Plovdiv & Sofya

Trip Start Jun 09, 2008

Trip End Jul 04, 2008

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Where I stayed

On the train

(Plovdiv hotels)

Flag of Bulgaria Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Saturday, June 28, 2008

On the way to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, I met an interesting Japanse. He was living in Istanbul and studying Turkish at a international language school. After he worked for an NGO in Afganistan for 2 years, he came to Istanbul to study Turkish. He told me that he would like to work in Turkey in the futere. I just listened to his talk and learned a lot about Turkey. I also learned that yogurt was originally from Turkey, not Bulgaria, which disappointed me a little bit because I was looking forward to eating good yogurt in Bulgaria. Anyway, I had to leave him at Plovdiv, because he was going to Sofya.

When I got off the night train at Plovdiv, I bought a map at a newsstand and asked the seller about tourist attractions, even though she didn't speak English at all. I had heard that Plovdiv was one of the tourist hub, but there was no TI office. First off, I decided to climb the hill with a big statue on the top, although I didn't know if it was a tourist attraction. The map was written in Bulgarian and so I didn't even know who the statue model was. Anyway, the way to the hill top was very rugged and, in addition, around the hill top, I lost the way

Plovdiv Statue Hill

. Actually, I regretted climbing the hill at that time. When I barely reached the top, I found a family with a small kid and wondered how they climbed up the rugged hill. After a half hour rest, I decided to leave the hill and asked two Bulgarian girls talking on a bench the way to the Old Town. They were university students from another town, kindly taking me there. I should have declined their offer, becuase it took us more than 30 mins. Anyway, the Old Town was beautiful and quiet, not touristy. and right size to stroll around. It was a candidate for a World Heritage Site. Then I was satisfied with the city and went back to the station.

It was about three in the afternoon, when I arrived at the train station. I had a timetable to take a train leaving Sofya for Thessaloniki and the train was supposed to leave Sofya late in the evening. I knew Plovdiv was more enjoyable than Sofya, but it was an idea to try the capital of Bulgaria.

I hate to say this, but Sofya was the dirtiest city I had ever visited in Europe. A river was messy with a lot of garbages and the edge of a bridge was collapsed. I even saw some stray dogs around the city. As a matter of course, there was no TI office. They shouldn't show their city to tourists. In the city market, I was scared by a burgar vender to buy a kebab. Honestly, I was fed up with Sofya. However I had to kill time there to take a train to Greece. What is more, the train was one hour late and smelly inside, although the conductor of the train was kind and friendly and that's the only good thing of Sofya.

The girl staying in the same compartment was an interpreter from Cyprus who spoke six languages. She had an experience to work in the Athens Olympic Games. She was also complaining of the train, saying she couldn't sleep in the diry and smelly train without beds. I agreed with her, but eventually I had a sound sleep. When I got up, she was also sleeping tight.