A refreshing gem of a find. Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria, and believe it or not the 15th largest city in the European Union. Bulgaria is infamously known to us for the cheap red wines we knew in our youth, but these days, with the English taste buds ripening we are seeing more and more excellent wines from this country on our shelves.
The city has, like many other European cities, had a rough past with wars and invasions, and liberations happening even up to the 20th century. The last struggle for the Bulgarian people was in 1946 when the Republic of Bulgaria was finally born.
Its offical religion is Christianity (Predominantly Orthodox), but has various religious communities that co-exist peacefully - a model for many other countries to follow. In fact, the capital Sofia is known for its so-called Triangle of Religious Tolerance: the St Nedelya Church, Banya Bashi Mosque, and Sofia Synagogue are located within metres of each other in the very centre of the city. If you like wandering round this sort of building, then we recommend taking a tour of all three.
Sofia is a working city, but still sports a plethera of classical buildings as well as more contemporary. Sofia these days offers everything that any place has to offer in shopping terms. With shopping malls including the Serdika Center, and Mall Tsarigradski and more each year, an outlet centre, central shopping streets and plenty of smaller supermarkets.
There's plenty of what I call old-style markets to peruse too. Graf Ignatiev Street sports a row of fruit and vegetable stalls on the tram-only thoroughfare. Fantastic for food shopping with all local produce. There's also shops and a few bars to watch the world go by.
The Zhenski Pazar or Women's Market, is an intensely crowded affair where you can find everything from fruit and vegetables to fake designer-label tracksuits and car parts. Locals from the surrounding countryside arrive here early each morning to sell their produce, and it's one of the few places in Sofia where the pulse of the Balkans of old can still be felt. Beyond lies one of Sofia's older quarters, with rutted cobblestones and low houses built around courtyards.
Rimska Stena is a lively food market amid the Byzantine walls on Ulitsa Hristo.
Although now part of the EU it has yet to take on the currency of the Euro. At the time of visiting, the lev (meaning "lion") was equal to approximately 41 english pence, or 0.52 euros. The exchange rate for us is fantastic and therefore a great get-away or vacation can be had for very reasonable rates.
A meal for two with drinks can come to as little as £10. It is a must to try any of the national beers, as they compete gracefully with any other European beer. A pint (half litre) cost us between £0.70 and £1.40. So, if (like us) you enjoy a few drinks watching the world go by, then we recommend this lovely city wholeheartedly.
Taxis are everywhere, but beware.. there are plenty of one-man bands willing to rip you off or coerce you into giving them more than the going rate. For example, even being taken from the airport to our hotel, the taxi driver insisted on stopping at a shop and getting us a beer each. Granted we were happy for the drink, but all of a sudden we were paying more than the going rate for the beers on top of the taxi ride. That said, there are plenty of honest drivers out there that are very willing to help you around the city.
Try going for the older drivers, as they are likely in the business for the long term. We were advised to use OK Taxis as a good firm. Be careful looking at the emblems on the side though. there are a few that try to mimic their logo using 'HK' and 'CK'. There number (found in the rear side window) should end in 2121.
A special thanks to Ivan (driver 628) from Yellow 333 Taxis (http://www.yellowtaxi.bg) - another good firm. I would even suggest you ask for him specifically as he loves to practice his english and has a good knowledge of things in the city you might be interested in. Many Thanks Ivan.
Finally. Whatever else you do you MUST try the trams. They are frequent and cheap just to jump on. Each has a machine onboard where you can purchase a 1-way journey along any of the tracks for just ONE lev. Its a cheap way to see some parts of the city you might not normally, and you don't really need to get off until you find something interesting. You can also buy a multi-ticket, but be sure you stamp it every journey so you don't get into serious trouble.
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