Sofia Day 1

Sofia


Sofia was a really interesting place but not one set up for tourists. We arrived after the flight from Budapest to our hotel after negotiating a taxi. When we arrived the manager of the hotel told us there was a problem with the room and he had booked us into a four star hotel for the night until the electricity in our room was sorted. He drove us there but before that he offered us a multitude of beer and food to appease us.
Next day we explored the city of Sofia and saw the highlights. We started at Alexander Nevski Memorial. It was a also a cathedral. It was filled with people lighting candles and kissing the icons.
We then went to a gallery of frescoes that had been rescued from many of the churches in Bulgaria. Some were wonderful and others not so good. Many were infested with what looked like woodworm.
W.e then went o the Ethnographic Museum. This was not as good as the one in Budapest and did not have the same number of exhibits. This was in the same bulding as the National Art Gallery. As the toilets were attachhed toi the Art Gallery we managed to get in there for nothing.
It was then off to the National Parliament to see the changing of the guard. Apparently this is a must see thing so we saw the men with the fesathers in their caps marching their peculiar march. While you cannot go into parliament you can walk through the grounds and see a very old church ruin called St Nicholas Church. This was from the 4th Century.
It then started to rain so we were forced to go to the Archeological museum. This was chock full of treasures and artefacts from back to 1500BC. It was a great look at devlopment of a civilisation.
When we came out it was pouring rain, We sheltereed in the Sheraton and tried to get back to our hotel. The driver could not speak english and of course my Bulgarian is not so strong and it was one of the few times I lost it with someone and almost caused a diplomatic incident! When it was sorted that he was not trying to take us down but really was very confused we parted friends!