The evening when I landed in Sofia was a cold Friday evening. I recall looking out of the plane window, and seeing the city lights twinkling through the plane under the wings like silent constellations.

I had not made any specific preparation, merely a rough conception of paving and mountain and perhaps a couple of good meals. At times an even better journey starts like that with no purpose in mind, just interest.

When I got out of the plane I could not help but imagine the difference between it and other European capitals. Nothing was in a hurry no deafening sound.

The taxi ride out of the airport too, was strangely quiet, the driver humming to old Bulgarian melodies, as the metropolis slumbered languidly under the streetlights.

As always I started my trip at a relaxed pace as well because I had booked Luton airport cheap parking so I could definitely see the difference in my overall trip experience. 

Saturday Morning: A City That Never Demands but Welcomes

The sun rose and shone on through silky curtains, and there was a faint odor of coffee coming somewhere into the room.

My hotel was close to Vitosha Boulevard and I was led by my sense of smell inside a small cafe where the owner was a middle-aged lady called Elena and she insisted on trying her home cooked banitsa a layered pastry made up of cheese and eggs.

I sat outside, and watched Sofia as he stirred. Individuals were walking past in lengthy coats, talking or laughing to themselves.

On the other side of the street, two aged men were playing chess, waving their hands between each move. It was my best invisibility as I was not an outsider, but the silent stander hearing the beat of local life.

Late Morning The Past Beneath Your Feet.

Stumbling in the direction, I came upon the Roman relics of the city of Serdica literally under the present city.

It was unreal to be standing there and visualizing that these stones must have experienced the feet of emperors and merchants many centuries past. A gold-colored Alexander Nevsky Cathedral shone in the pale blue sky near.

Note: Make sure to check Meet And Greet At Stansted before travelling and book according to your needs.

Afternoon: Dinner, Joking and Coziness.

I was sitting behind an unobtrusive alley in a small courtyard restaurant by lunchtime. It was a kind of place which you could not locate on a map, you could strike it, however, by mere chance.

A waiter smiled at me and gave me a steaming dish of kavarma a traditional stew of meat and vegetables when I asked her to suggest something to me. The initial swallow was like the spice of life.

On the following table a party of local people were consuming something joyful, with clinking of glasses, the sound of music out of the phone of one of them. The next thing I knew one of them pointed me over and insisted that I go over along with me and have a toast.

Then they poured rakia, the Bulgarian fire-blood day, And dear old glasses raised With loud Nazdrave! I laughed, and my cheeks were warm, and I knew how comfortable it is to feel at home even when you are a visitor.

Evening: The Mountains Overlooking.

Towards the end of the day I was walking along the fringe of the city towards the mountain of Vitosha which was at some distance. It is weird that there are very few capital cities with such closeness to wildness.

The mountain was as though a silent sentinel on the city. I was sitting on a bench of Borisova Gradina park where the air seemed so clear, and the trees rustled, as the sky flushed pink and golden.

Sunday: A Slow Goodbye

The mornings on Sundays in Sofia are out of time. I strolled to one of the mineral springs in the city, where people were filling bottles, chatting away and steam started to appear into the cool air. One of the men smiled and gave me a cup. The water was mineral-rich; warm; slightly tasting the earth. Something wonderfully human was that moment strangers with a common thing eternal and commonplace.