Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
Bulgaria is part of the European Union but doesn’t have the Euro yet. The currency is the Bulgarian Lev (plural Leva; code BGN). Lev means lion and one lev is divided into 100 stotinki. The exchange rate of Lev to Euro is 1.95583 – a magical number for all Germans, a strange number I’ll never forget in my life. It was the exchange rate of Deutsche Mark to Euro. As the Lev was initially bound to the Deutsche Mark, it has the same exchange rate.
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When you’re following the Vitosha boulevard of София to the south you’ll end up at an impressive building surrounded by a large park: the National Palace of Culture (or short NDK). It was inaugurated in 1981 to celebrate the 1,300th anniversary of the official acceptance of Bulgaria as an independent state. The NDK is a giant culture and conference center with eight levels, 13 halls and 123,000 sq meters of space for events.
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If you like to stay in the heart of the city, the boutique hotel Les Fleurs at София is a good choice. It is located directly at the boulevard Vitosha and it is conveniently reachable on foot from the Serdika metro station. Since the rise of the shopping centers in Bulgaria this main pedestrian street offers still some shops, but mostly restaurants and coffee bars.
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The airport of София (SOF) is the most important airport of Bulgaria and located in the east of the capital city. It was opened in 1935 and today more than 6 million passengers use it every year. SOF operates with one runway and two terminals; terminal 2 is the modern one. Between the two terminals a free shuttle bus operates which is important, as next to terminal 2 you’ll find the metro station which is the easiest way to reach the city center.
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It is a relic from the old times, but someone needs to show the kids of today that there was a world before video streaming and without Netflix. That in the past we had to walk to a video store where we could be VHS (Video Home System), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), BluRay media (and buy drinks, chips and fruit gum). That we needed to pay a penalty fee when we returned them too late. Many video rental stores have been killed by the streaming industry (and us as the customers), but one survived: the first, the world’s oldest.
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The Erzgebirge (ore mountains) or Krušné hory is a mountainous region belonging to Germany and the Czech Republic. People get there to enjoy nature, for skiing, to learn more about mining history or to buy artisan products like Räuchermännchen (incense smokers) or Schwibbögen (candle arches) for their Christmas decorations. For me it was a long trip by car just for watching a soccer match at the Erzgebirgsstadion, home of the FC Erzgebirge Aue.
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Is it a clever idea to put a charcoal-fired grill into the stairway of your home and to sell grilled sausages from there? Well, in 1920 someone in Göttingen thought so and the fire is still burning! The Bratwurst Glöckle is easy to overlook if you don’t know where you have to search for it. Keep your eyes wide open at the intersection of Kornmarkt and Groner Straße/Lange-Geismar-Straße, not far away from the Gänseliesel fountain.
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The decision to visit Bruxelles was taken by the collector in me, wanting to visit all capital cities in Europe. I’ve been to Belgium in my youth and later visited Bruges on my way to the Mont-Saint-Michel, but so far, I had only been stuck in the traffic jam around Bruxelles. By that time, I didn’t know what kind of beautiful city I was surrounding and how many wonderful places I didn’t visit because I hadn’t planned a stop at the Belgian capital.
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What would Belgium be without chocolate? When you’re walking through the city center of Bruxelles you can find numerous small chocolatiers offering their products (even in the shape of the Manneken Pis, obviously a famous souvenir) and the shops of famous brands we all connect with the country (like Godiva or Leonidas). Belgians love chocolate and say that theirs is the best; because they select the best cacao, use the best ingredients, and have the best production process.
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The Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art (MIMA) of Bruxelles is a contemporary visual art museum located in the buildings of a former brewery next the canal de Bruxelles. It is a small museum but offering art on four levels – works from their permanent collection and als changing exhibitions. The museum was founded in 2016 and is a private non-profit organization.
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