There places that attract us, we have this burning desire to visit them for weeks, months, sometimes years... Others, somehow, escape our attention and even passionate travellers overlook them.
Bulgaria was that country for me.
In a few years of travelling, not even once had I the idea to visit Bulgaria. I was certainly thinking about other Balkan destinations, dreaming about beautiful landscapes of Monenegro, breathtaking views of Croatian coast or amazing islands like Santorini.
But it all started when I met this Bulgarian person in Barcelona, just for a day, but his invitation to visit Bulgaria changed it all. I had never done this before but for some reason decided to go and see this country I was never even curious about...
Sofia turned out to be a surprising combination between Europe and Russia (I am of Russian origin myself). I think only in Bulgaria it's possible to take an old Ikarus (Soviet Union bus or trolley still used as public transportation in Sofia) to go enjoy your tall decaf Moka at Starbucks café close to Sofia University.
Bulgaria is definitely a paradise for food lovers. I think I gained at least 4 kg in my two weeks' trip and I'm not putting on weight easily (but I guess I'm a foodie :)).
Food is everywhere and it's almost always good and very cheap. Favourite Bulgarian breakfast is a banitsa or Баница in Bulgarian (flaky pastry filled with ham - shunka, white cheese - sirene or yellow cheese - kashkaval). Not to forget Bulgarian sour milk (kiselo mlyako or ayran - sort of a sour drinking yourgurt that no Bulgarian can live without!
People drink it everywhere and all the time... According to Bulgarians, it goes well with every type of food.
My friend even told me that it goes perfectly with a baklawa (this oriental dessert with nuts and honey)... Haven't tried it myself but I trust my friend, he is a true Bulgarian! Ayaran and kiselo mlyako are considered national drinks so you should definitely try them (and they have a miraculous ability to cure a hangover...)
Eating out is very popular in Bulgaria, a banitsa from a local bakery (with an Ayran of course) on the way to work, a meaty sandwich or a huge slice of pizza in the park for lunch break and some local food in a biraria (beer café) or some local fast food in the evening.
Bulgarian currency is lev, 1 euros equals 1.95 lev as for April 2014.
Slice of pizza (enough for lunch) is around 2 lev, banitsa is around 1-1.5 lev, drinking yougurt is about 1 lv.
Many supermarkets have hot food stalls with freshly prepared variety of salads, grilled meat and sausages, side dishes etc.
Food is cooked on the spot and sold during the day and it is actually tasty. So you can get a kebabche (a small grilled ground meat sausage) for 0,30 to 0,50 lev per piece, different
types of small grilled sausages for the same price, bigger sausages for around 1 lev. They are all grilled there at the supermarket and always fresh.
As a side dishe, try pecheni kartofel (baked potatos), sirene po-shopski (baked cheese Shopski style), various salads etc. The price for the dishes is around 6 lev per kilo. So it's easy to get a nice cooked meal for a about 4 lev from the supermarket. Why bother cooking at home?!
Together with the food stand you usually have a bakery with bread baked in the day and various types of pastries from around 0,80 lev to 2 lev.
Don't forget to try Shopska salad, perhaps the most famous salad in Bulgaria. It resembles Greek salad (all Bulgarian people please forgive me, I know you don't like this comparison that much), with cucumbers, tomatoes, oignons, some bell peppers and of course white bulgarian cheese - sirene (feta-style).
Cheese in Bulgaria is delicious, don't miss it!
Good places to try in Sofia if you want to eat out is Biraria Halbite, their local beer Stolichno Weiss is amazing and they have a great selection of good international beer for reasonable prices. They also offer a vast variety of dishes mostly local ones for about 5-6 lev per dish. It is very tasty and filling.
A must try is a fast food chain Mimas with doners, kebabs and falafels. Their falafels are to die for, definitely the best ones I ever tried in my life! Prices are between 3-4 lev per sandwich and 0,30 lev per falafel. So again the value for money is very good. Both Halbite and Mimas have several location around the city and all are very popular with locals, which means food is fresh!
For Starbucks addicts, don't miss it in Sofia, the cheapest Starbucks I've ever seen. 3,90 lev for a tall Moka, it's hard to resist.
They also have these little kiosks with snacks such as nuts and dried fruits, baked corn (pecheni tsarevitsa), sunflower seeds etc; very cheap and very healthy:)
Ok, it feels like all i'm talking about is food but this trip definitely turned for me into food and beverage tasting.
Apart from that, Bulgarian people are very nice and welcoming, no fake smiles but very helpful if you need and quite talkative. I always had someone trying to talk to me when I used public transport there and it's a shame I don't speak Bulgarian.
Bulgarians on the other side are really good at languages, many people under 45 speak English (and not only) and very well I should say. No matter if it's a gas station, a local store or a park...
Another surprising thing about Sofia, there are many sex shops there, I don't really know why but for some reason I always managed to see a sign for a sexshop everywhere in the city.
My bulgarian friend told me it's because they love sex in Bulgaria and I tend to believe it's true.
But I especially love this one...
I don't know if everything is about sex in Bulgaria but certainly many of them are. This is the menu in one of the park cafés and "erotichen banan" is apparently the local version of Banana split :)
Now a few words about Sofia tourist attractions... As I mentioned before, there is a mix between the former Soviet Union style buildings, modern ones, orthodox and catholic churches and mosques. Visit Serdika that hosts a mosque, a church and a sinagogue only a few meters from each other.
On the same square you will find the famous warm water springs where local people come
to fill their bottles with this spring water.
Note though that tap water is totally drinkable in Bulgaria but bottled water is also available and very affordable.
There are of course many other tourist attractions in Sofia that deserve our fullest attention (like the famous Alexander Nevski Cathedral)
but I'm gonna stop here for now and continue with my amazing trip to the wine capital of Bulgaria, a lovely town of Melnik.
Cheers everybody
