I going to try something a little different for this entry. Since I did not bring my laptop with me on the recent trip, what will follow is a full summary of my time away from London. Therefore, instead of a day-by-day account, I thought I’d break the trip down into categories. Let me know if you hate it and I’ll never do it again!

Tuesday, February 6 through Friday, February 9 – Sofia, Bulgaria

Itinerary

I departed Heathrow midday Tuesday, so no early wake up required! The nonstop flight on British Airways took about 3 hours. Return was on Friday night, also nonstop via BA. The round trip cost was £166 ($213). Both flights were on an Airbus A320 (like a 737). The flight to Sofia was jam-packed (I had an aisle seat). Less so on the return; I had a window seat with an empty middle seat next to me.

I landed at around 7:30pm in Sofia (two hours ahead of London). After taking the metro to the city center, and following a short walk, I arrived at my hotel about an hour later. Wednesday was spent exploring the city, which included a “free” walking tour (more on that later). For Wednesday evening, I booked a ticket to see the opera Tosca. I reserved a full-day tour for Thursday. Since my flight back to London wasn’t until around 8pm, I was a man of leisure Friday morning. The hotel did offer me a late checkout (at no cost), but it was a nice day, so I ended up leaving at 11am to do some more roaming around the city and just relaxing in one of Sofia’s many parks.

Transportation

I took the SL9 back to Harrow on Friday night as well. I arrived at the Heathrow bus terminal at 10:30pm and it was very crowded! That surprised me. The SL9 originates at Heathrow, and it was basically like a scrum of people trying to board the bus. Crazy! I was able to get a seat though. And my stop in Harrow is the second to last on the route, so the bus was pretty much empty by the time I exited.

I arrived at the airport 3 hours before departure. That was WAY too early! Especially since I had no bags to check. This is a small airport.

After I checked out of the hotel on Friday I stopped by the nearby metro station to buy a ticket for my ride to the airport later in the afternoon. I bought the ticket using cash at a kiosk (an important point!). Later in the afternoon I decided to convert my remaining Lev to U.S. dollars before heading to the airport. I figured the conversion rate would better in the city center than at the airport.

Okay, that’s all sorted, time to catch the train. Well, I tried to use the ticket I purchased earlier in the day, and it wouldn’t work. Even after multiple tries. What the…?!? So, I spoke to the person at the ticket desk and she points to a little sign on the window that states “tickets purchased must be used immediately; do not buy tickets for later use”. Really? Would have been nice if that sign was on the kiosk too! Anyway, I now do not have a valid ticket, or any local currency. Mmmmm… Luckily (coincidentally?) there was an ATM right next to the ticket kiosk. And amazingly I was able to retrieve as little a 10 BGN ($5.50), with no transaction fee (although my Schwab card reimburses all ATM fees anyway). After buying the metro ticket I used the remaining Lev to buy some food from a stand in the metro station (I did this after I immediately used my ticket to enter the station!).

Hotel

The hotel might have been the highlight of my trip. Seriously! (I’m not sure if that’s good or bad!)

At checkout the owner of the hotel offered me a voucher for a taxi ride to the airport. I thanked him, but mentioned that I was just going to take the metro. He then offered me some money. I tried to refuse, but to no avail. Obviously, I had a very enjoyable stay at Art ‘Otel. I’d return to Sofia just to stay there again!

Sofia City Center

The city center is easily walkable. I spent most of Wednesday and Friday doing just that! Here are some highlights…

Serdica Archeological Complex

During the construction of the second phase of the Sofia metro, remains of the ancient Roman city of Serdica were uncovered and are on display to the public. The complex covers an area of approximately 9,000 square meters, which once included eight streets, an early Christian basilica, six large buildings, mineral springs and a medieval church, all located at underground level. Dating back to a period from the 1st to the 6th century, early examples of a water and sewage system, as well as ornately tiled floors have been uncovered.

Here are a few pictures from the complex…

Tosca

On Wednesday night I attended only my third opera, Puccini’s Tosca. The other two were: a) Another Puccini, La Bohème, at the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest, and b) Verdi’s Aida performed at the London Coliseum. All three were wonderful. The singing obviously was amazing, but I equally enjoyed the decorative sets of each production. I also like visiting the different theaters.

The Budapest performance was probably my favorite experience because I sat in a box with a Hungarian couple. The wife spoke a little English so we talked before the start and during the interval. That show was kind of interesting too because it was sung in Italian, however there were subtitles presented above the stage…in Hungarian of course! Fortunately I knew the basic story of La Bohème. In the case of Tosca, it too was sung in Italian, both but Bulgarian and English subtitles were presented. Thank you!

Rila Monastery

I booked a full-day tour on Thursday to visit two UNESCO World Heritage sites. The first stop will be at the Rila Monastery.

Sidenote: I’m thrilled that group tours are back as a way for me to visit various remote sites. It was frustrating (i.e., expensive!) having to hire drivers in the Caribbean last year.

Rila Monastery is located in the southwestern Rila Mountains, at an elevation of 3,800 ft. The Monastery was founded in the 10th century, but was relocated to this present location in the 14th century. However, the arrival of the Ottomans in the following century resulted in its almost total destruction. It was subsequently rebuilt, but destroyed again by a fire in the 19th century. Most of the buildings in the complex now date from the 19th century rebuild.

Boyana Church

The second UNESCO World Heritage site we will be visiting today is Boyana Church. It is located back in the outskirts of Sofia.

Today (Thursday) was fun. And long. I left my hotel around 8:15am and got back around 5:30pm. Just in time for happy hour!

General Trip Notes

• As you can probably see, the weather was beautiful during my time in Sofia. Especially on Thursday at the Monastery. The high temperatures were near 60 throughout the trip. Lucky!
• I’m enjoying this off-season escape! From the low costs, lack of crowds, and availability of events it’s been wonderful. Reviews of the Monastery tour indicates the crowds can be brutal during the high season. And I never would have had a personal Hard Rock Vault tour in the summer! (Ironically, the Wall Street Journal just published an article about the benefits of off-season travel)
• In general I found the people of Sofia to be grumpy and unfriendly. That’s disappointing. Maybe there were other issues in play, like the language barrier. Exceptions were the folks in the tourist trade I encountered, but that’s to be expected. Two non-trade exceptions were the immigration officer I dealt with on arrival and a woman that sat next to me on the flight from London. Viara did not live in Sofia, but offered to assist me if I had any questions or issues. We ended up trading texts during my stay.
• My UK eSIM data plan expired on the day I left for Sofia, and since I’ll be traveling over the next month, I renewed with a 30 day eSIM that covers all of Europe. The 3 Gb plan cost $10. Cheap!
• There is a lot of smoking in Sofia. A LOT. Thankfully my hotel was smoke-free.
• The population of Sofia is 1.4 million, but the city center doesn’t seem that crowded. I think it’s because the city covers a large area.
• I don’t think I mentioned in the first Journal Entry for this trip that immigration at Heathrow is now automated for those with U.S. passports (along with other countries). Basically all that is required are a scan of your face and passport. I had no waiting on my initial arrival or on this trip’s return. Brilliant!

Saturday, February 10 – Harrow on the Hill

Sorted through trip photos, caught up on emails, updated financials, went for a walk, and REST!

Sidenote: Today is the Chinese New Year, and there is a parade and celebrations planned in the City. Also planned though are protests taking place from Parliament up to Trafalgar Square. So, I think I’m going to avoid that today. I actually attended the parade when I lived here. It was fun, but massively crowded. I’m sure it will be even more so today.

Sunday, February 11 – Harrow on the Hill

Made a grocery run, went for a walk, and worked on this loooonnng Journal Entry!

Sidenote: The Super Bowl will be shown here live, but it doesn’t start until 11:30pm, so I think I’ll pass. I can always watch the highlights (and commercials) on YouTube. Or maybe they’ll replay it on TV here at a normal time during the week!