Bulgarian Blitz-Boogie: Downtown Sofia

During the three nights that I have spent in Sofia last April, I have spent most of the time walking around Sofia, though I did a daytrip to the south to see the Rila Montastery. During my last day, it was a Monday, and so before I took the flight back to Berlin, I did a walking tour of the city, and this post shows the photos that I have took.

Bulgarian Blitz-Boogie: Monument to the Soviet Army

Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, and as we all know (unless you've been living under a rock, or you failed World History), Bulgaria for the most part of the previous century, has been under Communist Rule. This means there are plenty of architectural and monumental artifacts all over town pointing to this part of history. The buildings are grand and majestic, and the monuments are elaborate, showing the socialist worker ethic. So one of these places is the Monument to the Soviet Army, which is located a little bit to the east of the center. It is now in the midst of a public park, and there are plenty of skateboarders practicing their moves around it, but it still looks grandiose to some degree.

Bulgarian Blitz-Boogie: Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

One of the things I wanted to see in Sofia was this church. It was huge, it was imposing, and it was actually the first structure I saw and recognized while my plane was landing into the airport on my first night. It was pretty, and was illuminated at night. It is one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, and it is also a symbol of Sofia and Bulgaria as a whole.

Bulgarian Blitz-Boogie: Rila National Park

When I visited the southern part of Bulgaria, not only did I go visit the famous Rila Monastery, but I also did a little bit of hiking around the mountains in the area. After all, Saint Ivan of Rila was a hermit and lived in a cave in these surroundings, before founding the monastery that bears his name. So when we arrived at the area, we actually went ahead and checked out his cave first, before visiting the monastery. Good thing I had my hiking shoes on, it took care of my feet very well.

Bulgarian Blitz-Boogie: Rila Monastery

As my previous posts have alluded to, I went on a short holiday to Bulgaria. I flew to Sofia and spent 3 nights. While I was there, I have seen a bit of the capital, as well as the countryside. In fact, the first thing I have seen is the Rila Monastery, which is not in Sofia, but somewhere south of the capital. I joined a daytrip to get here, so we were in a car for 2 hours in order to find this place.

The Europe I Didn't Know

Last month, I spent a short amount of time in Bulgaria. The chance to visit the country for a long weekend presented itself one day, so I grabbed it and went for a short stay of 3 days. During these three days, I had a chance to visit the capital Sofia, as well as hike in the mountains in the south, and visit a monastery in the middle of the forest. I also had a chance to meet other travelers from around the world. In short, I had a great time. I would definitely blog more about the other aspects of the trip, including pictures of course, but for this one, I would like to say something about the Europe I didn't know.