Back to Sofia
The last hike through pine forests to Govedartzi village and on to Sofia. It was the weekend and there is a big flea market on Saturdays and Sundays in Alexander Nevski Square. Don't miss the flea market...there was everything from antique cameras, coins and medals to old jewelry and kitsch. The group was heading on a walking tour of Sofia but I kept it in mind for tomorrow. The group was leaving but we were staying for one more day. To the side of the Cathedral were all the older ladies (babas - grandmothers) selling beautiful hand-made lace tablecloths and doilies...not of particular interest to me since I've given up throwing big dinner parties for the duration of my life.
Of much more interest was the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the most spectacular building in Sofia and able to hold 7,000 people, The National Gallery for Foreign Art, Opera House, Vassil Levski Monument, and the St. George Rotunda.
The St. George Rotunda is in a courtyard area behind the Sheraton Hotel, and set among excavations of ancient roman ruins. This red brick church dates back to the 4th century and is Sofia's oldest preserved building. The administrative quarters of Bulgaria's president is at the opposite end of the courtyard with guards of honor outside the doors. More walking by the Banya Bashi Mosque built in 1576 by a Turkish architect, the Sofia Synagogue opened for worship in 1909 and designed in Spanish-Mauritanian style, and the St. Nikolai Russian Church that really resembled St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow.
Bulgaria has always been known for its religious tolerance. The major religion is Eastern Orthodoxy but we saw Mosques (many Bulgarians were converted during the Ottoman occupation), Catholic churches, and the Sofia Synagogue, the largest Sephardic synagogue. Of interest was the fact that the last Bulgarian Tsar, Boris III refused to send Bulgarian Jews to Nazi concentration camps.
Another interesting fact regarding the "Yellow Brick Road" mentioned earlier. The yellow bricks were a present from Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph to his cousin Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg in 1907.
Heading back to the Gloria Palase down Vitosha Boulevard (Sofia's main shopping street), the skies opened up and the first rain in two weeks started. Part of the group ducked into the Ethnographic Museum to wait it out and...fortunately...the Museum had a very nice gift shop filled with traditional Bulgarian handicrafts. Now I call that fortuitous!
A very merry Farewell Dinner with almost too many bottles of wine, Shopska salad, made with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, fresh or baked peppers, onion and sirene (salty sheep or cow's cheese). Desserts were usually baklava and palachinka (pancakes with honey and nuts).
Hugs, kisses, goodbyes to everyone else flying home the next day. We transferred from the Hotel Gloria Palase over to the Sheraton for one night, dragging our "wheelies" down the street for several blocks.
The next day, it was back to the Flea Market to browse through the many stalls, finally buying some unusual "older" bracelets and other pieces of junk.
Bulgaria was a very interesting and enjoyable country. I didn't expect to be impressed by the many "Monasteries" and primarily took this trip for its "Villages." The villages were as attractive as I had envisioned, the food throughout delicious, can't say enough about how nice the guesthouses were, weather great and the Wilderness group extremely congenial. However, I didn't anticipate the tremendous enjoyment and visual appeal of all the frescoes and monasteries perched in the mountains. Unfortunately, Wilderness didn't run this trip in 2007 but there are a few other organizers who are now visiting Bulgaria. One of them is Explore (contact Adventure Center in California or Explore U.K. on the Internet - the prices are the same whichever way you go), and the other is Mir. I can recommend both companies based on personal experience.
Home again, Jules (our group cartoonist) sent everyone a cartoon he had drawn as a remembrance of all the fun and time together. Naturally, Steve and I are "S" & "S"...thanks again, Jules....
...and this is "S" & "S" in real time... Have fun in Bulgaria...
