Sofia (Bulgaria)

...but just one corner of Sofia highlights it. For you have a grand Synagogue, where you recall the Nazi Occupation that took over the country, and mostly led to it becoming Soviet for the next forty years. The Jewish community is tiny now, although through local determination hardly any Jews were disposed of, and most freely went to Israel in the post-war years.

Next door, a nicely revamped market hall, which was probably the scene of ...
...one of the three attempts Sofia has at a main square. The Largo is an attractive rectangle that features the Party Building at one end, which used to be dwarfed by a Soviet star on top, and a poor statue of Wisdom at the other end, whose prominent nipples were thought better than Lenin.

In between there is the rare sight of a medieval church peeking out of an underpass, for it was built ten foot below modern ground level. There's a ... more

For the first time theediscerning is hereby dabbling in foreign climes - no, not a first trip abroad, but a debut excursion into the esteemed realm of Ciao travel writers. That's what these competition thingies are for, of course.

To start with, a smallish city both tucked away in the middle of Eastern Europe's old Soviet / Warsaw Pact areas, yet far enough away from us in the UK to have some of the mystery and oddity the near east brings - Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

You will increasingly see this as a location for a long weekend holiday, for it is yet another fine eastern European city falling under the tourism industry's eye. With Bulgaria possibly entering the Eurozone in 2007, the urge is to go before it all gets changed.

The history of the country is far too complex to summarise here, but just one corner of Sofia highlights it. For you have a grand Synagogue, where you recall the Nazi Occupation that took over the country, and mostly led to it becoming Soviet for the next forty years. The Jewish community is tiny now, although through local determination hardly any Jews were disposed of, and most freely went to Israel in the post-war years.

Next door, a nicely revamped market hall, which was probably the scene of lots of babushka-types queuing for their monthly bread rations in Soviet times, but now is so posh, airy and refitted it carries no such ghosts.

Thirdly, completing the row, the main Mosque. The whole country is a melting pot of Orthodoxy and Balkan tradition, with Turkish and Islamic influence, with a burgeoning look west, away from the old Soviet Bloc past and into the gungho industry of trade. The religious mix is furthered by Roman Catholic minorities, some further Greek influences (for obvious reasons - it's the country due south of Bulgaria) - and just round the corner of the three buildings mentioned, the Roma gypsies seem to congregate for their begging.

There are also Arabic mineral baths across a small park from this triumvirate, and just slightly south, one of the three attempts Sofia has at a main square. The Largo is an attractive rectangle that features the Party Building at one end, which used to be dwarfed by a Soviet star on top, and a poor statue of Wisdom at the other end, whose prominent nipples were thought better than Lenin.

In between there is the rare sight of a medieval church peeking out of an underpass, for it was built ten foot below modern ground level. There's a whole host of churches in Sofia, all different, all worth a look, and too many to detail here.

South a few yards again, and one gets to a larger church in a traffic island - square two. Here seems to be the best place for the postcards home, if nothing else.

Back under the Party Building, one can easily notice the sets in the road - the paved bricks are regularly painted gold. This road heading east is where the old military parades were held, and is still the main road to take you past several of the sites in the direction of the Nevsky Church, the city's orthodox cathedral. But before we leave, we have the president's offices on our right, where the daintily clothed soldiers still do their goose-stepping 'small change' each hour, the prime minister's offices on our left, and in a two o'clock direction, the main archaeological museum. You'll notice it for the remains outside.

Going along our golden road you will find the other museums, first, a large national art gallery, with the third main square outside. If The Largo has a connection with Moscow's Red Square - a large mall where the state shop was (here it's Tzum, not GUM), this has too - there used to be a Mausoleum here for standing on and watching the tanks trundle past. There's no sign now, just gardens, leading to posh eateries and the national theatre. These are a good, cooling spot, watching the children play, and if you're lucky, some busking bluesmen, calling themselves, and this is no lie - Alexandrov's Ragtime Band.

The Russian church is further along, a quaint, small thing, typically dark, gloomy and smothered in blackness inside from the cheap, poor quality candles the congregation use. (For the country's most fabulous Russian church, try and get to Kazanlak, and the Shipka Memorial church outside there.)

The Nevski Church, which you will by now have seen on postcards, posters and so on, is a huge edifice, a roundabout among golden cobbles, gilt domes competing with that at their feet. Inside it's cleaner, brighter and fresher than some other churches, and clearly rich. You have to consider there's hardly anything in Sofia that is over 120 years old, what with infidel invaders, earthquakes and so on, so this isn't exactly ancient. It is though mightily impressive.

In this quarter of town you'll find the university, national library, and other large, important buildings, in a nice sandstone colour. The streets are wider and less oppressive than some cities, but when the buildings need to be grand, they are.

There are other churches, monuments and markets around the Nevski, but if we go back to our starting point back west, we can catch up on other churches - St George's, which is a rotunda, again below current floor levels, with lots of Roman walls on either side. Admission to anything - this or the poky and hoighty-toighty Sveta Petka church, or any of the museums, is barely a £ if anything.

So your fictional weekend is over as regards sites. You can head out down the Vitosha street then, which has lots of western style shops, and a couple of really decent eateries - try the lamb pilaf in the open air at Background for size. Further down is a large park, with the most run-down memorial to anybody and anything in the world, ever, and a huge blob of building serving as culture centre, where according to current listings you can see a subtitled Hollywood cinema film for 60p.

You can then think to get out to the hills to the south of the city - and do so, if not before the Euro invasion, then before the 2012 Winter Olympics are sited there, which is the city's intention. There's a very early church if it would float your boat, and acres and acres of hiking through the woods - a bit midgy though, for some.

This is all very well without knowing something more basic about the city, such as how to get there. You fly, dear boy, you fly. The airport to the east of town is fairly small, and not fabulous as regards shopping or security (it's up to you which is more important), and a short trip away. The flightpath over the town is a great welcome - blag the window seat.

Once arriving anywhere in the country though the Cyrillic alphabet may well flummox. Road signs are becoming bilingual, as it were, and Sofia is the best place away from the Black Sea coast resorts for being understood in English, so you might just survive. You should survive fully intact too, it seems a most friendly and crime-free city, and the only threat might be an assumed one on derby day for the football fans.

You will survive the drinking water, fresh from the hills mentioned earlier, and the food is perfectly palateable. You won't like the country if you're lactose intolerant, as a lot of dishes come with cheese, or yoghurt. A great way to spend the evening is to have a salad, based round either, for starter, then a main course, probably ordered with potato and vegetables (side-salad, in other words) separately, plus the local beers, and spend £7 for the pair of you. You get to see a lot of cucumber, cheese and tomato in a week or so in Bulgaria...

The climate is variable, although winters and summers tend to be much like British, only more pronounced. The heat is never too much of a problem though, and being mainland Europe, is never the horrid humid mugginess England has for a summer. Theediscerning went late July, when it was supposed to be blindingly hot - it was getting on for that, but as it was high season all the locals were on holiday, the tourists weren't interested as it was warm elsewhere, and the town was lovely and empty. Two days after he moved on, the region was deluged by dreadful floods...

(It was also a weekend, and so almost all the churches were being used for weddings. The natives are said not to mind you peeking round and having a look at the church, although probably it will still make you feel uncomfortable. It does however mean there are people much more smartly-dressed and better looking than the average tourist in your photos...)

So, to summarise, Sofia is more of a large town than a major European city. They are only starting to build their second underground line, but for the tourist, the sites are mostly within walking distance of each other, with some busses to think of for the more adventurous going off the beaten track. (It's very flat, too.) The public transport is very cheap by local standards, as is everything throughout the country, and while some parts of town aren't as posh as you'd like - the pavements and roads more pothole than paving in many areas to the east, it's a fun, safe and cheap place to explore.

*Insert the Bulgarian for "see you there!" here* - it's very highly recommended.

It would probably be too much to expect you to spend an entire week in Sofia, as you would have to spend time taking in your surroundings in all the many parks and open spaces, after seeing every museum exhibit (and 60p film) to pass the time, and so it is expected you will happily leave this great town and try and see more of the country. Which should be covered in a second op soon... 

...less