On Monday, my training group took a cab to Vratsa at 5:50 am to catch the 7 am bus to Sofia. It was full. The 7:15, 7:30, and 7:45 buses were also full. We had to be at Peace Corps HQ by noon and were getting tight on time. So, we walked to the train station and took a train instead. After this experience, I want to always travel by train. The views were incredible-no cars that may or may not swerve out of their lanes, no hairpin turns, no potholes, no diesel fumes-there was also plenty of space to stretch your legs and walk around. Plus, the slight breeze from the windows on the train was far superior to that which I’ve experienced on the buses.
After we arrived at the Sofia train station, we took two trams to the Peace Corps Headquarters where we had our final interview with senior staff. These went well. Then we went to McDonald’s. I wasn’t a fan of fast food when I lived in America and didn’t really want a big mac and fries, but I had been craving a fountain soda and an ice cream cone. Plus, sitting down to your big mac on an outdoor terrace in a European capital city is a much different experience than driving through the golden arches stateside (I know it’s really not, but it makes me feel better to qualify the experience in this way. I am already suffering from flea bites and don’t want to dwell on it). Anyways, it was worth it.
Sofia is a big city, much larger and more spread out than I’d realized when I flew into its airport 3 months ago. It is the 12th largest city in the EU and has a population of 1.4 million people. It’s also an old city, having been continuously inhabited since the 7th century. Its center is paved with yellow Viennese cobblestones. There are quite a few destinations to see in Sofia. We rode the trams and walked to a bunch of the big sites: the president’s house, National Assembly Square, Kentucky Fried Chicken-Bulgaria, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Eagles Bridge, a commemoration statue to Russian liberation (from the oft-referenced Turkish yoke), etc.
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