2010 Trip: To Sofia
10th May 2010
Today, I left Turkey. After getting everything packed up, grabbing a snack for breakfast, and getting some nibbles for the journey, I headed to the main street to catch a dolmus (small local bus). The one I was waiting for took almost an hour to arrive, good thing I had allowed lots of spare time!
I ended up waiting with a very friendly change smoking native who helped me out as he was going in my direction. I needn’t have worried, the bus I was supposed to take to Bulgaria was at least an hour late itself. Such is life in this part of the world.
While I waited in the baking sun at a hotel/truck stop, a bunch of Aussies turned up. They were heading in the same direction as me. They seemed rather uncouth (for 40 somethings) and spoke of their experiences in Turkey. They weren’t impressed. The Turkish stared at them like dirt, like they didn’t belong. To an extent I have found the same. Especially in contrast with Bulgaria. Here you walk down the street and people don’t stare or if they do they smile. The worst treatment one gets here is exasperation from not knowing how to communicate, which is far more my fault than theirs.
So yes, I eventually made it to Bulgaria. The differences are quite apparent and in places a little unexpected. The border post sums it up nicely. The Turkish side is modern, with nice buildings, lots of fancy lines, and well paved roading. The Bulgarian side is verging on third world, with soviet style buildings and rough roads. But this is just the surface, the Turkish side is beaurocratic and slow, on the Bulgarian side, people are a little more laid back and the European Union flag flutters with casual ease.
It took us at least an hour to clear both sets of customs. We were off on Bulgarian soil and I was travelling under a different passport. There was almost reverence when I waved it under the face of the (female) Bulgarian customs official. Ah, the joys of being a default EU citizen.
As we travelled along small, rough, potholed country roads, it is obvious Bulgaria is a nation is flux. It is certainly from old European stock, with steep roofs in village dwellings and the ubiquitious terracota tiling (which interestingly got darker as we progressed north).
The green landscape got darker as well, darker conifers and evergreens fill the ever expanding areas of forest we pass. But the Soviet influence is strong, not least as all of the street signs and indeed writing generally (except in trendy locations) is in Cyrillic, which I still entirely fail to get. Drab Soviet era apartment buildings swarm and surround the larger towns and cities.
In Sofia itself, the trams and ambulances are painted Soviet orange, a drab rusty colour. Occasionally you will see some of the amazing automative products of communism, so decrepit do they look that if they are stopped at the lights it seems miraculous when they rev loudly and go.
I arrived at the modern bus station in Sofia, in stark contrast to the harsh lines of the next door Soviet-era train station. After wandering towards the centre, I found a hostel that was basic, but relatively cheap and certainly preferrable to the place I stayed in Edirne. I settled in and took a wander around the streets before it got dark.
The centre of the city looks and feels decidedly European. I found an awesome Italian restaurant for dinner. Fantastic pizza and a cosy atmosphere. I even got to sample some of the local beer and found it to my liking. Later in the evening, I wandered off home. The streets, even late at night, felt quite safe.