Dr. Stefan Christmann

May 28, 2022June 8, 2022

Kambanite

If you visit the bell park of София at the wrong point in time, it might be really loud there. It is a bell tower surrounded by seventy bells from different countries, also some that don’t exist anymore. Children are allowed to try them all out. Why only children? The monument called Kambanite (meaning ‘The bells‘) was created when in 1979 Bulgaria hosted the international children’s festival of UNESCO. Delegations from all over the world brought bells from their countries to complete the monument.

May 27, 2022May 31, 2022

Traditional food

At the city center of София, Bulgaria you’ll find restaurants serving food from all different countries. If you’re looking for traditional Bulgarian dishes the Hadjidragana Tavern is an excellent choice. There they let you choose from all the typical meals and you can enjoy them with a lokal beer and a rakia; inside or on a terrace in the backyard.

May 27, 2022May 30, 2022

Long distances

София has about 1.3 million inhabitants and is with 492 sq km the 10th largest city in Europe. That might be a surprise but you can really feel it while travelling through the city. Fortunately there are many different means of public transport available, from the metro to buses, trolleybuses and tramways. But for sure there are also taxis (you can order via app), motorized scooters from different providers and rental bikes.

May 27, 2022June 1, 2022

100 Grama Sladki

Sladki, that’s the Bulgarian word for sweets. And the best sladki you can get at one of the branches of 100 Grama Sladki (100g of sweets). The pâtisserie has different locations across София and at each of them you can buy delicious cake, pastries and other sweets. These places are also coffee bars and you can enjoy your sladki with a coffee directly at the source.

May 27, 2022June 2, 2022

Giant garden

The oldest and largest park of София is the Borissowa gradina, named after tsar Boris III from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry. It was created in 1884 in the Southeast outside of the city; due to the vast growth of София it is now part of the city center. When you walk through it you can see the different faces of this place: in the North it is a landscape park, further south it is more like a forest.

May 27, 2022October 31, 2022

Tornado

National Museum of Military History, София

I really hate war, I’ve never joined an army and I’m not attracted by any kind of military stuff. But the National Museum of Military History in София is so special (and awkward to me) that I had to visit it. The museum belongs to the Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria and dates back already to the year 1916. It tells the military history of the country in multiple buildings, but most people will go there for the vast exhibition of military equipment.

May 27, 2022June 8, 2022

National gallery

If you’re interested in Bulgarian art and Soviet-style artworks, then the Kvadrat 500 belonging to the National Gallery is your best choice. It is the biggest art museum of София and was opened in 2015. Next to Bulgarian works there is also a lot of European art and you can additionally see works from different other continents. The collection contains 42,000 pieces and only a small fraction can be shown in the 28 halls of the museum next to the Alexander Newski Cathedral.

May 27, 2022June 3, 2022

Scientific rose garden

Botanical gardens in eastern Europe often suffer the lack of funding and rather look vast gardens. At the center of София you can find a well-maintained botanical garden belonging to the university – it is rather small in size but a wonderful place the recover from the hustle-and-bustle on the streets. It can be found next to the Alexander-Newski-Cathedral and the National Gallery.

May 27, 2022June 8, 2022

Dark cathedral

One of the most important sights at София is the Alexander Newski Cathedral. It is huge, the dome is around 45 meters high and it was designed in Neo-Byzantine style. The impressive house of prayer was built from the year 1882 on and is today the central church of the Bulgarian-Orthodox community and one of the fifty biggest Christian churches. It gives space to 5,000 worshippers and is named after Alexander Newsky, a saint of the Russian-Orthodox church.

May 27, 2022June 8, 2022

Chamber of secrets

National Museum of Natural History, София

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria was interested in nature and science. Due to this, he initiated the foundation of the Natural History Museum of София, which was the first museum focusing on nature on the Balkans. The museum dates back to 1889 and it is special, very different to everything I’ve seen before. It is a bit strange, creepy and therefore a real recommendation.