Sofia on English Bulgaria

Tanks Rolling Down the Streets of Sofia

Thu, 05 May 2016 14:10:12 +0000

Last night my trolley ride home from downtown Sofia was interrupted by a police roadblock and some rather unusual traffic on Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard.

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Sofia's Marvelous Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 14:21:40 +0000

When I first started visiting Bulgaria I was in awe of the beautiful buildings in Sofia. Here you can see the typical vintage of Europe mixed with a bit of the color and flair of the Orient, a combination rarely seen in Western Europe. For the first few months after I moved to Sofia I maintained the position that it was cliché to say that the Alexander Nevsky cathedral was your favorite building in the city — after all, it is undoubtedly the most famous landmark. But, ladies and gentlemen, this cathedral is absolutely marvelous to behold.

Sofia’s Alexander Nevsky cathedral on a sunny afternoon

Vakali Rocks a Packed NDK Auditorium

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 12:28:53 +0000

How do you write a review of a performance dance group that wears Viking costumes, uses bones to play their drums, and has pyrotechnics so badass that I could feel them twenty rows back in the audience? I was clapping so hard during Vakali’s performance at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia last week that my hands still hurt?

Vakali group (from their Facebook page)

The "Sofia Communist Tour" Is Great

Wed, 27 Jan 2016 13:43:20 +0000

What better vessel could there be than an iconic, former-East-German Trabant for navigating a narrative of Bulgaria’s communist era? A few clever young Bulgarians have bought a little blue “Trabi” and are giving free tours of Sofia with the aim of doing just that.

The East German Trabant is an iconic reminder of Communism in Eastern Europe

Rambling Man With a Torch in Sofia

Mon, 04 Jan 2016 12:44:05 +0000

“STOP!” he shouts, right as I’m about to take my money from the ATM in downtown Sofia. Alarmed, I turn around to find some bearded man standing right behind me, holding what — at first glance — looks like a gun. “Holy shit,” I think, “am I about to get jacked?”

Butane torch (by Hustvedt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)