It was a pretty easy going morning as a private bus wasn't coming to get us until noon. I had bought some breakfast from the market the night before so that I could sleep in and enjoy breakfast in bed. I watched the news and then eventually made my way into the shower.
Noon rolled around faster than I had thought it would, and we were off! The scenery in the first hour or so was beautiful. We were winding through the Balkan mountains. The rivers we drove alongside all seemed to be rather high - likely due to the large amounts of rain the Balkans have been hit with. We were quickly out of the mountain range however, and then back to pretty flat land.
The drive to the border of Bulgaria was a fairly quick one. We stopped at a truck stop to eat our lunch just before crossing. I had my first taste of peanut butter since leaving home! I made a banana and peanut butter sandwich at the hotel and brought it with me. It was heavenly.
Once into Bulgaria it was a little ways to the city of Sofia. We rolled in around 5pm and then once again, rushed off before getting settled to catch a free walking tour at 6. The guide of the tour was hilarious. He was a young university student in Eco-tourism and very enthusiastic. He showed us parliament and the changing of the guards, a synagogue, a mosque, an Orthodox Church, and a Catholic Church - all living in harmony with one another in such a small area (it can be done), as well as the Alexander Nevsky church that Sofia is known for, and St. Sofia church in which the city is named after. St. Sofia church was neat because the church bell is actually in the tree across from it rather than the top of the church. We were also shown the national theatre, and trees in which you find red and white bracelets hanging from the branches. From what I recall, people are given these bracelets and then not until they've seen a stork or something else they're unlikely to see, can they then take it off and tie it in the tree. Kind of interesting.
The guide also told us about the importance of the lion in Sofia. Their currency is called the Lev, or the lion, and you can find many lion statues or references around the city, symbolizing strength and power. We saw many other things during the 3 hour tour! It was a good one.
We were starving once it ended so we all went for a late dinner and watched a bit of the Italy vs. whichever team it was. Then it was bed!
Unfortunately, I dropped my camera the next day and it is now out of commission so I don't have any good photos to share for this post.
Entering Bulgaria:
Here is one of the synagogue from the hotel balcony:
Breakfast in bed:
No comments:
Post a Comment