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Naster (a.k.a Nassimo) will open his first stand-alone exhibition this Saturday, February 28th at 19:00 o’clock at 1908 Gallery on 1 Angel Kunchev Street and will last until the 8th of March, 2009. He is one of the first and most prominent Bulgarian underground artists, who started making street graffiti in the early 90s and hasn’t stopped ever since. He has taken part in numerous projects around the country, and keeps pushing and developing his extraordinary abilities and style. His first solo exhibit in Sofia will include around 50 canvases, which are also to be shown in his first exhibition in Canada later this April. Respect!

For the true fans of skiing and snowboarding, Bezbog remains a favorite destination. Literally meaning “without god” or “godless”, there are both a cabin and a nearby peak that carry the name. Normally, the drive from Sofia will take you about three hours (Sofia-Dobrinishte is about 150 kilometers), but on a Sunday we made the trip back in only a couple. It is worth it in any case. The way to get to Dobrinishte, which is the village in the foot of the mountains below Bezbog, follows the same road as to Bansko, but you pass it and keep on driving for another 6 kilometers. From Dobrinishte there is only one road up to the ticket desk.

A thirty-five minute ride on the open lift takes you from Goce Delchev cabin up to Bezbog cabin at 2236 meters above sea level. Even if you miss the winter sports season, only the view from up there is incredible and a must-see. When the snow and ice melt, there is the Bezbozhko lake just outside the cabin. If you do want to hit the powder after all, wear your warmest outfit, since the open-air ride can chill you quite a bit. This is one of the very few minuses I find about the place. On the positive side are the low lift card prices (20 leva for a whole day), long slopes and the friendly people there. When the high altitudes finally make you tired and hungry, you don’t need to be a millionaire (like in Bansko) in order to survive the rest of the afternoon. Bezbog cabin has a large dining room with a good enough variety of cooked meals at fair prices. You want to sleep over? Still won’t cost you much. A little tip for the enthusiasts – Dobrinishte has great public mineral water baths, with very healthy water and an entrance fee of only one lev. The perfect ending for a perfect winter adventure.

Art bars have become rather popular in Sofia. There’s the Art Club, the Art Hostel and recently a new place called After Art has opened doors. It is situated in the basement of what used to be Machu Picchu restaurant, on the corner of Shishman street and Slavianska street, a blue and white building, with the entrance on Slavianska.The walls are covered with colorful paintings of all sizes and shapes with price tags stuck in neatly next to each one, bringing to some extent the feeling of being in a gallery. At the entrance a signs actually says “bar gallery”. But the smoke and the short ceilings bring one back to reality – After Art is an alternative place, relying on its relatively low prices and interesting art events from time to time.

In December, for example, the bar hosted an almost three-week art festival, which included literary, film and musical events. One of the rooms in the bar was turned into an improvised stage and new artists were given a chance to meet public.The place definitely has its own atmosphere, but perhaps it is up to each and every person to decide what part of it they enjoy. To me the people one could meet there are one of the most positive sides, together with the fact that After Art is right in the center of downtown and could serve as the perfect meeting point or simply give the opportunity to diversify life in the city.

NB: I think that the owners of the place have changed, thus the interior looks slightly different but the place still functions and welcomes customers.

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.