Slavyanska Beseda Sofia

... oops we forgot to tell you the airport is stupidly expensive...cheers dad!<br><br>car ride was looong but its quite a nice journey scenerys lovely. you go out of sofia and through the mountains then its through farmers fields and small villages dotted about. notlooking forward to the bus trip back though, the parents don't fancy a 10 hour round trip to take us back to the airport too, damn!!

... br>The next morning, a haircut and motorcycle ride later, I was on the bus to Sofia, which has surprisingly excellent food, one very cool hostel (which was out of rooms), one very nice hostel (which I'm staying at), and more beautiful locals than you can ogle subtly at. The hostel is surprisingly full considering how late in the season it's getting - I had to buy a pair of jeans in Belgrade to supplement my sole pair of cargo pants. Last ...

... and straddling a region comprising Greeks, Thracians, and later Turks, Bulgaria beame a conduit for Slavic immigration and to this day has the reputation as the oldest of southern Slav cultures. But they were never a part of Yugoslavia, and have moved quickly to distance themselves from the past. Modern Sofia never sleeps. On the morning I arrived the Bukowski Bar next to the entrance of the hostel I've booked is still going strong ...

... crazy or homeless sitting inside of them. This was going to be a fun ride. Jared and I stopped at the last box which had only one person curled up in the corner of it. We slid open the door and sat at the edge furtherest away from the person inside. I don't know if it was a man or woman, but they were wearing a huge jacket and kept their head down the entire time execpt for when they would wake up with a terrible hacking cough. There was no way we were going to get comfortable ...

... with approx. 1,4 mill habitants. It's situated in western Bulgaria, at the slope of Vitosha Mt in Sophia Valley. The history of Sophia dates back 7000 years ago (prehistoric settlements were found in today city center).It was also important center of Thracian culture.In 5th, 6th century Slaves migrated into the region,which was then the part of Byzantine empire (which was ruled from Constantinopolis).In ...

... initial bemusement - Bulgarians nod their heads for `no´ and shake their heads for `yes´. I felt like I was living inside some Monty Python sketch and, had I not been so jaded, I could almost have laughed. A little further along I saw a sign for another hostel nearby and went there in order to ask to use the phone to call the hostel I wished to stay at. On the phone, the hostel owner announced he was full and also added that the reason I´d not found it was because the ...

... up the bag and open the train window and toss the smokes out.. well.. there where two aussies who got kicked of the same train as us who where seated in another carriage and they where handing there passports over with heaps of money in it to customs and the police.. Sofia was fun.. well the time we spent there.. unfortunately by the time we got to the train station there where no more seats.. book for the next day and head to a hostel.. we should so be doing our washing in Athens right now

... choir started to sing their Sunday gospel. Unfortunately, after I finished the Icon Museum in the crypt of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, all other museums or churches had all closed. I walked to both Banya Boshi Mosque and the Synagogue (there is a Jewish museum in the synagogue) but could only see them from outside. Before I headed back to Hostel Mostel for its nightly beer/pasta feast, I walked into the Central Market Hall ...

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a aa a a aa a a sepia pics.... art or something... http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/ anttimm/IMG_8681.jpg http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/ anttimm/IMG_8759.jpg http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/ anttimm/IMG_8748.jpg http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/ anttimm/IMG_8738.jpg http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b212/ anttimm/IMG_8737.jpg http://i20 ...

... ago. Due to this, Bulgaria has not been able to "advance" as quickly as other European countries which is what makes my experiences here so wonderful. Because Bulgaria is up for admittance into the EU in the next round (2007), various changes are demanded - yet again. I fear that these scenes of shepherds and rustic, pot-holed roads will soon become obsolete. So when I said that I enjoyed "playing the game" with immigration - I meant it. These are all ...