three days in bulgaria.

this past thanksgiving i spent my turkey day in sofia, bulgaria.

why bulgaria?

because the flights are super cheap, like 25 euro round trip cheap.

and since i knew that this school year would probably be my last at asm, i wanted to try and get to more places in europe that i had not visited yet.

so bulgaria became country #41.

bulgaria is a country that's not far from their communist days. (circa 1989).

and many of the buildings and elements of the city reflect that.

but, there are still modern elements, like starbucks.

so you know that made me happy!

i spent my first day in sofia doing a free city tour and wandering about various places.

st. nedelya, an eastern orthodox church, built in the 10th century

Banya Bashi mosque, the only functioning mosque in Sofia, built in 1566
didn't that guy know he was ruining everyone's pictures? 

I found the yellow brick road. 

It was hard to imagine what was meant to happen in this large fountain. 

sofia central mineral baths- unfortunately just a museum now

city sights.

changing of the guard

kinda loved this dysmorphic cat/lion.

4th century st. george rotunda

completely obsessed with this russian orthodox church,
church of st. nicholas. the miracle maker

the gold and green details and mosaics.

wish the picture was better, but i loved this church.

st. alexander nevsky cathedral,
one of the largest eastern orthodox cathedrals in the world.

bulgarian street art.

this was a delicious meal!

i don't remember exactly what this modern dessert was, but it was tasty!

have your own amazing dinner in sofia here.

the second day i headed off to the rila monastery, on a day trip.

we first stopped at an ancient church that was built in three stages, but construction begun in the late 10th century.

for whatever reason, i was kind of bored here.

#spoiledtraveler

i guess i've seen a lot of ancient churches.

boyana church

i do love this ceiling.

after this stop, we headed off to rila monastery, one of bulgaria's most famous cultural and historic landmarks. i did enjoy the graphic colors of the building, but, in general, there's not much happening here.

i looked in the main church and then found a glass of wine with someone from the tour.

so it is picturesque.

entrance.
where i immediately abandoned the tour group.

all the black and white = love.

the back of the main church.

i booked my tour through this company. while i didn't love the day, i am glad i went. it's a shame they don't offer an express tour- one that hauls you up to the monastery quickly, gives you 45 minutes, and then gets you back to sofia. that would be the ideal plan. alas...

i stayed at this airbnb and it was pretty good overall despite a few issues. i also had a meal here and would go back!