Bulgaria - Sofia

 1974

Sunday, 31st March

Neil started the day by giving the van a service and found that a swivel pin bush in the wheel was worn slightly so he asked where the nearest garage was and we set off at about midday. We had to wait until 1 p.m. before it opened and after inspection by two mechanics they said it was good for at least another 50,000 kms. so we were very pleased as they probably hadn't got the parts for Volkswagen's anyway. Travelled through Bulgaria ia to the frontier and showed our passports at two checkpoints on the way. The border needed a lot of formalities and it took us a little time before we got it right. We gave a lift to a Turkish peasant woman who seemed, from what we could gather, to clean the loos at the border. Dropped her off just before Edirne and travelled through there ourselves. It was lovely to get away from the oppressive communistic influence of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. The mosque at Edirne is very beautiful. Stopped at a Mocamp and went shopping. went in search of a meal in Edirne, met a Turk who was a guide and spoke English a little. He and his friend took us to have Turkish coffee and then a meal - very reasonable, then we had Turkish tea. All the cafes are 'men only'. Our guide said he would give Neil a nice Turkish lady if I would go with him. Neil declined.  Came back and did some washing and had a shower and washed our hair. Neil had problems with a tap which he managed to mend temporarily to the delight of the 'little man on site'. Went to bed unusually late at 12 midnight instead of our usual 9 p.m. Still quite cold.

A street in Edirne

2025

Wednesday 4th June

We had a private transfer to Sofia which was quite a treat!  The scenery through the remainder of Serbia was very green, hillsides covered in trees, bushes and plenty of grass.  The border crossings were uneventful, it didn’t seem to matter that we hadn’t registered with the police as suggested on the UK government website.  The scenery changed once we were in Bulgaria and became more agricultural.  Our hotel in Sofia has only pluses.  We have everything we could possibly need including two TVs (which we don’t need).  Another bonus was that our train tickets for Friday were waiting for us.  We had to order them from Andy Brabin who had them delivered to our hotel.

Outside Hotel Niky

Thursday 5th June

We went on an all day tour today.  First we went to the Rila Monastery founded by a hermit in the 10th century.  The church is incredibly ornate and frescoes decorate the inside and outside.  There is space for 400 monks (or visitors now).  Only 6 monks are in residence.  We did wonder what the founder would have made of all the gold and finery as he was supposed to have lived for 7 years on a bare rock!  We then visited Boyana church in Sofia which was tiny and dated from 11th to 13th centuries.  This church also had incredible frescoes but photography was not allowed inside.  After a thunderstorm it was a little cooler today.

Friday 6th June

The day started hot! We had the whole day to fill before catching our night train at 6.45.  We explored around the city, stopping in a cool cafe for lunch and in the afternoon we went to the Museum of Illusions which was great fun! There was another thunderstorm which was very welcome after the heat.  We are now sitting on the sleeper train waiting to depart.  We have a fridge (which unfortunately doesn’t work), snacks, a basin, sheets, pillows and blankets.