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The taste of the brier jam reminds me of my childhood when it used to be an inseparable part of my breakfast in the kindergarten. I still remember the plate – butter, brier jam, white cheese, yellow cheese, few slices of salami and bread. The idea was to start with the salty part but no one would follow any rules.
When I tried it recently, the conclusion I drew was that the jam hasn’t changed since then which is just great. Its distinctive taste cannot be confused with anything else and imagine how many briers you need to come up with a whole jar! A lot as they are not juicy, so I recommend trying it and enjoying its taste. Who knows, it might remind you of your childhood too.
Also, I believe that it is a good idea for a present. It is surely uncommon, arises interest and curiosity, it brings sensual pleasure and it is not expensive at all. In short – so many characteristics that you cannot just pass away.

Brier jam is being sold in almost every supermarket or local shop.

Usually they spend their time in the garden or at least they claim to do so. However, I believe that in the winter, they usually spend their time in the hostel’s bar, inside the building, really downstairs, where the stairs are over – in the basement.
This space, the one below the ground level, is very cleverly assimilated as it has several rooms with unusual interiors, all of which with its own distinctive furniture, paintings, even floor. It is obvious that artistic thinking reigns there and after some time one feels pretty much a part of the setting. Actually, the hostel’s bar reflects the whole atmosphere of the house – from the underground to the very top – the selected colorful mixture of interesting items creates a homely atmosphere.

Back to the bar, however, it is important to know that one of the two possible ways to reach it is through the main entrance of the hostel, pass by the kitchen and then you take the tiny spiral stairs that lead to the very end. The other entrance is a secret passageway that almost no one knows. Except me and a bunch of privileged people. Anyways, when you finally get in, the friendly and polite staff would help you to choose a drink, to choose a room, a seat or whatever you need. They all know English since the hostel itself is very popular among the guests of our capital and not only among them – lots of young Sofians seem to be attracted too.

It is really fun to spend time in the bar and in the summer – the garden is like a green island among the buildings. No wonder that they usually hang out there.

The address is 21A Angel Kanchev str and before trying to enter the gate, you have to ring on the bell first.
On Art Hostel’s web site exhaustive information of any kind is being offered.

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.

Going to Pamporovo ski resort is an excellent opportunity to get suntanned since the sunny days during the whole year are more than 240. So the calculations are right – you risk less to confront with bad weather conditions. However, you need to pack your bags for more than a day or to be extremely quick – the sunniest place in the winter is on 260km away from our cloudy capital, drenched with slush. But think about it – you will get even tanner while you having fun on the slope. The whole idea sounds like a vacation, doesn’t it?
The facts that Pamporovo is on 1600m above the sea level and that the Mediterranean winds have their say make it safe from avalanches and abrupt changes in the weather, so you can either enjoy skiing all day long or just hang around from bench to bench, facing the Sun.
Every skier or snowboarder can enjoy ski runs of various degrees of difficulty that merge from time to time and make a total sum of more than 29km. The innumerable tows and lifts work in a perfect synchronization, thus you find yourself on the top in no time, right against the Sun.
Find more information on the official site of Pamporovo.

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.