Sofia, Bulgaria

We got into the Eastern Bloc after a bumpy night train ride that involved some 3ish hours of passport control stops. It was a chilly rainy Sunday morning and the only places open at that hour were the liquor stores and the casinos. Was it a miserable weekend or did we look like gypsies? Why didn't anybody smile at us?

We ran afoul with the law within the first hour of arriving. We were slow in understanding to get tickets to the tram and were fined for lack of tickets for us and out over sized packs which apparently need a ticket as well. It was time for a cup of coffee. Add to all this I was fresh out of clean clothes and all the unpleasantness that suggests.

As some consolation the food here is good. For 5 lv ($US 3) I had sweetmeat and rice casserole, a hearty soup, bread and tasty beer for lunch and half a roasted chicken, french fries, bread and more beer for the same price for dinner. Gotta like the architecture here as well. This used to be a beautiful old European city until it got bulldozed with modern buildings fitting a socialist paradise. But between the imposing buildings are a few old amazing worship halls and new touches to warm the place. I really enjoyed the renovated Royal Palace which houses the the National Art Gallery. All of the painting and sculptures were portraits or figures, which I thought was strange. My favorite part were the original floors which were all creak creak when walked upon.

We did some wandering, shopping and internet and then headed back the the train about 12 hours after arriving. We called it a country and headed on to Bucharest...