One Man in Bulgaria

The President safely guarded I moved off to the other end of the block. Looking down the street there was the 'Sveta Nedelya' church at the end not so far away.  Where next, attracted by a shop window I turned to follow ul. "Saborna" in the opposite direction. Bulgaria has certainly adopted the 'Christmas spirit' since independence. The 'Bank of Bulgaria' on my left afforded a look at some of the typical architecture surviving in this historic centre. I have discovered that 'Sofia' means 'Wisdom' hence the statue.

Times if not destinations Out and about last week I bought some postcards but couldn't figure out where to buy stamps. Enquires revealed that there is a post office behind McDonald's in the pedestrianised area and a main office somewhere behind the cathedral, identifiable by yellow flags. This seems to be the common postal colour across Europe unlike British red. As it is about time that I tried out the bus service I decided to head up the leafy end of my street to catch a bus into town on Bul. "Tsar Osvoboditel", driving on the right means that I do not have to cross the main road.  I could identify the bus numbers and times but not the destinations but I knew that they must end up in the centre somewhere. Because of this and subsequent failed attempts to find timetables I have decided to create a page on the blog dedicated to the bus routes in Varna.  Whilst sitting waiting for the next bus I noticed that the traffic lights count down to their ...

I emerged from my building and turned right up the tree lined street I had photographed on my arrival.  Wandering along there was the usual mix of local shops which seem to prevail on every street.  Being the third largest city in the country with a population of some 505,819 persons it could, in fact, be the second largest. The vast majority of the population live in huge concrete apartment blocks largely, I believe, a hangover from the previous regime but more modern architecture is creeping in.  I suppose that this density of population and the absence of hypermarkets sustains the local economy and a good thing to!  I picked this direction as the street leads to the Boulevard "Zsar Osvoboditel" dual carriageway, one of the main arterial roads into the centre. As I reached the top of the street and the road became visible the car density became apparent. No wonder there is a parking problem wherever you go! View the full Varna photo album here  (includes the...