woke up in time for the border control, which for the first time in days was a simple affair. Nothing more than having my passport checked by a border guard from each side. That's the way I like it- no entrance fees, no "why you here" bollocks. I shared my compartment with two women in their mid-forties, neither of whom spoke any English, so any post-border conversation was impossible. I rolled back under my blanket and fell into a half-sleep, that strange state where ...

In the morning, a friend of mine unexpectedly called, and asked for help with his computer. Although I had planned to leave early, I've decided to help him out. "A friend in need is a friend indeed" as the saying goes. And the best thing when you hitchike is that you are not supposed to be "on time" for bus/train/whatever. So, I've started the journey to Burgas a bit late. At 14:00 I hit the road, armed with my backpack, thrilled with the journey I was taking. I've ...

... instead trudged through the snow with all the delight of the modern Englishman deprived of proper snow in his own mild but miserable climate. As I did so, I couldnŽt help but notice the locals shooting me bemused looks, the kind of stock expression one reserves for the crazy people they encounter in parks. And of course, they would nod rather than shake their head - now whoŽs crazy? So serene were my surroundings that I decided IŽd sit down and read my Theroux for a ...

... master thesis, what is great. I would like to compare history school books in two different countries, possibly in Macedonia and in Bulgaria. The task would be hard but really interesting. :) What I also hopefully learned, is some kind of realism towards people and life. It is since the beginning of April that I have been out of home and that time has definitely broadened my mind in several ways. All that enthuasism, love, misery, distrust, different ...

... customs officials inspected each cabin. Now, this seemed kind of strange to me because I was dead sleep just moments before and had kind of forgotten where we were. On top of that, I had my glasses on (I am practically blind without my contacts) so I couldn't really see, and the customs official had a huge flashlight shining in our faces. Add that to the fact that I was lying down in a bunk in my pj's (clearly I wasn't expecting visitors). I felt like a ...

... It's very different from Macedonia and Beograd. Not much has really been happening, but I'm definitely recuperating from the night train/ferry that I took the past few days. Addendum: Sofia's nightlife is crazy. I definitely had some of my greatest nights out here. So don't worry, my opinion of Sofia is MUCH different than how I came in.

... Immigration office but I just stood there and smiled, not having any clue what was going on, nor did I ask. This went on for a few visits until my curiosity got the better of me. Eddie was filling in a form for what was supposed to be the final stage of the application process. I was looking over his shoulder trying to figure out all the Cyrillic letters and saw a box marked "HOC". So very proudly, I asked what the ...