Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
When you arrive at София you can’t overlook the mountains next to the city, the Vitosha. It is surprisingly steep and the highest mountain is the Tscherni Wrach (black peak) with around 2,290 meters in height. The mountains dominate the skyline of the city and are an important recreation zone – for hiking, but also for skiing as the snow stays for a long time even after the winter.
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When you walk through the city quarter Boyana of София you will probably come across a vast park protected by a strong metal fence. It is easy to guess whom this place was created for: Todor Zhivkov, the last Communist dictator of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria. Within you’ll find his residence, a giant palace with fantastic views on the capital city on one side of the building and a terrace facing the beautiful Vitosha mountains on the other side.
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Boyana is a city quarter in the Southwest of София at the foot of the Vitosha mountains. It is the region where the rich people and the leaders of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria created their homes – even the presidential palace and the assembly of ministers can be found here. Most tourists come to this remote part for a small but important beauty: the Boyana church, a UNESCO world heritage site.
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When the Soviet Union broke apart and the Iron Curtain fell, when Bulgaria became a fully independent country and capitalism made its way east – then the wind of change blew away many remains of the past. Symbols where removed, old heroes like Lenin and Che Guevara had to take their hats and classic Socialist art was unwanted on the streets and places. That’s quite understandable, but it is also a loss. Socialist artists had a unique style and a special way to depict people.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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