Bulgaria

I’m still reeling from a weekend spent in Bulgaria with my old friend Eric.  Taking this trip on a whim after he visited Copenhagen, I was in Sofia 4 days after deciding to go, flying in last Thursday evening.  Eric met me at the airport with a sign reading “г-н Джон Ягър” (Mr Jon Jaeger), relieving me of my anxious oh-shit-I-have-no-idea-where-the-fuck-I-am-or-where-the-hell-I’m-going feeling. 

A sight for sore eyes

The view from the nicest penthouse in the country

We grabbed some good sushi nearby (of all things) and then explored a little of the cityscape at night.  After I got a little taste of the embassy scene from my dear friend, I wandered around Sofia solo seeing the sights with my eyes and camera.  The infrastructure is pretty run down in the country, and the majority of transportation is by car and taxi.  The buildings are a mix of old historical brick buildings and cold war era concrete apartments.  There are a lot of churches representing different time periods and different sects, some extremely old.  It was great to travel outside of Northern Europe, and I enjoyed seeing things that were radically different from what I’ve become accustomed to in the last few months.  Good country.

Monument to the liberation by the Russians

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Bulgarian Revolutionaries were imprisoned here in 1873

Sofia

Russian Orthodox 

Church of St. George, originally built in the 4th century

That evening we hoped on a bus to the southern city of Blagoevgrad, where Eric went to American University in Bulgaria the semester before.  I happened to arrive on the night of miss AUBG, a beauty pageant for the students there.  It was a great time meeting all of the friends of my friend.

Miss AUBG

The next day Eric, Zulfiya, Bekah and myself went for a leisurely lunch in part of the old town, and sat outside with a nice view over the city.  While digesting, we strolled though more of the old town.  We lit a candle inside the old church and admired the very old style Eastern Orthodox building.  The natives then took me around the downtown area of Blago, and into the main building for the school.  We found some views from the top floor.

View for Lunch

Navigation true to my style

This is what I look like in Bulgaria

The afternoon was spent lying on the grass in front of the dorms drinking a Tuborg and enjoying the sunny day before a night out on the town. 

Candle light gathering with local Bulgarian Rap

That evening was a blast for us high roller college students, and one that I will not soon forget.  Thanks to the AUBG locals for showing me a good time!

After saying farewell to Blago, and getting yelled at by the bus ticket lady for reasons still unbeknownst to us, we were on our way back to Sofia. Thanks to daylights saving, I only had so much time before my flight back to Copenhagen.  The bus got stuck in traffic and it was looking like I might miss my flight.  Once in a taxi in Sofia, I felt like the character in the movies shoving money through the slot in an attempt to have some control over the speed of the vehicle.  Upon a very late arrival at the airport, I was delighted to see mine was the only plane on the schedule, and the airport was empty.  I was though check-in, security, and passport control in 4 minutes.  In retrospect, there would be worse things than being stuck in Bulgaria.

What I learned: 

Cheers in Bulgarian -  “наздраве” (nazdrave!)