Bulgaria

I had been looking forward to visiting my buddy Dimitar in Sofia for a while (pretty much since moving to Europe).  So it was very nice to finally be able to visit him on my Christmas vacation.  I took the train from Belgrade to Sofia and aside from one annoying train robber (He wasn't sneaky so I didn't lose anything), and the train being late,  it was the usual night train ride.  Dimitar quickly took me out to check out the city of Sofia and show me the different architecture styles.

Sofia is quite interesting because their are a large mix of different styles, as well as some Roman ruins. We did some exploring around the town, and set off the alarms at the mall(thanks to poorly labeled fire exits).  Sofia is a really nice city with lots of cool buildings, and a giant gold lady statue in the center.  I particularly liked the little tiny church and the National Theatre.  While I was in Sofia we also went to an awesome concert featuring Dimitar's friend's sister, which was really fun.  The concert also featured great music, cheap beer, and of course a crowd surfing penguin.  Dimitar also showed me a great spot at the university where he works.  You can climb up on top of the roof and enjoy a beer overlooking the whole city!  I wish my university had that when I was studying!

Since I was in Sofia for a few days, Dimitar suggested that I should go to Plovdiv, which is a small town nearby, as well, and see the town.  The town is quite famous for its Roman ruins.  After taking the train up to Plovdiv in the morning I enjoyed the Plovdiv free tour (especially the really amazing Roman theater).  Also in Plovdiv was a huge Roman Stadium, fortunately most of it is buried under the town but part of it is opened up to see.  After all this, my amazing trip to Bulgaria came to an end with another night train to Istanbul... That's a different adventure though!

Dimitar's Buddy's Sister Singing (Crowd Surfing Penguins not Shown)

 

 Really cool street art is everywhere in Sofia, these air ducts are painted to look like traditional women's dresses.

 

Part of a monument that is half removed.

 This really large statue of a golden girl is in the middle of Sofia.

 During the Ottoman Empire churches could not be higher then a man on a horse, so they used to build them below ground level!  Here is a good example.

 The National Theatre

 When I was in Sofia it was very foggy for most of the time.

 

A neat bronze statue of Milio known as the "Harmless Crazy"

 A section of the ancient Roman Stadium in Plovdiv.

 The Ancient Roman Theatre in Plovdiv.

 

One of the many cool little streets in Plovdiv.

Serbia

My trip to Serbia started on new years day in Zagreb, after making my way to the train station I was very upset to find that nothing was open because it was new years day.  I managed to find a bottle of water and hopped on the train for the trip to Belgrade.  About 10 hours later I arrived in Belgrade.

Belgrade is a really interesting city, as you come into the city by train it doesn't look like any other Eastern European city I've seen.  You are surrounded by glass skyscrapers with neon signs.  This is because you actually start by coming into New Belgrade, but soon the train comes into the rest of Belgrade and its much more similar to other Eastern European cities.

After I had wandered to my hostel.  I was quite happy to find out, when I checked in, that they had free alcohol!  After checking in I went for a wander and located first some food, and second a bar with a beerpong table and cheap beer!  It was a really fun night with some new friends from Slovenia, and their homemade wine.

Then the next morning, I went to wander around the town for the day and enjoyed some local foods.  In Belgrade there is a really awesome castle at the spot where the Danube River meets the Sava River.  There is a peace memorial (consisting of a naked dude on a pole holding a pigeon and a sword), as well as lovely views of the rivers.  Along the rivers are many boats each with a bar onboard (Great spring destination!).

That night I met up with a girl from Couchsurfing who took me out and showed me an awesome restaurant with live music, then showed me around new Belgrade.  We went along the water and saw a really cool old church on the top of the hill.  We also went and explored some of the other areas of New Belgrade.

After a walking tour around town the next day I booked my night ticket and headed for Sofia!

Free Rakia!

New Friends from Slovenia

 The Old Army Headquarters (Slightly Bombed by NATO)

The Peace Monument (Naked Guy, Pidgin, Sword)

Cathedral of Saint Sava (Largest Orthodox Church in the World)

Castle Entrance

Another Entrance to the Castle

The Government Building

View from the top of the hill in New Belgrade

A really nice church in New Belgrade

Croatia

Croatia was one of the few stops I had planned ahead.  One of my friends I had met in Ottawa is actually from Croatia, and had invited me for New Years!  After visiting Vera in Austria the next stop was to visit Kristina in Zagreb.  After an amazing train ride through the mountains (amazing views), I ran into a few British folks on a train tour who shared their drinks with me!  Before I knew it I was in Zagreb, where I checked into my awesome hostel which was right in the middle of downtown.

The next day Kristina and her brother Tom gave me a wonderful tour around town.  Zagreb has some really nice buildings as well as great snacks and amazing people!  For the night we went to a house party, it was conveniently right next to my hostel, and full of awesome people!  With lots of snacks, lots of music, and just a little homemade wine I had a great night!  The next day of hangover on the train to Belgrade was not quite as friendly though! (But that's a different story!)

Me and Kristina

 

Me and my other new friend!

 New Years preparations

 A church with a really cool roof

A statue of a horse and guy

 Me in front of another church

 

A statue of Nikola Tesla