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Hi everyone.
Well we're 3 days into our trip now, and we haven't got homesick yet. Here's hoping we can hold out for another month or ten before that sets in!
We left the UK from Manchester airport at about 2pm and arrived in Sofia at about 7pm local time (+2 hours). The flight was stress-free and actually took about an hour less than we were expecting which was a bonus.
As we're travelling on a budget we decided to get the bus into the centre rather than a taxi, but with nobody in the airport appearing to speak English we had no idea how to buy a ticket. Luckily, once we found a bus, the driver didn't seem too fussed about the whole ticket concept, so we rode for free.
We managed to get off at the right stop, but our directions to the hostel were all written in English, so it took a bit of guesswork to translate the cyrillic alphabet. We picked the right street and reached the hostel after about 15 minutes walking.
As you will see on our photos, we were a bit aprehensive when we came across a tiny metal door on the edge of a noisy main road, but we actually walked into a small courtyard with our building set further back. It's really quiet and in an ideal location. After a quick look around the hostel, we chatted to a few other travellers from Canada, Australia and Singapore, played some pool, then got an early night.
We got up early for breakfast on Tuesday, with Amy a little grouchy due to a snorer we had in our room. The breakfast is a typical continental spread, and it will take a while to get used to salami first thing, but it's nice enough.
Afterwards we had a wander around the town. It's very nice - especially the architecture - and quite compact so we haven't had to walk too much. The main attractions seem to be churches so we took in a few of them.
First we came across the church of St. George, which apparently dates back to the 4th century. It was really small inside, with nice artwork, but as with all of them, we weren't allowed to take photos indoors.
After a brief look around the small market stalls we reached the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral which was dark and cavernous inside, with a giant dome in the centre and huge murals everywhere.
As we walked past the governmental buildings we were asked to hurry over the road by a policeman, before a motorcade with some sort of Macedonian offical drove past. I tried to find out more on the news, but I haven't seen anything so far.
On the way back to the hostel we stopped in a small bistro for some traditional Bulgarian food. It's mostly meat based so I'm coping ok so far. We did make the mistake off assuming each dish were portions, rather than full meals, so we ended up with far too much to eat. Lesson learnt!
Later that evening we arranged our excurion for the next day, ate the set dinner of pasta and tomato sauce with a beer, then decided to stay in for the night and watch The Big Lebowski from the hostels DVD collection.
On Wednesday we were up early again for breakfast - after a much better sleep now that the snorer has moved on - before we headed off to the town of Rila. We had been told by everyone that a monestary built up in the mountains above Rila was a must-see, but we were put off by the 8-hour round journey by bus and train. Our hostel was more than helpful in arranging a driver to take us there by car, so Amy and I along with 2 girls from Italy (I think) and Singapore set off and were there 2 hours later. We had a couple of hours to look around, and though the scenrey was impressive, and the building spectacular, we had seen all we wanted to after an hour. We had a menthol tea and a snack at the restaurant before heading back.
Once we were back in Sofia we reserved our seats on the train to Belgrade, which leaves tomorrow morning. It's an 8 hour journey, but I think the trains are seperated into cabins, so we should have enough space, and fingers-crossed, maybe even a fold-down bed.
Anyway, it's Wednesday evening, and as I write this it's heaving down outside. Amy has been feeling a little under the weather all day and has taken an early night, so I'm left to fend for myself. I think I'll try and watch the England game if I can get it...
Check back in a few days and we might have written a little about our time in Belgrade.
Ta, Alan & Amy xx
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