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Sofia: useful information

Sofia: useful information

During the three weeks of summer vacation in August I visited Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, and in this post, I want to condense all the useful information that I collected and some personal reflections that arise from some things I had read before leaving.

Travel documents

Bulgaria is part of the European Union, but not Schengen; however, it is possible to enter the country with only the valid identity card for expatriation (if you stay less than 90 days). You had to pass the document check both when you will depart for Bulgaria and when you will come back. If you are leaving from Rome, you maybe will find a queue only when you will back in Rome at Ciampino airport.

Local Currency

The official currency is Lev (lever in the plural). There are plenty of money changers in the city, and the exchange rate varies between two values: 1.93 lev for 1 euro and 1.95 leva for 1 euro (in mid-August 2017); if the money changer you have found gives you the least let go and find another one! I tell you sincerely, also because there are so many that you do not risk remaining without money.
As for the use of credit cards and the withdrawal from the ATMs I had read tragic information, of the type that nobody accepted card payments and that it was better to have enough cash… But I can tell you that it’s not true: in 6 days in Sofia, I never had problems in none of the cases (I have paid easily with paper several times, and I have been able to withdraw at the ATM as many).

Public transports

0F2A1714 Sofia has two subway lines, one of which stops at the airport. The most central stop is that of Serdika and, in second place, that of NDK. In some cases, you must be careful where you enter because there are two separate entrances, marked with “I” and “II”: even if you pass the two metro lines, these will not do the same round, and you could find yourself making the longest ride!
It happened to me at the Serdika stop: I did not see that there were two entrances, Serdika I and Serdika II, and coming from the university stop I took the second train to the central station from the same stop where I got off… Instead of getting off at the first stop, I had to go down to the fifteenth!
The single ticket costs 1.60 leva and the turnstile that opens will be the one on the right of the window to enter the ticket.
The day ticket costs 4 leva, and before passing the turnstiles you have to make it read at the ticket office cashier (it is a sort of “reactivation”). Otherwise, the turnstile will not open.

Taxi

There are two recommended taxi companies, OkTaxi (or Ok Citytransfer, you can find it by searching for both names) and YellowTaxi. At the airport you will certainly find OkTaxi: at the desk, at the exit, you must communicate your final destination in the city, the clerk will call a taxi and you will be given a sheet to provide to the taxi driver. You will pay directly to the taxi driver.

Bus stations and trips out of the city

Sofia Central Station includes both the central train station and the central bus station. From here depart buses and trains to go to Plovdiv.When I took the bus to Plovdiv, I found the station clean and well organised; the bathrooms are chargeable (50 cents) and are clean.
There is also the bus station of Zapad – Ovcha Kupel, from where the bus to the Rila monastery leaves and you can reach it by taking the tram number 5 (I will give you very detailed information when I write the post about the monastery)

Supermarkets and shops

If you need a perfumery, you can go to Null or Lilly, while for the supermarkets you find Lidl and Billa. For the city you see
Vitosha Boulevard is a pedestrian street where you will find all the shops and restaurants especially for tourists; if you slip into the side, instead, you find stores and clubs that seem more lived by locals than by tourists.

Language and knowledge of English

The Bulgarian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet, the same as Russian, but you will have no problems because usually the signs that may interest you (those with tourist information) are also written with the Latin alphabet.
As for communication in English, in 6 days I had problems only two times (with a taxi driver and a waiter): all speak well and very well! Otherwise, even if they do not know more than two words, they still try to understand what you might need and give you a hand.

Personal considerations

Mercato dei libri I would like to conclude with some personal considerations of various kinds concerning the city. Before leaving I had read the posts of many travel blogger friends like me and also many other articles, as well as multiple guides about Bulgaria. I have to say that, at a certain point, I felt a bit demoralised for what I was reading: many people described it as an unsafe and insecure, city. The alarmism towards stray dogs was very high (I had see just 3 in 6 days) and the Bulgarians were described as people who do not speak English always ready to rip you off. Not to mention some tourist guides (of which there are only old editions around) that report advice such as: “do not eat fruit that you can not peel”, “do not put ice in things to drink”, “do not eat the raw vegetables”. In short, apart from a few posts, there was to be afraid.
Honestly what I saw is pretty much the opposite of what I had read: only once I had the impression that a person wanted to cheat me, but I could also be wrong, I ate cooked and raw vegetables without ever having stomach problems and worth the same for ice in drinks.
To finally conclude the post I want to share with you three posts written by three friends of mine and that I hope will be useful for organising your trip:

Five typical restaurants of Sofia, recommended by Nicola of viaggiatori lowcost
Ten things to know before a trip to Sofia according to my friend Alessandro of the blog Girovagate: some things we have written both, of course (See information about currency and money exchange), but I think it is always useful to read more items on the same topics.
– Simonetta di ritaglidiviaggio.it has written his (her) 10 reasons +1 to go to Sofia.

NB: all three are written in Italian only

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