Arriving into Sofia late, I sought out my hostel and crashed for the night and the next day I went on the free tour. A short while into the tour, our guide was telling us that the national animal of Bulgaria was the Lion, referencing its repeated use in the architecture. He then asked us to say where we were from and what our national animal was. Of course I was asked first. Put on the spot and under pressure I found myself saying ‘I’m from England and our national animal is the badger!’ Not because I thought this was so but in a poorly judged attempt at a joke. I had however, in the moment, been dispossessed of the faculty of humour. I wish I’d said Boris Johnson. Needless to say no laughs and I think most of the international group now believes this to be a fact.
Thankfully, there was a British couple in the crowd who when it was their turn backed me up with by also declaring badger our national animal, further cementing the lie. I appreciated the solidarity and this later served as an ice breaker and I got chatting to Nick and Briony who it turns out had also just quit their jobs and were travelling east on a very similar trajectory to myself. This was their day one and so we went for a beer to talk about our travels.
We parted ways when I had to move from my hostel and go to buy train tickets but I ended up walking past them an hour or two later in a restaurant so I joined them for some further liquid refreshments before I staggered back to my hotel. The following day I managed to also walk into the same coffee shop as them which is good going for what is a fairly big city. Hopefully they didn’t think I was stalking them. I’ve a feeling our paths will cross again on the next stage of the journey….
I really enjoyed Sofia overall. Much more to see than I had imagined and I was particular impressed by the many ancient ruins that had been excavated and turned into open museums through which you have to pass to traverse the centre of the city.
A few highlights of Sofia:
The opera House
Old Roman church
Palace of Justice
Old Turkish baths
Some of the many Roman ruins from the old city that are now open museums around the city
Traditional outfit I wish I’d bought. Can’t remember the name but you’re supposed to hang a load of bells off it to essentially scare people
The local teenagers are obsessed with K-pop (Korean pop music) apparently. They get together and practice their dance routines in public.
Wandering Henry 