Saturday 28th June 2008

Getting into Sofia was quite an adventure. The old guidebook said that we could catch a number 5 or 6 bus and then a number 20 tram, but the campsite staff indicated that we needed a small bus numbered 37. A number 6 came along first and when we attempted to communicate with the driver, one of the passengers came to our aid and told us to take the bus to its terminus before changing to a tram. Once on the tram, we had no idea where we were but after travelling for some time we came to somewhere that seemed busy enough to be near the centre. As luck would have it, we were outside the Central Mineral Baths, a beautiful building, closed for refurbishment near but the locals were busy filling large plastic containers with spa water at the many fountains. We did a tour of the city centre sights including (regular readers will not be surprised) the archaeological museum. Being in the capital, this had finds from many parts of the country including beautiful Greek and Roman sculptures in stone and bronze. However, the most impressive part of the collection came in the Thracian room. The quality of the Thracians decorated pottery, jewellery, gold work and the silver plates, bowls and drinking vessels was staggering. Unlike many other areas of the Greek world, many of these finds were discovered in excellent condition in tombs that had not been plundered. Some of the finds are relatively recent (last 20 to 40 years) and this makes one wonder how much more there is to be discovered in Bulgaria. A room devoted to earlier cultures was also interesting, with 4000 BC pottery miniature houses and ovens and carved figures so similar to the Greek 'Cycladic Figures' that there must have been a strong connection between the cultures. Emerging from the museum just before 14:00, we were able to watch the changing of the guard at the President's Building. The guards' costumes were not as ridiculous as those in some countries but they did have an over-elaborate marching routine that involved a change into a high-kicking stride and reminded me of the Monty Python 'Ministry of Silly Walks'.
We could find any Bulgarian cuisine for lunch and having passed a McDreadfuls, a Dunking Doughnuts, a Chinese and a Mexican, we settled for a small café / restaurant that served pizzas. It is obviously a cosmopolitan city, we will have to wait until another day to taste traditional Bulgarian food.
Other sights included the Banya Bashi Mosque, the former Communist Party Building (sacked by demonstrators in August 1990), one of the Roman City Gates (we stumbled across this below street level as we passed through an underpass in front of the Communist Party Building), Sveti Nicholas Russian church, the very impressive and very large Aleksander Nevski Church, and the Roman Rotunda converted into a church in the Middle Ages. One of the memories of Sofia will be weddings – we saw many brides, June is obviously a big month for weddings in Bulgaria.
We have seen many police since we have been in Bulgaria, mostly operating speed traps (beware if you are driving here, there are everywhere) and pulling vehicles in for spot checks of paperwork – licence, insurance etc. However, it made me think of the communist days and the secret police when I saw police Jeeps driving through Sofia with their blue lights flashing and full of police wearing black leather jackets. We subsequently heard on the BBC World Service that there had been a Gay Pride march in Bulgaria that had been violently attacked by homophobic groups. I suspect that it was held in Sofia and the police could have been heading there.
We returned to the campsite and settled the bill for the two nights. At 64 leva (approx. £31), it was very expensive given the very poor facilities.
Photos: The Roman gate to Serdica (Sofia) in the underpass; Changing guard at the President's Building; A newly-married couple leaving the Sveti Nicholas Russian Church; The huge and glorious Aleksander Nevski Church.