Bulgaria

Andrej and I took an overnight train west out of Istanbul into Bulgaria. We decided to make our first stop Plovdiv. Plovdiv seemed like a nice place to start because it was said to have a very nice Old Town area and it is not nearly as big as the capital city, Sofia.

In Bulgaria, the cheapest sleeping option tends to be renting a room in someone's home. The guidebook said it was very common and safe, so we decided to give it a try. Right after we got off the train, we were met by an old lady named Dora who was very convincing- emphasizing how expensive the hotels in town were, etc. We were tired due to lack of sleep on the train with the middle of the night border crossings, and we decided to just take her up on her offer!

Her apartment was in a large communist style concrete complex. Her children were grown and out of the house and her husband had passed away a number of years ago, so it really did feel quite big and empty and we were happy to be her guests! She had a few cots set up in one of the rooms for her guests. She shared some fruit with us, told us how to get around town, and was in general quite welcoming. Her English was limited though, so we couldn't talk to her all that easily. But, it was a neat experience getting to stay in a local person's home, even if they are a complete stranger.

In Plovdiv, we visited the cute old town with narrow, winding cobblestone streets up on a hill. The old buildings and homes there were well preserved, often with colorfully decorated facades. There were many art galleries in the area as well. We also spent some time in the pedestrian area of the new part of town, and enjoyed people watching, window shopping at all the modern shops, and eating lots of ice cream being sold in stands all along the street!

The pedestrian street in the new town area of Plovdiv.

Andrej and me in Plovdiv.

Andrej in Plovdiv.

The next day we took a train to the capital, Sofia. While we were staying at Dora's apartment in Plovdiv, we came across a Greece guidebook that a fellow traveler had left behind. We looked through it a bit, and on a whim, we decided to go straight to Greece from Sofia! So, after booking our tickets to Athens, we only had a few hours in the capital to wander around, ride the trams, check out some cool old churches, and of course have some more ice cream. Then, it was off to Greece, which I will tell you all about in my next post!