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Sofia is an interesting town. Contrary to the opinion of former Soviet States being incredibly run down, the renovation of Sofia during the last 10 years, although still leaves the city looking rather grey, the very rugged and stiff look of the city has a interesting allure to it.
Although I have yet to discover the 'tourist' parts of Sofia, there still seems to be a certain 'Balkan' attitude that is so friendly, that I fail to understand why people are afraid of Eastern Europe.
Waking up today to Bulgarian snow was quite inspiring. The lady at the Youth Hostel is incredibly nice and for one night and a morning, it was really cool to just have a conversation with someone who is both well travelled and really really bulgarian. The immersion into another culture and 'civilisation' to an extent is amazing, and it's hard to describe the connection that you can make with a foreign city.
The city still obviously has that very Communist feel to it, and indeed its incredible to compare it to the bustling, bright West Europe. Still, no matter how far you go, the one Western Sign that always sticks out is the Giant Yellow Curved McDonalds, which at time can be really depressing, when in such a 'modern' world the reach and branch off of Americanism and Monopolies can just be so annoying that it stops becoming a convinience and just looks tacky. Which is why I'm excited to vist the traditional towns of Brasov and Sighisora in Romania, which still cling on to their Medieval Heritage. It should be a marvel to see, and as I go now to discover more of Sofia, perhaps Bulgaria will begin to stand out more.
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