Sofia, Day Four

On Thursday I woke up at 6am sick. Like my curl-up-in-a-ball-whenever-you-move-you-feel-nauseous sick. I thought that wouldn’t be a good day to leave my bed and go to another city 1.5 hour bus ride away. So I went back to sleep until 9. I decided to go try to get to the National History museum and try the Polytechnic museum (now that I knew where it was, thanks Google!). And I took medicine.

I asked the front desk guy if there was a way to use public transport to get to the museum or not and he said he would look. Apparently there is. A trolley-bus and a bus. So off I set hoping that this time it would be open.

It was!! You couldn’t take any picture inside it (and only a few on the outside- there were NO PASSING! NO PHOTOGRAPHY! Signs around the entire complex and some military looking smokestacks…hmmm…)

 This museum was awesome! It had stuff ranging from pre-Roman times up until the signing of Bulgaria joining the EU. Amazing. Some of the detail is just awe inspiring! I probably spent about 2 hours or so wandering the three floors of the museum. There was even a replicated house in there, as well as a school room. And an exhibit on cinema though the early 1900s. Almost all of the signs were in both Bulgarian and English.

Then I wandered outside and to the back to see if there was some shade I could sit in to eat my sandwich I had made with plastic-wear and nothing else. There was  a little café- so I got a Sprint and a popsicle because it was hot. And sat and ate a leisurely lunch.

 Passed a doggie waiting on Mommy or Daddy to get out of work. I had a little dog house, food and water and was in the shade. All in all, pretty happy. Sofia is a pretty dog friendly city, it's wonderful!

 And took a picture of the kid’s playground:

Yes, that is a nesquick sponser...

And then attempted to make my way back to town.

Did I mention that you had to walk up this to get to the musuem? and that there was no signs pointing to it? And that I was hoping the map was correct? no? Oh well...

Well, I did, with no problems, so I guess I should say, I made my way back to town? It was about 2:50 and I decided to try to find the polytechnic museum again because it closed at 5pm and was closed on Fridays.

 Once again= awesome museum. It had clocks, TVs, telescopes, space food, cars, telephones, satellites, mining and steel working stuff. It was cool. The “watch lady” (the people who usually walk around making sure you don’t touch stuff) was really nice and there was another American family there (dad and mom vising their son and his wife who live in Sofia). The “watch lady” showed us how much of the stuff worked. I wish I had been able to take a picture of the first computer developed in Bulgaria and my cell phone which could do more to show you the size difference!

The exhibit was just cool- especially if you like science museums. And a lot of the signs were in English, so I could actually understand what I was looking at! Wandered around for about an hour looking at their one floor exhibit. I would highly recommend this little gem.

Then I went back to the tram station to go back to the hostel, passing a post office and actually succeeding in getting four stamps to America. J For postcards.

Went back, dropped stuff off and went to go read in the park for a bit and then get dinner. Relaxing in a park is apparently the thing to do in Sofia in the afternoon- either with a book or friends and family either with or without alcohol.

As I was heading towards this restaurant that Lonely Plant had recommended and passed by this place called “Ego” advertising pasta for about $8, I decided I was tired of walking and just wanted to eat, so I stopped. Very nice place and I was severely underdressed, but they had an English menu. I got pasta with butter and parmesan and water. They came and poured the water into my glass when it was low. From a bottle on my table. Like wow. I also got a little bowl of different kind of breads with some olive oil.

Oh so yummy! I finished it all, it was a Cassidy sized portion!

Then back to the hostel to upload photos and blog (see a pattern here?). Talk to my mom for a bit and to bed early to try to get to Plovdiv the next day.