***
We got to Sofia one day after some explosion of some facility next to the airport. I am not sure about the details but some explosives were nearby, and I guess that we were lucky they didn't explode as otherwise we would have had no airport to arrive at. It is quite a small airport to begin with, where every arrival or departure is a big event. A film that was being shot there when I landed seemed to draw unusual attention, but I could only care about withdrawing cash for a cab. The first ATM I found refused to speak the money language, but luckily someone thought that maybe one ATM is just not enough in this small airport and I was on my way to find some local taxi.
When it comes to prices, a tourist should be careful in Bulgaria. The guy at the hostel said the taxi would cost somewhere between 15 and 20 BGN (Lev). The hostel website said approximately 10 BGN and the taxi driver said around 15 BGN (1 BGN is about 0.81 USD). I played it safe and asked for the meter. I didn't realize it but I was lucky that the driver understood a bit of English. Trying to ask him about the weather it became clear that we won't be talking that much with his English and my few words in Bulgarian/Russian (but I did learn that Bulgarians say "merci" to thank someone). So, I concentrated on enjoying my first Bulgarian experience, looking outside and getting to know what it is like to be in Sofia. There was some traffic - it was Friday afternoon and some strange parade was blocking a lane with a donkey or something; that's a lot when all you have is 2 lanes. The driver offered me a cigarette and after I kindly refused he lit one for himself. I made an instinctive gesture when the smoke came to my direction, indicating that I am not from Bulgaria. The driver was very nice and threw out his cigarette right away. Later I learned I was lucky once again - most Bulgarian taxi drivers would not care. The ride came to an end and the meter said the pleasure cost 12 something, and the driver rounded it up when he gave me change from 20. Excited from the first encounter with the fascinating new country, I was generous and tipped him extra 2 BGN, way more than the local standard of 10%. Later I became more sensitive to how Bulgarians treat my money and whoever rounded up my bill, claiming himself some tip, didn't get much more from me. After all, I care about my freedom to choose how much to tip! You know it's not about the money when a week later, on the way back to the airport the meter shows 8 something and you feel so thrilled by the service you get from the driver that you give him 10 and don't expect the change.
***
Bulgaria has a lot to offer when it comes to its kitchen, but unless you feel very adventurous, you should eat only in places that have been recommended by people you trust. On the first night we were just walking around Sofia when we stumbled upon the restaurant "Mahaloto". We had a nice dinner in the backyard (almost avoiding any cigarette smoke - which is usually very hard), and later realized we were lucky to hit one of the restaurants recommended by our guide book. Later on, we had two amazing experiences at the Pri Yafata restaurant in Sofia (recommended by the book and our local friends), including the best dish I had in Bulgaria - some kind of a boneless chicken stew.
The story was different when one morning we headed to have brunch at the place just behind the hostel, which was praised by the guy at the front desk in the hostel (more about the hostel later). While some of the dishes were OK (how wrong can you go with the Shopska Salad?), other dishes were merely edible. Too greasy, too salty - you choose. But for me the worst thing was that it was impossible to escape the smoke, and that is where I draw my line. How can anyone eat like that?...
On the bus from Sofia to Sozopol (25 BGN one way (student price?), about 7 hours drive) we met a nice local guy who spoke English and helped us a lot - first only with the basics on the bus, but then also with advice about Sozopol, especially where to eat. Once again, lady luck paid us a visit - you see, he was a chef. He recommended "Bistro Ribari" and the Greek restaurant Casablanca, and noted few other destinations to explore (bars etc.). We were very happy to have these names as soon as we arrived to Sozopol, as we were very hungry. But after about an hour of searching, we didn't find these two places, so we ended up sitting at some random place - Bistro Sv. Nikola (I am not sure about the name, I am sure about the address: 5 Apolonia Street). Yes, you got it right - random. That was our biggest mistake, and one of the reasons I am writing now is to help you avoid that same mistake. I will get straight to the point: I ordered a lamb dish and I was shocked to find 2 (!) dead flies in my lamb while I was eating!!! There was no clue that this was going to happen. The location was very central, the menu looked decent, and the setting - charming. It was still very early for dinner, so all the places were empty (and later you could find a lot of people in that restaurant). We were happy to have the entire place for ourselves, including the service and nice breeze. Hungry from the 7-hour bus ride, we could not wait for the main dish, so we ordered a cold cucumber-yogurt soup which was good. My lamb dish was even recommended by the waitress... She was the one who later explained that these things happen (oops, I just realized that maybe she literally meant it) and suggested to bring me a replacement dish. I was sure that the entire lamb was bad (flies in meat is a very bad sign), and I had a feeling that they might just serve another piece of the same lamb. And besides, well, how should I put it - I lost my appetite. And people know me - it rarely happens. So NO THANKS. We asked for the check, and as if what we had gone through were not enough, they charged us for the lamb dish. I politely explained that this was unacceptable, and they were kind enough to take it off the bill. I still feel that we should have not paid at all for that meal.
As you can guess, for the rest of our trip, we followed the rule of eating only in places that were recommended by people we trust. We ended up finding both places that the chef told us about. We stopped at Bistro Ribari for lunch every day for the next three days and we didn't regret it (yummy chicken salad!). We also had a great dinner at the Greek restaurant - it is more on the expensive side, but the dishes are huge! The food was awesome, the location is great (on the beach) and the atmosphere was lovely (live band; too bad the music from the next door is too loud).
Few more details about eating out in Bulgaria: prices are decent - you can have a great dinner for two for about 30 BGN; that usually includes a beer (I like the local beer!) that costs less than 2 BGN for half a liter; if you want water you have to pay - they will only serve mineral water (although you can drink tap water); it is hard to find places that accept credit cards (unless you are in a nice restaurant in Sofia); 10% is a nice tip and they might round your bill up if you are expecting some change.
***
Accommodation was a challenge for us. When you are on budget, you make compromises, but you never expect what kind of compromises you will face. We picked the hostel in Sofia carefully, after checking the website (includes prices, reservation form and more), reading about it in the book and even calling to verify the reservation. It is a nice hostel which is conveniently located in the center of the city. The rooms are decent, the facilities meet the minimum I would expect. Everything seemed to be very relaxing, with the nice garden and cool people. It is just that some things can happen when everything is so relaxed. One of the things that happened to us reminded me of a famous Seinfeld episode about holding reservations: we knew that we would be coming back to Sofia for the last night, so when we were on our way to check out and leave to Sozopol we made a reservation for a private room for the next weekend. But when we came back, they informed us that they ran out of private rooms and we were moved to the dorms... We were lucky enough to be served by a very nice young girl that helped us find a room in the only hotel in Sofia that had an available private room that was in the relevant price range. After a small chat with the hostel manager over the phone, she also agreed to pay the price difference and we were on our way to the one-star hotel for our last night in Sofia.
Let's just say that this was a unique experience. I don't bother to look for the name of the hotel as there is no chance you will get there, and if somehow you will, it will be easy to identify it. The lobby was smoky and the place empty. The room was relatively clean, but it was probably because it wasn't being used for more than a few hours every month, if you know what I mean. Breakfast was included, but it also included the most yellow Bulgarian white cheese I have seen, and some old bread. You might be surprised by the wonders of what a toaster oven can do to an old bread, at least for a hungry person like me. My girlfriend opted out. The "best" part of the service was still ahead of us. Checkout time was noon, and I wanted to walk my girlfriend to the taxi as she had to get to the airport. It was around 11 AM and I told the lady at the front desk that I would be right back. Seven minutes later (maybe even less), I got back just in time to find the lady from the front desk and the cleaning lady in a middle of a combined effort to carry my suitcase down the stairs. It took me two seconds to realize that this can actually happen - "the lady had to clean", so they allowed themselves to empty my things from the room! Angry as I was, I explained to them that I still have to repack, I took my suitcase back up to the room and checked out at noon, not even five minutes earlier.
It is worth mentioning that the place we stayed at in Sozopol, Hotel Orion, was much better. The staff was very nice, the facility was clean, we had a great view of the sea, and we had good breakfasts. Here is the hotel website. As for the location, well, if you want to have this kind of view (see above), you have to climb the hill. That is, there are other hotels with view to the sea which are located closer to the beach, but they face the other direction, so you don't get the sunset. The climb is about 10 minutes from the beach, so if you are young and restless, I certainly recommend it. We loved it!
Few more things about hotels in Bulgaria: you will be asked to show your passport and your details will be written down for the record; hotels and hostels are not cheap in Sofia (when compared to what you get, to other places in the world or even to the cost of food); it is highly recommended to make reservations.
***
Renting a car in Bulgaria was an option we considered for a while. We chose to give up this option since we decided to concentrate on Sofia and Sozopol, and keep the other regions of Bulgaria for a future trip. In my girlfriend's words - "that was the best decision we made". It is not a short ride (6-7 hours) between Sofia and the Black Sea and driving in Bulgaria can be very dangerous. The infrastructure is still far from being decent, and parts of the way still have only one lane each direction. Let me put it this way - the Bulgarian drivers can be very impatient when a slow truck is driving in front of them, and you don't want to be coming up the opposite lane when they try to pass. So unless you have time to tour the back country and stop in a lot of small exotic towns, do not rent a car. It might seem more convenient; especially when you sit right behind the driver on a non smoking bus, but the driver smokes every 45 minutes. But the car requires so much more attention, and of the negative kind. I mean, I like driving, it can be fun sometimes. But in Bulgaria it is a clear "no-go" for me.
One thing to keep in mind is that Bulgaria is still developing. We took the bus from Sozopol to Burgas (4 BGN a person one way) to get to Nesebur (another bus, 5 BGN a person one way). We planned our day according to the time table for the returning bus that was posted in a station on the way. When we got back to Burgas that night, it turned out that we missed the last bus. How come? Very simple - one day (who knows when) they canceled the last two buses from Burgas to Sozopol. The time table at the Burgas station was updated, but they didn't bother (yet) updating the one in the other station that was along the way... We had to take a taxi and pay a bit more (we negotiated 35 BGN) just to realize that taxi drivers in Bulgaria found a way to get a great mile-per-gallon. That is, they almost always drive when their gas meter is on 'E'. Is that a trick to make us thank God we got to our destination or maybe just a result of the rising gas prices? A mystery yet to be solved :)
***
My last hours in Bulgaria I spent, naturally, at the airport. It was empty. I mean it. I couldn't even exchange my last BGN as the exchange girl decided that it is really unnecessary to be at the booth. After all, there is no one at the airport, and besides, who would exchange money with such a bad conversion rate that they offer? There was almost nowhere to buy food (2 bars that sell some old sandwiches and a small deli), so I bought an over-priced sandwich at the deli and wandered around the airport. I can't tell you how surprising it was to hear the Hebrew song "חורשת האקליפטוס" playing in one of the small bars at the terminal. That's it, I was thinking to myself. After this great week, this end note is the official sign that Bulgaria is a fascinating country!
