We caught a bus to Sophia and thank goodness it was air conditioned as it started out in 35 degree temperatures. Most travelers we have met told us not to spend too much time here as there is not much to see in the city.
We caught a tram from the bus station to the book market near our hostel. The double room had been booked so we chose a 4 bed dormitory but the receptionist had over booked so we were moved to a twin room for the same price. The hostel was a shambles, sheets hung over the showers as there was no where else to dry them, breakfast of burek (filo pastry with goats' cheese) sat about until the next breakfast time, people were on mattresses on the floor and some even had to sleep 2 to a bed. One of the guests had a kitten so we couldn't open the common room doors to let a breeze through for fear of it running off!
The hostel location was good but with that comes noise- behind us was an outdoor cafe/bar that made a noise until 12pm. On the book market street the trams rattled by all night and the rubbish collectors emptied the metal skips from 1am onwards. Guests checked out to catch flights at 4am then the next group went out at 5am and then 6am!
Sofia doesn't have a central square or street. The trams run through a main street and there are 3 small squares scattered about. One square has the parliament building and the guards change there every hour but not much else happens there. Behind all this is the Sofitel Hotel which is built very close to an ancient Roman church and road that has been restored with money from the Sofitel.
Another square has the Aleksander Nevski Church which was built between 1892 and 1912 in honour of the Russian liberators (including 200,000 who died fighting the Ottomans).
The other square has the Sveta Sofia Church and not much else.
We did manage to find another great place to eat. The food in Bulgaria is great if you can find a place that doesn't just serve pasta and pizza, or burek.
John went to the dentist recommended by the Plovdiv dentist. The clinic was brand new and very modern. They were able to x-ray his teeth and email us the x-ray. He had to have 2 visits to complete the 2 root canals he needed and although it cost a lot it was cheaper than it would have been in New Zealand. There was a lady in the waiting room who had flown in from Greece and was going to have all her teeth pulled out that day and have implants because it was cheaper than in Greece.
