Day One: SOFIA, Bulgaria

the3l3n30
Jun 11, 2020
3 min read

Now sure if anyone of you heard about this city called Sofia in Bulgaria. Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria and also the largest city, situated in the very heart of the Balkan peninsula, also one of Europe’s oldest cities. I would recommend that you should put Sofia into your European travel schedule if you like open-air activities, culture, hiking, relaxing in parks, or enjoying live music.

Since I have 3 days off in Dubai, so I plan to visit Bulgaria. I take a flight with FlyDubai from Dubai to Sofia, the flight time take approximately 5 hours and 25 minutes. This time is not my solo trip because one of my colleagues from Colombia, Catherine, she decide to join me to Bulgaria.

We landed in Sofia, clear the immigration and take a cab to our hostel. We stay at Mostel Hostel, right at the city center. We choose this hostel because they really have a nice location and high review score from the tourists as well. Plus the prices are affordable and they provide breakfast and dinner too, and free beer! After done the check in stuff, we quickly get change and head to the Palace of Justice, around 10 minutes walk from the hostel. Both of us already book the free walking tour at 6 pm. So the meeting point is in Palace of Justice. (Link: https://freesofiatour.com/free-sofia-tour/ )

When we arrived there, you wouldn't believe the amount of people that joining this tour. Due to the large number of the people that joining this walking tour, they seperate the group into two groups. This walking tour take about 2 hours.

Sveta Nedelya Church is an Eastern Orthodox church in Sofia. A cathedral of the Sofia bishopric of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Sveta Nedelya is a medieval church that has suffered destruction through the ages and has been reconstructed many times.

Behind me is the statue of Sveta Sofia. It is a monumental sculpture in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2000, the statue was erected and stands in a spot once occupied by a statue of Lenin. Sophia was considered too erotic and pagan to be referred to as a saint.

This is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church in Sofia call Church of St Petka. It is a small one-naved building partially dug into the ground located in the very centre of both the modern and the antique city, in the TZUM subway.

In 1950 the Largo is designed and built with the intention of becoming the city's new representative centre. The Largo is an architectural ensemble of three Socialist Classic. Today it is regarded as one of the prime examples of Socialist Classicism architecture in Southeastern Europe.

The Central Mineral Baths is a landmark in the centre of Sofia, a city known for the mineral springs in the area. It was built in the early 20th century near the former Turkish bath and was used as the city's public baths until 1986.

Mineral Spring. Until this day, people flock to the springs and wait in line to fill their bottles. While they are waiting, people often exchange urban myths of guaranteed longevity.

Group picture of walking tour in front of Presidency.

This red brick church is Church of Saint George which is an Early Christian red brick rotunda that is considered the oldest building in Sofia, amid remains of the ancient town of Serdica.

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and it is believed to be one of the top 50 largest Christian church buildings in the world.

After we finished the walking tour, we plan to have a nice local dinner in Sofia so we try out this local restaurant called The Hadjidragana Travern as is highly recommended by the local people.

On the entrance of the restaurant, you can find yourself surrounded by the atmosphere established by the stone walls and the barrels, woodcarvings, traditional Bulgarian garbs and items from the 18th century.

The menu is based on traditional Bulgarian recipes all over the country. They also offer extensive wine list with Bulgarian wines. In most of the evenings there is live folklore music. You can enjoy the summer garden too. This restaurant usually is pack and full so reservation is required.