Oct 5
And back to Belgrad last night as I board the train for the overnight journey to Sofia. The train station wasn't well lit and I just wanted to get on so tt wasn't until the next morning that I realized how tired and worn the train I was boarding was. The train from Zagreb to Belgrad was in very good shape but this one wasn't. I got on and went into the first compartment that wasn't full. There was one woman in it and it appeared she was already trying to sleep. So I got on and put my pack in the overhead rack and followed her example. Fortunately the seats slid downwards sort of which made getting soem rest not impossible.
The next morning we went through the usual checking of tickets and passports with one stop of about 45 minutes and then in Bulgaria we were boarded by several armed and uniformed men who started to take the train apart from the inside. We were stopped at a station with about 4 buildings visible. They took off wall panels and with flashlights looked down heating systems. They had a ladder and removed the ceiling light fixtures and panels and peered into dark recesses with the flashlites again. I found out that cigarettes are much cheaper in Serbia than Bulgaria and smuggling was a big problem. They didn't seem to pay me much attention. I guess I don't look like a cigarette smuggler.As we were hanging out while they did their thing Mischa who I just met offered me a drink which I courteously declined as very hard liquor isn't what I usually have for breakfast. Then I saw that they had recovered some smuulged smokes.Misha flung himself down in my compartment although I am not sure if he was despondent cause they found his smokes and he was in trouble of whether that is what you do when you are drinking hard liquor for beakfast.
So we were stuck in the middle of nowhere while the customs people did their thing which included calling in some cops. Interestingly the head cop seemed to be an attractive young woman of about 30. maybe tv isn't always a lie. After more than two hours they found us an alternate train that wasn't so well worn or fully covered in graffiti and we quickly scrambled on and were on our way slowly to Sofia. This was good.
After getting off the train I found my tram (following the instructions of my hostel) and figured out what to do with my tram ticket and started for my hostel. Bulgaria uses the cyrillic alphabet so the street sign for William Gladstone street where my hostel was looks something like ул. "Уилям Гладстон" which I didn't find very helpful. But thanks to the very good instructions of the Canape Connection (my hostel) I did get there and received a very nice welcome.
Good hostel and good cafe the Sun Moon around the corner. I went for a long walk and bought some souvenirs and sent them home. Didn't do the free tour cause I was a bit tired.
Sights of Sofia.
So the next morning I took a cab that had been arranged the night before by my hostel to the airport to Paris. I enjoyed Sofia and my hostel, Canape Connection, was excellent as was the vegetarian restuarant around the corner the Sun Moon.
I did only a brief tour of some cities in the Balkans but I am sure I could spend much more time in the Balkans very enjoyably. I never got out of the cities and I do know that they have some beautiful parks, mountains, seashore etc.
So my next post, and last in this series< will be Paris, London, Calgary & home!
And back to Belgrad last night as I board the train for the overnight journey to Sofia. The train station wasn't well lit and I just wanted to get on so tt wasn't until the next morning that I realized how tired and worn the train I was boarding was. The train from Zagreb to Belgrad was in very good shape but this one wasn't. I got on and went into the first compartment that wasn't full. There was one woman in it and it appeared she was already trying to sleep. So I got on and put my pack in the overhead rack and followed her example. Fortunately the seats slid downwards sort of which made getting soem rest not impossible.
The next morning we went through the usual checking of tickets and passports with one stop of about 45 minutes and then in Bulgaria we were boarded by several armed and uniformed men who started to take the train apart from the inside. We were stopped at a station with about 4 buildings visible. They took off wall panels and with flashlights looked down heating systems. They had a ladder and removed the ceiling light fixtures and panels and peered into dark recesses with the flashlites again. I found out that cigarettes are much cheaper in Serbia than Bulgaria and smuggling was a big problem. They didn't seem to pay me much attention. I guess I don't look like a cigarette smuggler.As we were hanging out while they did their thing Mischa who I just met offered me a drink which I courteously declined as very hard liquor isn't what I usually have for breakfast. Then I saw that they had recovered some smuulged smokes.Misha flung himself down in my compartment although I am not sure if he was despondent cause they found his smokes and he was in trouble of whether that is what you do when you are drinking hard liquor for beakfast.
So we were stuck in the middle of nowhere while the customs people did their thing which included calling in some cops. Interestingly the head cop seemed to be an attractive young woman of about 30. maybe tv isn't always a lie. After more than two hours they found us an alternate train that wasn't so well worn or fully covered in graffiti and we quickly scrambled on and were on our way slowly to Sofia. This was good.
After getting off the train I found my tram (following the instructions of my hostel) and figured out what to do with my tram ticket and started for my hostel. Bulgaria uses the cyrillic alphabet so the street sign for William Gladstone street where my hostel was looks something like ул. "Уилям Гладстон" which I didn't find very helpful. But thanks to the very good instructions of the Canape Connection (my hostel) I did get there and received a very nice welcome.
This was a SUnday and I think in Sofia they close some of the main streets on Sunday
Public art
Public soldiers doing their thing for the tourists.
Oct. 6 - went on the Free Tour and it was free and good. usually they ask for donations at the end if you liked the tour but here they didn't. A good tour. Enjoyed the Sun Moon Cafe again and got myself organized for leaving early for Paris the next day.
So the next morning I took a cab that had been arranged the night before by my hostel to the airport to Paris. I enjoyed Sofia and my hostel, Canape Connection, was excellent as was the vegetarian restuarant around the corner the Sun Moon.
I did only a brief tour of some cities in the Balkans but I am sure I could spend much more time in the Balkans very enjoyably. I never got out of the cities and I do know that they have some beautiful parks, mountains, seashore etc.
So my next post, and last in this series< will be Paris, London, Calgary & home!
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