Sofia, a whirlwind tour with some sweet companions

Due to the unexpected cancellation of the handy train service from Belgrade to Istanbul, a few hundred travellers found themselves in Sofia for the day.  I met two of these travellers on my crack-of-dawn bus from Nis (they had boarded in Belgrade, and I introduced myself when I noticed them snap a shot of the road sign showing the distance to Istanbul - figured we were in a similar position!) - Matteus & Mattus, an uncle/nephew team from Germany who were making a long-awaited train journey (well, almost) to Istanbul.

We began our day in the highly unpleasant train station of Sofia, trying to get information about onward travel to Istanbul.  M&M encountered a couple who they'd met in Belgrade, and were highly annoyed to find out that they had been told there were NO trains to Sofia, only to discover that this couple had taken one and arrived an hour or so before us!

Dodging the many "helpful station staff" (read: touts who would give you some vague information and then demand 2 EUR for their "service"), we managed to get details of the train to Istanbul (that evening, although it would be a rail replacement bus for the Turkish portion of the journey) and for good measure, the various bus services (including another mysteriously cancelled service - when I asked why that particular bus was not running, I just got a shrug in response).

Obtaining all this information took about an hour, since we had to visit both bus stations and the train station....but at least it allowed me to convey the options to another couple who were clearly stranded in Sofia just like us!  Finally, I decided on a late evening bus and M&M chose to continue their dream of travelling by train.

Tickets obtained, we set out to tour the city for the day (after getting some very reluctant directions from the international ticket agent, the ONLY person who would speak to us in English and not charge for the honour.  This included the so-called "information desk").

Nedelya Church

The good news was that the city center is a quick walk away from the station, but a world away in atmosphere!  We were instantly impressed by the sculptures and wide streets, and a beautiful church (Nedelya).  Too bad no one seemed to know where the tourist information office was, so that we could get a map and have some clue what we were looking at.  Finally I steered us into the Grand Hotel Sofia, whose super-helpful receptionist not only gave us a map and pointed out a good route for walking, but also directed us to the ancient church in their back courtyard!  We met a terribly interesting Australian there, who lived in Vienna for part of the year and travelled for the rest of the time...he had even lived in Mosul, Iraq - in the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world (apparently the government pays people to live there now, so they can keep up their claim to fame).

Alexander Nevski Cathedral

St George's Church - on this site since the 5th century

Posh lunch!

The photo album really says it all - Sofia is a great, walkable city with looming mountains, lovely parks and a myriad of sculptures.  The three of us had a long but enjoyable day of walking and eating (cake for breakfast and the posh but affordable Ristorante Uno for lunch - thanks Matteus, for treating all of us!).  We found a piece of the Berlin Wall, a few zillion churches, and - finally - the tourist information office (near the university), who gave me a delicious recommendation for dinner near the train/bus station.

Most delicious starter for dinner- raziadka, a walnut & cheesy garlic dish

An unexpected but awesome day with great company & sights  =)