Sofia, Bulgaria Pt. I

This morning I went to the airport in Madrid for my 10:45 flight to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Before arriving, I was admittedly a little bit intimidated by the new alphabet and the Slavic language that I would have no basis for picking up, unlike Spanish or Italian. I had my Frommer's guidebook and learned the Cyrillic symbols and as many useful phrases as I could on the flight. However, once we touched down it became pretty evident that English would often be recognized, and where it wasn't, German should suffice. Since the airport had no metro connected to it, I took a cab into central Sofia, but we made slow progress because of a strike going on. Petrol prices have gone up in Bulgaria like everywhere else, but they just have a penchant for striking, I guess. Not as bad as the Greeks, who seem to make yearlong careers out of striking, but my cab driver made it seem like the Bulgarians go on strike relatively often as well. Ironically, the protesters were protesting higher petrol prices but slowly parading their cars around the city's major roads, honking their horns and making traffic awful for everyone. Who knows how much those people spent in gasoline money that day. Idiots.

I checked into Hostel Mostel on Makedonia boulevard, which turns out was a super legit place; I couldn't have picked a better hostel. I immediately got signed up for a 20 euro day trip to Rila Monastery for the following day. I threw my stuff down and grabbed a hostel map to go look at whatever I could before the sun went down; my first stop was the massive St. Alexander Nevski cathedral across the center of town. I noticed along the way that Sofia is just absolutely dotted everywhere with Orthodox Churches. Although originally under the Greek Orthodox Church based in Constantinople, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church declared itself an independent patriarchate (to the chagrin of Constantinople) as early as the 900s, making it the first separate Orthodox Church. The Russian influence in Sofia is also evident in the St. Nicholas Russian Church right across the way from Alexander Nevski Cathedral. However, the majority of Bulgarian's citizens are followers of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

I really enjoyed Sofia right from the get go in the sense of how different it was. Different alphabet, crazy-sounding language, overall different look to public buildings and churches, etc. However, it wasn't TOO different to make an unfamiliar traveler feel clueless and helpless. This optimal-strangeness idea is something that I also experienced in Cairo, where I was still able to communicate and get where I was going and do what I needed to do, all the while surrounded by a relatively alien culture and language that was new to the senses.

It was into the patriarchal seat of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral, that I made my first visit (mostly because everything else seemed closed for the day, for by this time it's after 5). After Russia helped Bulgaria win its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878 (in what we call the Crimean War), Bulgaria paid tribute to Russia by building this cathedral and naming it after the most famous Russian historical religious figure, St. Alexander Nevski, a pious prince who defeated the Teutonic Knights in their incursions into Muscovy (before Russia was Russia). The Cathedral is typical of Greek Orthodox Churches in its structure (a five-domed structure in the shape of the cross) and its brilliant mosaic and fresco artwork covering the walls. Inside, their were countless painted icons of Saints, the Virgin, and Christ that were placed for veneration. Having no idea the protocol involving praying to saints, I just bought and lit a few candles and then slowly milled around admiring the artwork. Of particular note (picture hopefully to come) was this massive golden and jewel-encrusted egg at the front. I have absolutely no idea what purpose it served, but it was a very intricate piece that was a good four or five feet high.

I spent around 30 minutes inside before heading back outside, where the petrol protesters were now making their way through the big square in front of the Cathedral. I walked around the flea market there and chatted with a guy selling religious icons; I knew I wanted to buy one for pure artwork, but I also knew I needed to do some research into saints and historical figures first.

Lastly, I took the hostel's suggestion and went to eat at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant. I immediately appreciated the difference between Spain and Bulgaria in terms of pricing. For 15 euros (30 leva) I was able to get a three-course meal with pre-dinner brandy and a beer. The pre-dinner brandy, called rakka, is a super powerful brandy made from a variety of fruits. It wasn't for me. However, they had really good meat dishes and I ended up getting basically a pork chop that was stuffed with sheep cheese and chopped up bacon. Delicious.

I ended the night by going to a different part of the neighborhood to a bar called the Ale House, which the hostel recommended because they brew their own beer there. I was pretty tired and full at this point, so I didn't do anything exciting and went home to bed afterward.