South of Sofia

Having "done" Sofia on Day 1, today we planned to drive south to the Rila Monastery and then hopefully up to the Rila National Park and it's spectacular views of the 7 lakes.

Breakfast was OK, not fantastic but enough to eat and a mix of hot and cold.  Very strong smoked salmon (as it was in StP) and cream cheese so I was happy and Ian found something not too difficult for his still painful tooth hole.

It was a Saturday morning and the traffic was considerably lighter and with the aid of my phone, navigation was easy.  The road south was a two lane motorway for about 100kms and then onto a smaller road towards the town of Rila.

We stopped for a leg stretch after 90 mins or so in very much a wine growing region (actually the Bulgarian wine we've tried is very nice).

Unfortunately I cannot find out who this statue is (and yes he does look like he's falling over, but at least the horizon is straight !)

En route to Rila we'd be passing close to the Stob Pyramids; weirdly shaped natural red rock formations and as our guidebook said they were well signposted and easily accessible we thought we'd detour and have a look.

We found the start of the trail quite easily and there were a couple of locals collecting the entrance fee (c.£0.50p) and in very broken English the lady told us it would take about an hour to walk to the pyramids and back.  The trail was very easy, just a gentle slope with benches at frequent intervals.

After about 10 mins we came to a sign for church and looked forward to having a look around.

We followed the arrow and turned a corner; the church wasn't quite what we were expecting.

We carried on up the trail and shortly came to another sign, giving the legend of the Stob Pyramids.

"Well that was a really easy walk, we must be very fit compared to the average Bulgarian - never mind an hour, we'll be there and back in half that time" we commented to each other, rather smugly.

Thinking we'd arrived at the site, we walked up through the woods but then the climb got harder and harder, the terrain was loose shale and very steep, with nothing to hang onto (except a wobbly fence in a couple of seriously dangerous places).  I'd worn a jacked as it had been quite cold when we set out and was now carrying this plus my camera.

But eventually we got to the top and formations were quite impressive.

Going down was considerably harder and we seemed to slip and slide most of the way,  but luckily neither of us fell.  It took us 1 hour 15 mins in total.

Minty and some old bird.

We then drove back to the main road and through the town of Rila and headed up into the mountains.  The monastery, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a few miles out of town and was founded in the 10th century by St Ivan of Rila, a hermit canonized by the Orthodox Church. His ascetic dwelling and tomb became a holy site and were transformed into a monastic complex which played an important role in the spiritual and social life of medieval Bulgaria. Destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 19th century, the complex was rebuilt between 1834 and 1862. A characteristic example of the Bulgarian Renaissance (18th–19th centuries), the monument symbolizes the awareness of a Slavic cultural identity following centuries of occupation.   St Ivan is considered the Patron Saint of Bulgaria and the Rila Monastery is of the most revered of all religious sites in Bulgaria. 

After a short while we noticed that cars were parking on the side of the road and presumed the occupants were just going to walk in the woods.  The parking got denser and then we saw a policeman controlling where people parked and we began to wonder if in fact they were parking here for the monastery.  Someone left a space just in front of us and I quickly pulled in just in case it was the only spot.  We checked with the policeman that we were OK to park "I will no give you ticket" were his actual words.

The autumn colour of the woods was glorious.

About a 5 min walk up the hill and into the complex - it was heaving.  The buildings and design reminded me very much of the Bhutan Dzongs

We had a wander around but the place was just rammed - people were sitting eating packed lunches, buying religious icons and books.  Inside the church (again no photos) there was a massive queue to kiss a case containing a relic (St Ivan's hand) and receive a blessing.

We walked back out of the complex in the hope of getting some lunch or at least a cup of coffee in one of the nearby, small cafes, but they were all completely full.  

Ian had a look at some of the religious books on sale and got talking to the vendor - it transpired that October 19 is the day St Ivan's dormition (assumption) is celebrated, hence the huge crowds.  Incidentally St Ivan is also the patron saint of pies!

Ian also asked the bookseller about us driving up to the lakes and was recommended that we didn't.  Apparently it would be close to freezing up there (about 15°C at the monastery) and the road as very difficult.  Snow tyres are mandatory in Bulgaria from 1 November, so we could well believe what he was telling us and decided it would be safer not to go on.

We then had to find something else to do/see in the area and unfortunately there wasn't a great deal.  It is mostly agriculture/viticulture and although the scenery is quite pleasant, it's not worth photographing.

We stopped in a small town and had a plate of chips and a drink in a roadside park.  Bulgaria is noted for its large population of stray dogs (some of which apparently carry rabies) but these two waiting for some scraps off the cyclists were the only ones we saw.

We drove to Blagoevgrad, the largest town in the SW, hoping it might be of some interest, but unfortunately it wasn't.  However we did pass this delightful edifice on the outskirts of a rather nice village.

Although we hadn't travelled vast distances (c 150kms), driving abroad is always more tiring as you have to be so totally focused all the time, so we decided to head back to Sofia.

Apart from nearly falling asleep a couple of times - open windows, talk, sing - the journey was fine and having left Minty in the secure hotel car park (€10 per day) we walked back to Vitosha Boulevard for some dinner and another massive dose of second-hand cigarette smoke.

All in all a good day but not quite what we'd hoped for (crowded monastery and no lakes).

Sofia

Research had shown that there wasn't a great deal to see or do in Sofia and after a quick cuppa we set out to see what there was.

First stop was the Alexander Neveski Cathedral, just up the hill from us.  I realised at this point that I should have bought a wide angle lens with me - blast!

Similar in style to some of the churches in StP, inside however was completely different.  Very dark and oppressive and not something I would have bothered to photograph, even if I'd been allowed to. 

Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Christianity is very popular with all ages and religious icons are for sale everywhere.

Once again, you had to watch where you were walking as the pavements were death traps.

The Russian Church and it's little image in the garden.

I rather liked this traffic box, no one on duty though.  Sofians (made that word up) are very obedient when crossing the road and wait patiently for the lights to change.  However, where there are no lights, just a pedestrian crossing, they have right of way and therefore just step out without even looking - and the cars screech to a halt

.

A few photos from our street wanderings.

Guards on duty outside the Presidential Palace, a rather modern office type building.

St George Rotunda, the city's oldest building (and once again very dark and plain inside)

Former Communist Party Headquarters

This statue of St Sophia was erected in 2000 and stands on a spot once occupied by a statue of Lenin.

St Nedelya Church

'Serdica' - Roman remains unearthed during the construction of a new metro line.

More of the remains with the Banya Bashi Mosque behind.

Although we took off our shoes and ventured into the mosque, there were several men at their devotions so I didn't like to take photos.  From there we headed over the road to the Jewish Synagogue, thinking we could cover quite a few religions in the space of an hour, but it was closed!

This shop front was full of small compartments of nuts and sweets with just a small opening for the money/goods to be exchanged.

Not sure what the protest was about but this LOL (little old lady) just ignored it and carried on trying to sell her very small stock of flowers.

As with most European cities, the tram network was quite extensive but we didn't get the opportunity to ride on one this time.

I'm quite used to seeing roasted chestnuts (note the lack of Cyrillic lettering! on the poster) but roasted pumpkin from a street vendor was a new one - they did look quite delicious.

By now it was getting late in the afternoon and our early morning was catching up on us.  We headed to Vitosha Boulevard which is a pedestrianised road lined with shops and restaurants, most of which have outdoor booths.

We picked one and sat down to enjoy a glass of wine.  

What we hadn't expected was 90% of the people around us were smoking and as the sides were up there was nowhere for the smoke to escape (although the weather was still hot for us 25°C, clearly the locals felt it to be chilly).  Our particular restaurant turned out to be a Hookah lounge too!

I had to take the shot twice as the young lady on the left insisted I retake as she didn't like her expression in the first one.

It seems most people in Bulgaria smoke and although it is banned in certain places, it's allowed in restaurants, parks and on the street so we found it very, very unpleasant.

Tapas style is quite popular and so we ordered a plate of a soft cheese covered in cornflakes or something and then fried.  Served with cherry marmalade, it was delicious.

Suitably fortified we headed back to our hotel with the intention of trying their Italian Restaurant and thus an early night.  However when we went in, it was absolutely deserted and totally lacking any atmosphere.  We left, but changed our minds as we were very tired and decided to give it a go.  As usual we looked at the wine list before committing to the food and despite an extensive array of wines, neither of the two (Chilean ones) we chose were available.  Whereupon the waiter suggested an alternative at 3 x the price and when we said we didn't wish to pay that much, he told us we were tourist and should pay the high price ......................... needless to say, we got up and left.

Two points here:  1) no one tells us what we should be prepared to pay and 2) the wine list was a printed list housed in a fancy booklet so, if you haven't got the wine - reprint the list.  Simples!!!

We thought we'd be able to find a local restaurant but in fact ended up back on Vitosha Boulevard (20 mins walk away) where I had a lovely Caesar Salad and Ian pasta.

The streets feel very safe and there is quite a party feel to the main boulevard.

I only took this because someone in front of me was.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel via Lidl (wine for Ian) and the juxtaposition of these items at the cash desk really made me smile.

A couple of statues, haven't a clue who but I loved the eyes on this first one.

And the cathedral, taken on my phone so the blobs are the screen protector.