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Member since:22.10.2003
Reviews:69
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I've been living in Sofia since September 2004, so I've learnt quite a lot about it which might be of interest to any intrepid travellers out there who are thinking of going, or even better, may be I'll spark off a new interest in someone who's never previously considered it.
A little history
Bulgaria used to be a communist country and has the unusual accolade of being an ex-communist country that voted the communists back in once they got the free vote! Economically, it's had its ups and downs, particularly in 1996 when everything went haywire and the average standard of living plummeted. But things are on the up. Bulgaria is looking forward to probable EU entry in 2007, and this can only boost the economy in my view.
For the visitor
Sofia
is not a beautiful city in the usual sense of the word. But it has a faded glamour and once you begin to get to know it (give yourself a week) you will fall in love with it. Many buildings, it first glance, seem to be crumbling, barely standing even, but this is not the whole story. Look around and you will see some absolutely amazing churches, cathedrals and public buildings. The Orthodox Church favours awe-inspiring golden domes which simply take your breath away. It's an exceedingly green city- something that many tourists miss. Find the enormous park, hire a bike, and you can be lost for hours.
As a western tourist, holidays here are unbelievably cheap. You can eat out at a wonderful restaurant, have several courses, wine (Bulgarian of course-it's lovely), and pay, say, a tenner a head. Public transport and taxis are minimal- a taxi from the airport to the centre should cost you less than 3 pounds (it's about 20 minutes).
And there is skiing of course! The nearest mountain is Vitosha, which is a short bus ride away. A day's ski pass plus hiring skis will set you back no more than about 10 pounds. This is where the Bulgarians go, so it's not a lavish resort. But skiing is skiing!
Just a word about the pricing here- Bulgaria openly operates a dual pricing code- more for foreigners. Please don't begrudge this, as many Bulgarians have extremely low wages by your standards (in fact the average is only about 100-150 pounds a month.) They can't afford to pay your prices, but you can afford to pay a little more and put something back into their economy!
Things to do
It's a capital, but bear in mind the population of the whole country is the same as just London, so it's smaller and much quieter in comparison. But there are Many museums and churches (all beautifal and unlike Western churches) Thousands of bars and restaurants Clubs, Strip clubs (if you're into that kind of thing), Casinos Several theatres and cinemas (there is always some live music to enjoy, again at remarkably low prices) Two wonderful parks, plenty of space to cycle, ride horses, hire pedal carts, let the kids loose What more do you need?!
Climate
Well, there's plenty of snow now, but in summer it gets up to around the high twenties, early thirties, often with afternoon storms.
Food and Drink
Cheap, plentiful, tasty and really quite healthy! Sofia has loads of great restaurants, although they're not always easy to find (see my PS below). Normally, Bulgarians start with a salad, accompanied by a rakia (very alcoholic grape brandy!). They follow with meat, usually pork, but there's everything else too, accompanied by perhaps some grilled vegetables and potato of some form. It's not spicy, but is a very tasty cuisine all the same. For the less adventurous there are the ubiquitous KFC, McDonalds etc. But why bother? The wine is ludicrously cheap- you can buy a rubbish bottle for the equivalent of about 30p, so imagine what you can get if you splash out a few pounds...
Getting to Sofia
BA do once daily flights direct to Sofia, and this is by far the best option, if you can get to Heathrow. Usually a return is about 250 pounds, but of course this is variable. There will be no cheap airlines flying to Sofia until they join the EU.
The only downers are-
The language is very hard to get to grips with, especially if you're here on a weekend break, as the Cyrillic alphabet (like Russian) is used. Many people do speak English though.
Some parts of the city are really tumbling down, and this can make you very sad!
There's not very much to buy in the shops, except clothes, all imported.
As a PS, if anyone is seriously thinking of coming here and would like some more precise advice on places to go, drop me a message and I'll be more than pleased to help.
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Sound an really interesting place. I would love to try the rakia!
JohnGroom 04.09.2005 17:54
Good review. Sounds interesting. I've never been before but I am considering it now.
Cheers, John
torr 03.09.2005 13:33
I would be interested, despite the crumbling Communist architecture (don't mind crumbling, but I've already seen too much Communist elsewhere in Eastern Europe). But it won't be for a while. Good review, anyway. Duncan
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