Seeking sun in Bulgaria

What a nice way to be welcomed to a new country. Turns out that “Happy” is a Bulgarian chain of restaurants.

We’re such fans of sunny weather that you might think we were part lizard. Or maybe it’s just that we were living in a decidedly unsunny place ~ northern Poland ~ so we felt the need to reacquaint ourselves with beau Sol. Whatever the reason, in October of 2020 we found ourselves in another sunny place: Sofia, Bulgaria.

Yes, Bulgaria.

Growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, we never expected to be able to travel to Bulgaria. It was one of those places that was lost behind the Iron Curtain and was only talked about briefly during geography lessons. Now that it’s possible to visit, we grabbed our chance and spent five days in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital.

Fun Fact:

Sofia is at almost the same latitude as Rome and farther south than Marseille, France.

How do you pronounce “Sofia”?

When I dropped our dog off at the kennel, Jacek (that’s “Jack” in Polish) asked where we were going. This was no small feat as he spoke Polish and German while I spoke English, some French and about five words in Polish. None of which were “where are you going.” But over the two years that we’d kenneled our dog with him, Jacek and I had figured out how to chat.

“We’re going to Sofia,” I said, pronouncing it so-FEE-a.

Jacek gave me a side-eye look and chuckled.

“SO-fee-a, not so-FEE-a. so-FEE-a is woman. SO-fee-a is city.”

So, a man who speaks almost no English corrected my English. Another day, another serving of humble pie.

Where does the name “Sofia” come from?

The city was originally named Serdica after the Celtic tribe, Serdi, who lived there. In the late 19th century, the city was still part of the Ottoman Empire and the Ottomans preferred “Sofia” to “Serdica.” Why? I don’t know. But that was when the city began to be known as Sofia.

The Saint Sofia Church, the oldest church in the Bulgarian capital and also the inspiration for the city’s name. The name Sofia has its origins in the Greek word “Sophia,” meaning wisdom.

St. Sophia doesn’t have a bell tower, so its bell is in a tree in front of the main door.

If St. Sophia is the oldest church, then this, the St. George Church, is the oldest building. It was built by the Romans in the 4th century A.D. Today, it is encircled by 20th-century buildings.

St. George is famous for its frescoes. Photography is usually not permitted inside the church. This photo was taken by a U.S. State Department employee while accompanying then-Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Sofia in 2015. Credits (1) at the end.

Whether or not you’re interested in churches, you just can’t ignore the gorgeous gold domes on the Russian Church (officially known as the Church of St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker). It’s so picturesque and almost blinding in the midday sun. The interior is small and photography is not permitted.

The impressive St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral is a symbol of Sofia and one of the primary tourist attractions. Finished in 1912, the cathedral honors the Russian soldiers who died helping liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877. It’s 174 feet tall.

The interior of the cathedral. Waiting on the steps of the cathedral for a tour guide, we heard the choir singing. It was heavenly. We entered into this large room that was thick with incense. There weren’t any pews, so all the congregants and candelabras were standing about.

The Graf Zeppelin flew over the cathedral and Sofia in October of 1929. Credits (2) at the end.

The cathedral at night in 2017. Photo not taken from a blimp, as far as I know. Credits (2a) at the end.

The Largo

Because Bulgaria was a Nazi Germany ally, Sofia was bombed heavily in WWII. One result of the bombings was that the buildings in the city center were badly damaged. In the early ’50s, the rubble was cleared to make space for three governmental buildings. These buildings, called The Largo, are now considered prime examples of Socialist Classicism architecture.

…a glass canopy which allows the ruins from the ancient city of Serdica to be seen from street level. You can visit the ruins, it’s only one flight down. When standing next to the remains of the Thracian (or Roman?) wall and looking up at the communist-era Council of Ministers building, you are looking across over two millennia.

The Council of Ministers of Bulgaria building is also part of The Largo.

From the above photo, just turn around and you’re likely to see a bride having her photo taken with the guards of the presidential palace, the third building of The Largo.

Cyrillic script was created in Bulgaria

Are you like me and always thought that the Cyrillic alphabet was created in Russia? If so, then we’re both wrong. It was created in Bulgaria in the late 9th century so that Christian services could be held in a Slavic language, which the locals understood, rather than in Greek, which the locals didn’t understand.

“The Hot Zone,” a six-episode mini-series produced by National Geographic, was heavily advertised along Vitosha Blvd., Sofia’s high-end shopping street. I thought it was interesting that the logo for National Geographic, one of the sponsors of this show, was still written in English.

However, there are some signs in English.

Getting around Sofia

Downtown Sofia is compact and very walkable. With sunny skies and warm weather, we spent as much time as possible strolling through the city center.

Sofia has many green spaces, such as this lovely park at the end of the premier shopping street, Vitosha Blvd.

Tree-lined Vitosha Blvd. has ample restaurants, shops …

Bulgaria is one of the most important producers of rose oil. Rose oil is used in perfumes and skincare products, such as the hand lotion we purchased on Vitosha Blvd.

Kinky the Kiosk. The little kiosks actually weren’t kinky, they just sold liquor and cigarettes. You didn’t go inside, you made your purchase from the shopkeeper through the small front window.

Another large park close to the city center contains the Monument to the Soviet Army. Bulgaria fell under Soviet domination after WWII and was governed by the Bulgarian Communist Party until 1990. After 1990, the transition from communism to a multi-party political environment was difficult. Unemployment and crime increased substantially but, at least according to our guides, things are better now in the country. The graffiti on the monument seems, at least to me, to indicate that Bulgaria isn’t eager to return to the past.

In addition to the freestanding statues, the Monument to the Red Army also has several bronze reliefs around the base of the monument. In 2011, a group of political artists called Destructive Creation painted the Soviet soldiers as American comic book characters. We were told that this was done to provoke discussions about the appropriateness of monuments to the Red Army as “liberators” in light of the demise of the Soviet Union. The graffiti reads, “Abreast with the Times” and is usually translated in the Western media as “In Step with the Times.” Photo credit (4) at the end.

This purple wheelchair, placed on a pedestal in front of the national stadium amongst other statues of Bulgarian sporting legends, is also by Destructive Creation. It is “for our national Paralympic team and everyone else for whom every day is the Olympics” (text from the Destructive Creation website).

A day without a schedule

One of the food tours canceled, so we were left with a free day. We decided to visit the National Historical Museum.

The National Historical Museum, looking like a gigantic concrete mushroom, has over 650,000 objects in its collection. But that’s not the main reason we went. The main reason was that the building used to be the primary residence of Bulgaria’s last communist leader and we wanted to see how he lived.

The first floor of the museum. Hard to fathom someone actually living here.

The “three seasons room” that opens onto the “back yard.”

The artifacts on display, like this one, were beautiful. Unfortunately, the display cards were in Cyrillic, so I can’t tell you anything about this beautiful goblet.

Eating well in Sofia

The long shadow of Bulgaria’s communist era reaches even into their cuisine.

During the communist period, the government wanted all adults to work during the day and not spend time preparing meals, so the government introduced lots of restaurants to let people eat out. Different parts of Bulgaria spoke different dialects and had different specialties, so recipes were chosen and combined to create a standard menu.

During the communist era, people were required to live in the city of their birth. After the collapse of communism in Bulgaria, people started to leave the countryside for opportunities in big cities like Sofia. Because of this migration, some Bulgarians were concerned that old ways and traditions would be lost, so restaurants that specialized in heritage recipes were opened.

Some of our culinary favorites were:

Shopska salad has become an emblem of Bulgaria after being approved as a national culinary symbol during the 1970s and 1980s. It’s made with chunks of cucumber, tomato, red and green pepper heaped with an enormous pile of finely grated Bulgarian white cheese, called Sirene (which is similar to feta). Rosemary ordered this salad several times. Photo credit (5) at the end.

Tarator is a cold soup made from Bulgarian yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, dill, and a pinch of salt. According to some studies, Bulgarians who eat a traditional diet high in this yogurt live well past 100 years.

Banitsa is a traditional pastry breakfast food or street food snack. There are usually layers of phyllo dough brushed with butter and layered with Sirene (a finely grated Bulgarian white cheese), but this version, from a vegetarian street food kiosk, was in the shape of a flat burrito. The traditional butter was replaced with sunflower oil. It was stuffed with tofu and bulgur, then spiced with turmeric, coriander, and other spices. It was quite good.

Dessert on our last night in Sofia: two different pastries, a pot of gelled but creamy yogurt flavored with rose water, and a digestif made from green walnuts. We both liked the yogurt the best of the desserts and the digestif was surprisingly good.

Day trip + wine

Archeological evidence shows that grapevines have been cultivated in Bulgaria for at least 6,000 years. In the 1980s, Bulgaria was even the world’s fourth-largest wine exporter. Since we are interested in wine, we arranged a day trip into the country.

Fun Fact:

Bulgaria has over 40 indigenous grape varieties.

The first stop on our day trip was Plovdiv, a city about 90 miles from Sofia. Plovdiv, known as “the City of Seven Hills,” has been inhabited by humans for around 6,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.

But the newer part of town is quite modern.

Local shops have cool gifts. The two gentlemen with the KISS makeup are Bulgarian politicians.

Parting thought & shot

We had no idea of what Bulgaria would be like, we just knew that it would be an adventure. And it was a good adventure. Friendly people, great weather, yummy food and one of the oldest wine cultures in the world. When you get the chance ~ go! ~ even if it’s just for a day or two. We hope to return soon and discover more of their fabulous wines.

Back home, reminiscing about the great trip to Sofia while enjoying a glass of Bulgarian gewürztraminer.

Credits

(1) Close-up View of Frescoes on Ceiling in St. George Church in Bulgaria (15665495963).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Close-up_View_of_Frescoes_on_Ceiling_in_St._George_Church_in_Bulgaria_(15665495963).jpg. 15 January 2015, 04:46:23. U.S. Department of State. A close-up of the ceiling frescoes as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry examines them in St. George Church – an Early Christian rotunda considered the oldest building in Sofia, Bulgaria – during a visit to the important regional ally by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on January 15, 2015. This image is a work of a United States Department of State employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain per 17 U.S.C. § 101 and § 105 and the Department of Copyright Information.

(2) image found at http://stara-sofia.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post_08.html. As per their website, photos posted on www.stara-sofia.com may only be used for non-commercial purposes, with explicit reference to the source (translated from Bulgarian by Google Chrome).

(2a)File:Cathedral Saint Alexander Nevsky (23997168458).jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cathedral_Saint_Alexander_Nevsky_(23997168458).jpg Photo by Deensel. 2 October 2017, 16:21. Used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

(3) Sofia, 1984.jpg. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sofia,_1984.jpg. A view of the Communist Party headquarters in Sofia, 1984. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

(4) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Паметник_на_Съветската_армия_18.06.2011.jpg Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.

(5) File:Chopska.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chopska.jpg. Photo by Popo le Chien. 29 April 2019, 13:01:01. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.