One Man in Bulgaria

My last post from Sofia left me tucked up in bed. Tuesday morning (15th Dec.) dawned not so bright and not so early.  A look out of my window confirmed that bul. "Todor Alexandrov" would lead me to Sofia city centre. According to Google the outside temperature was about 6°C and it would be about a 20 minute walk. Just enough to work up an appetite for brunch in town.  I paused at the bridge over the river to see the water and look back at the hotel before proceeding on my journey. There is ample public transport for the faint hearted, a metro station next to the hotel as well as buses and taxis. A tram service also criss-crosses the city though not past this particular hotel.

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...