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.