We were amazed at how many people have asked us where Bulgaria is. If you just say "Sofia", they nod knowingly, though. Uh huh. Anyway, we know where it is: it's at the end of an Air Bulgaria flight from Rome. We visited Jeff, Sherry, and the gang for a few days, and toured the local area. Bulgaria was a communist bloc country and its architecture is a mix of the pre-, the post-, and the new. Pictured above is the central cathedral, named for Alexander Nevsky, a Russian prince. The building dates to the late 1800's.
The historic city center has beautiful buildings and parks, and the different influences are seen everywhere. Above, the Russian Church sparkles in the sunshine.
This good-looking guy guards the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Bulgaria has a lot of monasteries. About two hours south of Sofia, and up in the mountains, is the most beautiful monastery, Rila. We drove up and spent quite a bit of time walking around the area and staring at the architecture and the monks.
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| Rila Monastery. The mechanical clock in the central bell tower. |
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| Beautiful frescoes (ancient graffitti) on the outside of the chapel in the courtyard |
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| Monk's quarters as seen from the chapel |
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| Jeff, Sherry, Leo, and Isaac. |
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| The gang at home |
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Three generations
After a great visit, and plenty of good food and Rakia (local liquor), we rubbed our St. Christopher medals and boarded the Air Bulgaria flight back to Rome. |
