Sofia Pride

This Saturday, Betsy and I participated in the third Sofia Pride parade, a celebration of LGBTs in Bulgaria. Two years ago, during the first parade, marchers were met with violence by neo-Nazis and skinheads, which have a visible presence in Sofia. Last year, under EU supervision, things went much more smoothly. This year was much the same. About 500 people showed up, including various diplomats and EU folk, in a show of support. The flag-waving, whistle-blowing crew followed a balloon-decked float through the main part of Sofia, dancing and walking to songs like "I Will Survive" and other 1970s hits. You can read a full report on the parade at this link:

http://www.sofiaecho.com/2010/06/25/922582_a-matter-of-pride

This is the float leading the parade, complete with entertainment.

This sign says something like, "Be careful who you hate; it might be someone you love." Sorry for the terrible translation.

A significant police presence lined the route and followed the parade. This shot was taken as the bulk of them were leaving after the parade.

The parade concluded at one of the parks, and was followed by a concert. You might recognize the Soviet monument in the back from our Christmas market photos. We wondered how Stalin would feel about gay rights.

Spring in Sofia

Spring has finally hit this weekend, perfectly timed for Sarah and Micah's visit. We spent Saturday giving them the downtown tour, and were pleasantly surprised to see grown men playing hopscotch, a group of college students engaged in a lifesize game of Risk with plastic army toys, and of course, the first martenitza hanging from trees.





Martenitza are red and white bracelets that are commonly given on March 1, or "Baba Marta," in Bulgaria. It's a popular holiday that welcomes "Grandmother March" and holds the promise of imminent spring. People wear the bracelets until they either see a stork or the first buds blossoming on a tree. At that point, you can take off the bracelet and tie it to the tree branch.

Apartment Block Buildings

I took these photos today as I walked out in search of spring. A year and a half ago, these architectural remnants of a previous era were probably the hardest thing for me to adjust to in Bulgaria. The crumbling aesthetics of these buildings seemed to prey on my sense of peace. Not anymore. When I do notice them now, it's to admire strings of laundry or new paint jobs. Other than that, when I walk, I see small details or think my own thoughts. I don't walk to drink in the beauty of the buildings, but neither do they make me feel small and hunted.

I didn't find spring today, but I did see two trios worth mentioning. One, a group of three young mothers, each holding the handle of a plastic covered pram, standing still to chat as, in unison, they rhythmically pushed their babies back and forth in the middle of the park. The other, a group of three dogs: a huge well-manicured collie, a middle sized mutt, and one of those rinky dink dogs you expect to see in a purse. The collie was chasing the mutt, who was chasing Rinky Dinky, who flew straight to the feet of his amiable old owner. No dogs were harmed.

The Sofia Christmas Market

Today after parent-teacher conferences Brett and I headed downtown - dipping into Sofia's new Subway shop, passing by the new Starbucks, crossing near the new metro and then walking into Bulgaria's very first Christmas market. Things seem to be changing with every blink of the eye here in Bulgaria.

After visiting Christmas markets in Nuremburg, Munich, Basel, Brussels, Vienna and Prague, we had certain expectations: wooden nativity figurines, roasting chestnuts, mulled wine, glass ornaments, perhaps a live sheep or two. The Sofia Christmas market did not have these things. However, it did have something I've never seen at another market, something pretty amazing.

Gracing the skies above the market we saw a chorus of angels, lit from within their windblown white plastic robes. They flew in strange contrast to the early winter gray of the park and clouds. The angel just above the market entrance appeared to hover directly over the upraised gun on the Socialist-Realist statue behind the market.

I may not have sipped any mulled wine today, but I did meet some beautiful angels.

The best sandwich on Graf Ignatiev?

When walking along Graf Ignatiev, one is presented with many consumer options. Most of them, as we discovered last Sunday, are shoe shops. But in between footwear boutiques are two rather different lunch options - Mimas, popularly known among the international community to serve the best doner kepaps in town, and Subway - a brand new and wildly popular addition to the usual Sofia lunch fare. This week we decided to try both.

First, we watched the doner man work his magic on the grilled chicken stack, massaging a pita into one side of his open oven while slicing off crisp pieces of meat, finally scooping it all together with some piping hot french fries. As Brett happily munched this Bulgarian version of the burrito/gyro/wrap/lefse roll, we wandered down into the new (packed) Subway store. How can something be so exactly what you expect and yet so different at the same time? There were the friendly sandwich options and gross-looking cookies of high school sporting days, and yet written in letters on the menu that would have been gibberish to me in high school.

As I walked out with my foot long roasted chicken sandwich on multigrain, Brett called for a return to the doner kepap stand. Subway was making him hungry...

Borisova Gradina: You Never Know What You'll Find...

Borisova Gradina is a HUGE park downtown - a park that's always full of surprises. You may remember our post last year about the Italian-Bulgarian cultural festival, host of the pizza pie throwing dancers - that was in Borisova Gradina. Last winter a giant ski jump was set up in the park for sledders, a karaoke stage is in permanent residence, and today, as we drove by, we saw something even more amazing. Giant bubbles with kids inside, rolling around on lakes. GIANT BUBBLES FULL OF KIDS.

We had to stop. We had to wander. We had to enjoy. In the end, we did not have to get into bubbles of our own, but we certainly enjoyed witnessing the madness.

Borisova Gradina on a sunny afternoon? Highly Recommended.

A Quick Guide to Dining out in Sofia

A Restaurant Table featuring a Traditional Bulgarian Tablecloth and Local Pottery

(photo courtesy of Shannon Savage)

After one year in Sofia, we've visited quite a few great restaurants. So in case you're in the area, here are some recommendations...

Olive's: This chain would seem kitchy in the United States - kind of along the lines of T.G.I. Fridays - with fake antiques littering the walls. But for a slightly blue ex-pat missing home, it's great. Try the rosemary sea salt focaccia as an appetizer and then dive into a pizza "ce mozzarella" or one of their famous burgers.

Annette's: Annette's Moroccan food is a fabulous find. Enjoy hummus and pita, couscous and kepap, even traditional hookah pipes. You'll sit on lavish cushions and enjoy the ambiance of dozens of sparkling lanterns.

Taj Majal and Ramayana: While we've eaten their food only as takeout, if the takeout is that good, so is the restaurant. Get yourself some panak paneer or chicken tikka masala (it's hot), drag some naan (garlic, plain, or cheesy) through it, and then call it a (very good) dinner.

Oogo's: This place competes with "The Spaghetti Company" for the modernista award. But while Spaghetti Company leans toward IKEA, Oogo blends restaurant with disco. The colored lights on the walls change with the evening, and the giant photo gracing one end upstairs appears to pulse ever so slightly - or is that just a trick of the imagination? Nevermind, order the pear and avocado salad with candied walnuts and the tiramisu. Maybe a pizza too - choose what suits from the four pages of options.

O'Nice: Well, maybe not a romantic night out, since it is a bagel place, but it's a darn good bagel place. Enjoy a smoothie, a salad, the Thai chicken bagel sandwich, and maybe even one of those square chocolate tarts catered by Caramel, the local French bakery. While you eat, chat with the friendly ex-pat owner or catch up on the latest ex-pat news in one of the available copies of "Programata" or "Vagabond."

Pod Lipite: Probably the best Bulgarian cuisine I've had here, but really the coolest thing about this place is a toss up between the pottery spice buffet in the middle of each table and the incredible sink-fountain in the bathroom. Oh, and the giant marble slab tables in the courtyard are pretty cool too. Whatever you get, and there are a lot of options, be sure to compliment it with a miniature loaf of warm pitka - white or wheat.

Sladkarska Kushti: Highly Recommended

Part I: Fall Comes to Sofia

A Walkway on Campus

A Flower Vendor downtown

Sofia Street Musicians

"Mama" Dog, beloved by all of campus but always looking sad

Part II: We go to the Greatest Bakery in Bulgaria

Introducing: Sladkarska Kushti (House of Sweets)

These might be the best cookies in the bakery

But these are darn good too...

And then there's these...

We decided we couldn't take any risks.

On a warm beautiful day in Sofia, one must choose between many good options. Go to the mountain? Wander a park? Shop the fruit markets? Play tennis? Do laundry so it will dry quickly in the sun? Gather fall leaves and buckeyes for the windowsill?

Today, we fit in as many of those as we could, beginning with a lap of downtown. We cruised along Graf Ignatiev, stopping to admire the last raspberries and the first butternut squash at the fruit market, sidled through Slaveykov Square book market, noticing a new copy of Eragon in Cyrrilic, then stumbled about in search of our latest and greatest food discovery in Sofia - "The House of Sweets" on Rakovski boulevard.

If you are living in Sofia, or even Belgrade, Athens, or Bucharest, stop what you are doing. Find the nearest public transportation and head for Sofia. You need to eat these cookies. You need to experience for yourself the joy of walking down a not-that-nice street, looking in fairly random shop windows, when suddenly... literally thousands of cookies in perhaps a hundred varieties wink back at you from behind glass. You walk in, and you are the only one there. How is that possible? You choose from chocolate filled butter cookie shells, tiny baklava triangles, vanilla cream cones, miniature walnut tarts, "night and day" chocolate and vanilla cookies, garishly colored sugar balls that you're sure will taste better than they look, jam sandwich cookies that couldn't possibly taste better than they look, and so many more. Finally, after choosing perhaps thirty cookies, you stop, exhausted. The final bill? 7 leva, or about 4 euros, or about 5 dollars.

What's not to love?

Sladkarska Kushti

Rakovski Boulevard, near Slaveykov Square

FIVE STARS

The Great Balkanski Circus: Coming to an empty lot near you

She is standing on a pole that he is balancing on his forehead (I just thought you should know). 

The Great Balkanski circus arrived in Mladost this week, just about the same time as Juliana. So, OBVIOUSLY, we went to see it together and enjoy its astounding acrobatic acts, its absurd magic show, and its very odd clowning. We had a fabulous time, and strongly recommend that if the Balkanski ever arrives in your neighborhood - setting up on an empty lot just two blocks away from your house, as it did here in Mladost - you GO!