Week 15

This one is going to be short, guys. And that’s a good thing. I arrived in Sofia early Tuesday morning and IMMEDIATELY felt more relaxed. It’s amazing how certain cities will just do that to you (I’m looking at you, Prague). I took this week to decompress from my last three weeks of being around people by being a hermit in my adorable, huge apartment. No joke, I think I only left the apartment once in the first three days- and that was to buy food at the supermarket.

I really can’t emphasize enough how nice it was to FINALLY stop moving and get to unpack for more than a few days. All I wanted to do was relax and get back on my work grind. And that’s what I did.

What I did this week:

Nothing. Well, almost nothing. I worked and worked and worked up a storm…from my apartment. I didn’t even leave for the 100 day celebration (which I ended up kind of regretting because everyone did superlatives and I LOVE superlatives).

This is the view from the main promenade, Vitosha Boulevard. You can the boulevard’s namesake, Vitosha Mountain in the background. Fun fact- Sofia is the second highest capital in Europe and fully surrounded by mountains.

Started cooking again. Now that I have a big kitchen I really wanted to get back on my healthy food grind (and lose some weight before the beach in Tel Aviv)- Kat and I decided to make lentils because those are healthy..right? (Right.) I even tossed in a dash of my moroccan spices to make them a little more interesting. #winning

Started running again. I’m trying to get back on my fitness game so I laced up my shoes and started to take advantage of Sofia’s many many incredible parks (but seriously, it seems like there’s a giant park every other block here..) Plus the weather here is INCREDIBLE (high 70s, low humidity) which is just perfect for a jog.

Just a normal mid-run view. Also, people stare at you like you’re out of your mind when you run by them. I guess no one runs here?

Went for a run bright and early on Saturday morning and ended in a park near my apartment where DDR met me for some acro. And then I almost broke his nose. Whoopsie! (I swear it wasn’t intentional..)

Joined a walking tour on Saturday night. Despite running to a different place every morning I still wasn’t feeling like I was getting the true history and feeling of the city. Enter: free walking tour.

The communists knew they couldn’t tear down cultural sites or risk revolt, so instead they built around them so they would be shielded from view.

The Sophia Opera House is actually fairly new- it was built in 1957, and it’s still used today for performances. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it to any on this trip.

Bulgaria LOVES lions. They’re on almost everything here, including the city crest. The reason for this (besides the fact that lions are strong and proud) is that Bulgarians are convinced that Bulgaria the country looks like a lion.

These guys have a pretty cushy job- they’re basically the same thing as the Queen’s guard in England. They get paid well and have good job security which apparently made them veryy popular with the ladies back in the day

This fountain is in front of the main public bath house in Sofia (unfortunately it’s not still functioning). It’s also in an area they call Tolerance Square because it’s home to the central mosque, a modern Catholic cathedral and largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, and that has never caused any issues. #coexist

Bulgaria’s love of lions almost matches mine. Almost.

The end of our tour and the pièce de résistance was the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of the largest Catholic Orthodox cathedrals in the world.

Got dinner at a traditional Bulgarian spot after the tour. 10/10 would recommend. Since we’re in eastern Europe there’s a lot of Turkish and Greek influence aka cheeses and meats and breads (I’ve even found tzatziki at the grocery store!!) which is a-ok with me.

Braved the rain and cold to go to some mineral spas on Sunday for our track event. We actually were supposed to go sailing but with the POURING rain and 70 degree weather we audibled to a spa that had naturally heated mineral baths. Sofia is actually really well known for its mineral water- it’s supposed to be able to heal all sorts of things, but all it really did for me was turn every piece of silver jewelry I own gold. -__-

Purdy ladies 🙂

Almost burned my skin off in several of the pools. The spa had 11 different pools- each a different temperature ranging from normal pool water to OH WOW that’s a hot hot tub. (We settled in the ‘this is hot but I’m pretty sure my skin won’t fall off tub’)

Slipped while standing on a step of a mineral pool and slammed my heel in between two rocks. Spent the rest of the day (and the next day) limping. Apparently the universe just doesn’t want me to pick up running again.

This pool was the culprit. Though believe it or not, it happened before I consumed that beer.

Finished our day with the most delicious dinner with the RY fam. Bulgarian food is no joke, people. Also, we may have taken the rest of our wine to go in our water bottles. #youdidn’tseeanythinggggg