Sorry it has taken awhile to put this up. I got back from Sofia on Monday and the week got away from me. It is true what they say, your second year in the Peace Corps is busier and will fly by faster than your first year.
So last weekend, myself and 3 other volunteers decided that after only a few months into school that we needed a vacation. We decided to go to Sofia, (the capital of Bulgaria) since its close and we could do it in a weekend. We left on Friday and our first stop was Kriva Palanka. We planned on taking the 10:30am bus from Skopje (a city in Macedoniia); but as we were standing outside waiting for it, I noticed that a bus driver was waving me over. My first thought was "this is going to be good, he is calling the American over". He asked if that was the 10:30 bus and I said yes and then he said something else very quickly and the only word that I could catch was "policia." I go back and tell the others and we finally learn that that was the 10:30 bus and there was something wrong with it and he had to take it to the stop. Nothing like the elaborate story we came up with: that the bus driver was running away from the police and even though he could not stop to pick us up he was still nice enough to tell us that the police were after him. True customer service.
So we had to waste more time in Skopje; and the Macedonian way to waste time is to drink coffee. Making that my 2nd cup of the day. We had to wait for the 1pm bus and 15 mins before 1:00 we decide to go out and get seats on the bus, because we thought it would fill up since the earlier bus never came. We got out there and it was not a bus, but a combi (aka a van) and there were only 3 seats left. Guess who did not get a seat?...............you got it. ME!!! I stood in the back and could not believe it but more people were trying to get on the combi. By the time we left the station the combi was full (seats, standing room, laps, everything). But the best part was as we were driving out of Skopje the bus driver continued to stop and "try" to pick people up. The joke of the ride was how many more people can we cram into this combi. Two and a half hours later we arrived in Kriva Palanka. Yes, I stood the entire time. Except for the last 5 mins when the combi finally started to clear out. As we were driving though Kriva Palanka people were getting off and finally it was just the 4 poor Peace Corps volunteers left. The bus driver turns around and looks at us and says "What are you doing? Get out!" We were all expecting for the combi to go to the bus station, but this was the last stop instead of the middle of town. Just another day using Macedonian public transportation.
We all stayed at a fellow volunteer's house and she took us up to a famous monastery before it got dark.
The weary travelers in front of the monastery.
As we were walking back down to town, a little kitten that we found up at the monastery and that I played with followed us all the way. She was a very determined little thing and thought that we were going to keep her. We gave her a box with a blanket and some food and water expecting that during the night she would leave. But the next morning she was still there and excited to see us.
Isn't she soooo cute!!!! We asked other volunteers if they wanted her, because she was so lovable, but no one took her. So we brought her back up to the monastery found her a warm place and gave her some food before we headed off to Sofia.
We stayed at a nice hostel in the center of Sofia, Hostel Mostel. We had a 4 person private room which was about a 5 minute walk from the main hostel building. Our room was in its own apartment, along with 2 other rooms, a living room, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen. All for the low low price of 10 euros a person. Comfort and Class on a budget.
In front of the main building. This price of our room also included breakfast and a pasta dinner.
The living room in the separate apartment.
Kitchen
Our room, the 4th bed was to the right was mine.
Our first stop in Sofia was SUBWAY!!!!
The gentlemen in the window were laughing at us when we were getting our picture taken. We walked around and explored Sofia. Took a trip to the Mall of Sofia and considered seeing a movie. But all the ones in English we had already seen online or had no interest in seeing.
The next day we did a free walking tour of Sofia and saw all the sights.
The Russian church.
Picture with the guards in front of the presidents office.
Drinking warm water from the old hot baths.
After the tour, we went to a Chinese restaurant and ran into a Bulgarian Peace Corps volunteer!! She lives in a village of 800 people and is close to the Turkish border. She sat and talked to us for a few minutes before she had to go to a meeting. It was nice to hear about the similarities and differences about being a PCvolunteer and living Macedonia and living in Bulgaria (small world!!).
It was a great weekend trip with a great group of people. I am already looking into my next weekend getaway. Check back next weekend to see how we do Thanksgiving -- Peace Corps style!!!!
So last weekend, myself and 3 other volunteers decided that after only a few months into school that we needed a vacation. We decided to go to Sofia, (the capital of Bulgaria) since its close and we could do it in a weekend. We left on Friday and our first stop was Kriva Palanka. We planned on taking the 10:30am bus from Skopje (a city in Macedoniia); but as we were standing outside waiting for it, I noticed that a bus driver was waving me over. My first thought was "this is going to be good, he is calling the American over". He asked if that was the 10:30 bus and I said yes and then he said something else very quickly and the only word that I could catch was "policia." I go back and tell the others and we finally learn that that was the 10:30 bus and there was something wrong with it and he had to take it to the stop. Nothing like the elaborate story we came up with: that the bus driver was running away from the police and even though he could not stop to pick us up he was still nice enough to tell us that the police were after him. True customer service.
So we had to waste more time in Skopje; and the Macedonian way to waste time is to drink coffee. Making that my 2nd cup of the day. We had to wait for the 1pm bus and 15 mins before 1:00 we decide to go out and get seats on the bus, because we thought it would fill up since the earlier bus never came. We got out there and it was not a bus, but a combi (aka a van) and there were only 3 seats left. Guess who did not get a seat?...............you got it. ME!!! I stood in the back and could not believe it but more people were trying to get on the combi. By the time we left the station the combi was full (seats, standing room, laps, everything). But the best part was as we were driving out of Skopje the bus driver continued to stop and "try" to pick people up. The joke of the ride was how many more people can we cram into this combi. Two and a half hours later we arrived in Kriva Palanka. Yes, I stood the entire time. Except for the last 5 mins when the combi finally started to clear out. As we were driving though Kriva Palanka people were getting off and finally it was just the 4 poor Peace Corps volunteers left. The bus driver turns around and looks at us and says "What are you doing? Get out!" We were all expecting for the combi to go to the bus station, but this was the last stop instead of the middle of town. Just another day using Macedonian public transportation.
We all stayed at a fellow volunteer's house and she took us up to a famous monastery before it got dark.
As we were walking back down to town, a little kitten that we found up at the monastery and that I played with followed us all the way. She was a very determined little thing and thought that we were going to keep her. We gave her a box with a blanket and some food and water expecting that during the night she would leave. But the next morning she was still there and excited to see us.
We stayed at a nice hostel in the center of Sofia, Hostel Mostel. We had a 4 person private room which was about a 5 minute walk from the main hostel building. Our room was in its own apartment, along with 2 other rooms, a living room, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen. All for the low low price of 10 euros a person. Comfort and Class on a budget.
Our first stop in Sofia was SUBWAY!!!!
It was a great weekend trip with a great group of people. I am already looking into my next weekend getaway. Check back next weekend to see how we do Thanksgiving -- Peace Corps style!!!!
Hey Michelle,
ReplyDeleteIt's Boyko from the Free Sofia Tour :)
We are happy that you enjoyed the tour with Niki.
I have a small favour to ask :) Do you mind linking the words in the text 'free walking tour of Sofia' to the tour's webpage http://www.freesofiatour.com so that other people could find us easier?
Thank you very much in advance!
Best,
boyko@freesofiatour.com