May 23rd, 2010 Sofia and Plovdiv

3AM We arrived at the border and it was simply the most luxrious land border I had ever seen. I declined the offer for 1 TRYs bathroom for the Peace Corp girl. Everyone on the bus had their bags open because Bulgarian border control does not have X-ray scanners, apparently. But the search was painless and he did not even go through all of my stuff.

5AM I arrived at Sofia and walked to the center, which was about 1 mile away. I first started at some church in the middle, and then there some guards for the presidency but I did not witness the changing of the guard ceremony. There was another church from 400 AD. Alexander’s Cathedral is where Western Leaders like Clinton were greeted. A local guide told me to go to Plovdiv for a day trip. It was 10AM and I was nearly done with this city.

The bottom crypt was 6 BGNs and 3 for students and contained some relics of Mary and more Mary. It was not that interesting for me. I should not trust the advertisements on maps.

10PM I called Asen but he did not pick up. Joro did but he was not going to be there for another hour. I decided I was going to go to Plovdiv. The internet is kind of expensive (1 LV per 20 minutes). The calls were 0.64 and 1.2 BGNs for maybe 1 and 2 minutes, and the internet was 2 BGNs for 40 minutes.

Statue of Sofia

12PM I arrived at the bus station and left on the 1PM bus to Plovdiv. First, it just appeared to be a run down place. The more I walked toward downtown, the nicer it was and finally it was a shopping street with amazing prices. I had 2 scoops of ice cream for 2.24 BGNs, which was a little over a dollar. It was gelato for sure. I then saw some amphithreater ruins and that was about it here (3 BGNs and 1 BGNs for students). I had to get back to my CS host Asen at 7 or 8 at Sofia.

Here is the first beautiful European town I saw in Europe, Plovdiv.

4PM I got on bus 20 but missed the bus stop. I took another bus back and a nice guy fed me 26 cent levas as I had run out of change. The bus was 1 LV. I missed the 5PM bus by 10 minutes and purchased the ticket at 6PM for 13 BGNs.

Plovdiv also has an amphitheater just like Ephesus. Albeit, it has a more diverse background.

8PM I arrived back at Sofia and my host Asen picked me up. I also recovered my notebook, which I thought I misplaced it either at the internet cafe or on the bus. I walked around the bus station and found it on the desk where I purchased the tickets. Next, I settled and went out to dinner with Joro and his girlfriend.

9PM I requested for traditional Bulgarian food and got some pork a stick, which was just like good steak. That added to a beer costed around 18 BGNs or around 12 dollars. He also invited another couple, one of whom holds a Guinness record for being on a team that had someone slide down a rope that is around a mile long. It took them a few weeks in September to do it. They were really chill and told me to go to Ohrid, Macedonia. Joro offered to help me in the morning as he lives close to the bus station.

PS. Now I think about it. This was one of moments I thought was special in this trip. While Joro believed that Americans were brainwashed and lived in the world of 1984 today, everyone at the dinner table respected me and made me feel special. I will forever be in debt to their kindness.