When I told people that we were going to Bulgaria the most popular reaction was, 'what for?". Honestly, I didn't have a good answer because I did not know anything about Bulgaria but I think this was the opportune time to find out.
I started planning the weekend knowing that I not only wanted to see the capital, Sofia, but we also like doing day trips. I feel like I get to experience more of the culture seeing more than one city. From the advice of a friend we decided on Plovdiv. A town about 150 km from Sofia.
Day 1:
We arrived in a tiny, little airport at 12:55 am. Being in a new country and knowing I don't speak the language I arranged for a private car to take us to the hotel. Looking back, we could have simply and cheaply taken a taxi. But we didn't and that was OK. Live and learn.
We stayed in Bon Bon Central Hotel and I think it was a great deal. Our room was huge and comfortable; plus a delicious breakfast was included in the price.
Day 2:
One thing we have learnt over the past years is that being flexible is a must while traveling.
Usually, Jesse has a pretty good nose for directions. This day wasn't our day.
We had planned to go to the military museum but spent most of the morning lost and wandering streets to find it. After walking for a good two hours, we finally got there!
The military museum was much smaller than we expected but it was pretty cool. There were lots of airplanes, tanks, and missiles that were used in the war.
In the afternoon, after having a quick beer, we joined the only free food tour that exists in the world. Balkan Bites Food Tour is a walking tour that takes you to different restaurants around the city and you get to try traditional Bulgarian food for FREE!
After the tour, we spent the rest of the day wandering around and exploring the city.
One great thing about Bulgaria is the exchange rate. Everything was so cheap compared to western Europe we got a little fancy on this trip.
Day 3:
Always be sure to know if you are buying a bus ticket or a train ticket.
We had the intention of going to Plovdiv on the bus but we did not realize we bought a train ticket rather than a bus ticket. It turned out to be better though because trains are more comfortable and in my opinion, just more fun.
It took nearly 3 hours to get to Plovdiv. Longer than we anticipated but we still had enough time to explore the old town.
We walked around and followed our noses to find an amazing lunch.
We grabbed the train back to Sofia in the late afternoon. We accidentally got on to a first class car- whoops. Because the car was almost empty and we had poor communication with the ticket checker, we were allowed to stay in first class. Totally great going back in the fancy car. You can close the door, dim the lights and stretch out. We passed out and slept most of the way back.
Day 4:
By the last day, we kind of felt like we hadn't seen much of Sofia because a lot of our first day was spent lost and walking in circles. We got going at about 11:00 am. After waking up for breakfast and going back to sleep we finally got packed up and headed out. We took a good tour around the city. Without getting lost this time and when we hopped in the taxi for the airport, we felt satisfied that we had seen Sofia as best we could in three days.
