SoSofia.com

Skiing at 2500m above the sea level is just great! You are literary on the top of the world as there is nothing higher, except Musala – the highest mountain peak in the Balkans. Its name has quite an interesting etymology – it comes from Turkish, meaning “Glory of Allah” and most probably it is left from the times when we were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Anyway, now that the ski season is open, you can enjoy going to Borovets every day – it is only 70 km away from our lovely capital and more importantly, the ski infrastructure is well developed. There are lifts, drags, snow guns, snow cats and many other devices that contribute to the comfort and safety of the riders. The total sum of the marked ski runs is 58km with the longest one being 12km. So be ready for a wild skiing because you will definitely love it. You choose the difficulty of the road or if your style is more extreme - just go out of the track.

For the beginners, there are lots of ski schools around and a full equipment to hire. The only thing is that you have to put on some warm clothes as you are going even above the clouds.

On the official site of Borovets ski resort, you can find all the necessary information about the weather conditions, prices, hotels, etc. The map is here.

The fact that the holidays are comings makes us decorate here and there. At home – perfect – the typical for the period Christmas decoration contributes to the domestic atmosphere, making you feel homesick, even when you are at home; at our workplace – great – some initiative could be spotted; however, what about the one on the street? Since we do not take part in this venture, we haven’t been asked for an opinion. And luckily, it happened so; otherwise this would have provoked many debates over the massages the decoration carries.

On Vitosha Boulevard, the last year’s (all-seasonal) decoration is now turned on and probably will be turned off after the holidays, in a stand-by position till December 2009. On Vasil Levski Boulevard we again walk under the big blue sparkling balls of Ballantines that give you a headache when you try to focus them. On Tzar Osvoboditel Boulevard, where Sofia University is, one can easily recognize the silhouette of Johnny Walker amidst electric stars on every post. On the Lovers’ Bridge, the Mtel’s decoration is hard not to notice, especially the sign of the company itself. In the park, opposite the National Art Gallery, a Christmas tree illuminates the area but the brightest thing is not the star on the top. No. It is the letter H in the middle, which is not clear what it stands for.

The important thing is that all of them wish us happy holidays. What is the price, however? Are not these Christmas decorations intended as advertising campaigns? The more I think, the more I reach to the conclusion that ‘yes’ is the only possible answer and probably the municipality finds it very convenient.

Nevertheless, SoSofia.com wishes you holidays full of inspiration, surprises and unforgettable parties. If we have had the chance to make our own decoration, we would have concentrated on Vitosha mountain in order to be seen from everywhere.   

Right from the very entrance, one understands that the place is saturated with tradition and history. Though that the building was not meant to be an opera house but the head office of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, its architecture gives you a sense of respect – built in the years of the early Communism, the building is influenced by the European Classicism but at the same time, it expresses the symbols of the Stalinist architecture in Bulgaria of the late 1950s, so don’t wonder anymore why the monument of Alexander Stamboliiski - one of the founders of the Agrarian party and a prime-minister of Bulgaria in the period 1919-1923 - is in front of the building. Quite eclectic, indeed but the overall effect is achieved - monumentality, greatness and magnificence. In short, all the qualities that an opera should possess fit perfectly both inside and outside this venue which confirms my theory that Bulgarians have always been practical people.

Nevertheless, its glory would be nothing without the artists that this place has fostered. People such as Nicolai Ghiaurov, Ghena Dimitrova, Nicola Ghiuselev and Anna Tomowa-Sintowa started their careers there and have brought to our country international fame and success.

Every season, the permanent troupe of soloists, orchestral musicians, ballet dancers, set design artists and producers present premieres of classical and modern works, thus preserving the established traditions and developing long-term artistic strategies.

The national opera is on 30 Dondukov blvd.

The Sziget Bar aims to be like a small oasis in the center of Sofia, where one could find nearly every necessary liquid needed to charge up and go on with the rest of the night. Its name comes from the word for “island” in Hungarian and the precise place to find it at is at 4 Alabin Street, Macedonia square. From what I found out, the owners of the bar used to live in Hungary. And perhaps in order to fight nostalgic feelings, named the place so? The name evokes associations with the annual Sziget Festival but that’s another story.

The bar consists of two parts - the downstairs and the upstairs. The latter is great if you would like to get together with a group of friends, since the space allows for a bigger company and would keep you isolated from the rest of the people in the bar. It brings a feeling of aloofness. The downstairs consists of several tables and a window bar with tall chairs. The menu offers a variety of drinks, hot and cold, plus cocktails. This winter’s specialty is the forralt bolt or spiced up warm wine (греяно вино), which costs 3 leva. For the inhaling fans, there’s a hookah that could be rented.  Overall, this bar is cozy, unpretentious and at a perfect location. I, personally, expected that the Hungarian name suggested it would ensemble more of the spirit of that region, but even as it is, it remains a pleasant destination.

Though the postal services are not essential anymore for keeping in touch with our friends and family, the post office still remains an important institution. Especially now, when Christmas and all the fuss around the celebrations for the end of the year are coming, it is time we start sending post cards.

The act of sending our best wishes to someone means so much more than the words themselves. It is a gesture of attention, of that you have spent time and efforts to select the card, to make out the text, to wet the envelope with saliva, and most importantly, it shows that we think of these persons and want to make them happy and surprised by reminding them of us and our good intentions.

Imagine how the recipient opens the letter impatiently, then a squeak follows and everyone around him or her immediately understands about the post card, and inevitably about you. It becomes an event.

Isn’t it great – a torrent of emotions by just going to the post office? Think about it.

Central post office is on 6 General Gurko str., very close to Slaveykov square.

This place you will love it – it provides a nice, calm and homely ambience that is hard to find in the busy city and now we all know where we could be sheltered in the cold winter months. The moment you enter inside, your senses start to work differently or at least they are offered a whole new variety of sensations.  The atmosphere is filled with the smells of oriental and exotic ingredients that only invite us to make ourselves comfortable. I am sure that if we could see the air in colors, it would be variegated with a whole palette – all of them bright and smoothing.  Still, don’t feel sorry for this, because colors are not missing at all – the orange walls are decorated with aquarelle paintings of different artists that correspond so well to the whole interior.

The menu, as you could guess, has an exhaustive list of tea for different moods. Apart form the tea, beverages and alcohol are served as well.  The food menu is equally interesting, with recipes influenced from all over the world.

Smoking inside is not allowed.

Dinner for two would be about 30 Leva (15 Euro).

Tea in the fabric is on 11 Georgi Benkovski str, within a walking distance to the National Opera and Ballet.

Credits to ominaeshi who recommended us this place.

This Saturday night we all expect an unusual initiative - the 4th Annual Drum & Jazz event. Eminent artists will gather under one roof to color the night in multifarious sounds, making the crowd overjoyed. What is really thrilling is that all the performers have unique and uncommon styles, thus presenting to the audience a remarkable mixture of individualism, diversity and rhythm that is hard to witness and hear for a night.

Among all the special guests is Amon Tobin who has always sounded like an eccentric in the dimension of acid jazz and jungle, tending towards more hip-hop style rhythms mixed with the ominous samples with which the beats are intertwined. His sampling techniques are a deviation from simply lifting melodies, while the tunes have a live, natural quality that contradicts their programmed origin, enforced by choosing highly idiosyncratic and energetic sample sources.

It is definitely a party that we won’t miss.

Venue: 4Km Party Center

For more information, visit the organizers’ web site: http://drumandjazz.com/en.

The street phones work with phone cards that are sold in almost every kiosk around. There were some attempts to impose phones working with coins, but in vain. Personally, I prefer coin phones because they could be used any time you have coins, not a phone card.

What is new here, however, are the phone booths. They are bigger than the previous ones, which could hardly be defined as booths, but exactly their size is what bothers me. By being too big in comparison to the phone machine,  they make it to look little and somehow one could see their commercial purpose - aim at displaying huge posters, advertising the phone company itself. Very clever but not efficient since the booths do not offer any place for baggage.

So if you decide to use any of them, you have to achieve a balance between your belongings and the phone receiver.

In Sladchogled store, meaning Sunflower in Bulgarian, interesting things are being sold. The store is organized on two floors and one can literally lose track of time when visiting the place.

On the first floor, there are innumerable number of materials and supplies - everything an artist needs, while on the second one, the area is dedicated to everyone who gets inspired from time to time and likes to create their own decorations, jewelery and whatever they can think of. Obviously, they rely on the imagination and if it happens so that you lack some of it, the how-to-do book collection is impressive, with the English editions dominating.

What is new there is that they have started to offer very exotic mixtures of tea that are all labeled in an interesting way. Perfect for a present, I would say.

Slanchogled store is on 13 Ivan Vazov str.

Zhenskiqt pazar (The Women’s market) is a curious place to explore – it is big, overcrowded on weekends and it always has various things to offer. The area has always been a busy market place and it used to be called “Wheat market” and “Horse market” but since it starts to be dominated only by women who sell and buy, the name naturally comes out. The men’s territory was on the animal market that does not exist anymore.

The most common products, of course, are the vegetables and people arrange them in a way as if the stalls merge and unite into a colourful vegetable river that flows into a flowery one at the end of the market, where Luvov Most (Lion’s Bridge) is. Everything is considered to be cheaper and that is why Zhenskiqt pazar is so popular or just people like the idea of lingering around to enjoy the market atmosphere that bears remembrance to the way business was done in the past.
You would see also many other goods scattered on the shores of the vegetable river that come from China, Turkey or Russia or you could submerge in a sea of fish or butcher’s shops.

And the smell of kepabche and kyufte is impossible not to sense.

At one of the ends of the market, Halite (The Central Market Hall), Sofia’s Sinagogue and Banya Bashi Mosque are situated, so you would be able to see other sights than the market itself.

Apart from the metaphoric references, you should be aware that the market might be targeted by pickpockets, so keep an eye of your belongings.