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A Cultural Experience: New Year’s Eve In Bulgaria!

Most of you know that we live in Berlin , which is famous for having a very crazy New Year’s Eve. People will shoot off fireworks as soon as it gets dark out. Firecrackers are flung with no sense of danger from balconies, and trash from confetti and parties litter the streets for days afterwards. Although for some this might be a very fun way to spend New Year’s Eve, we thought we would mention another place that rivals Berlin: Bulgaria.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria

We spent a week in Bulgaria before New Year’s Eve. We started off in Plovdiv and ended with New Year’s Eve and a few days afterwards in the capital, Sofia.

A church in Plovdiv, Bulgaria

In winter, we can’t say that Bulgaria is the most beautiful country. It was quite grey, cold, and snowy in December already, but we could see that during the spring or summer it must really be beautiful with the hills and valleys surrounding the cities.

How To Get To Plovdiv From Sofia

At the beginning of our trip we spent several days in Plovdiv. We flew into Sofia from Berlin (flights are very cheap!) and took a taxi from Sofia to Plovdiv. We haggled a bit with the driver and settled on €50 for the one hour drive. Normally this drive should take an hour and 20 minutes, however, Bulgarian drivers don’t pay too much attention to speed limits!

Plovdiv

Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia. It is also one of the oldest, continually habited cities in Europe! We found it very beautiful, with a lot of Roman architecture that has been excavated around the city. These ruins are not necessarily preserved very well, though.

The best preserved of the Roman ruins is the ancient theater of Philippopolis. There is a fee to enter, but you can see the entire theater from the fence surrounding it, so you don’t necessarily need to pay to see it. Apparently, they still perform opera and concerts here in the warmer months.

Ancient theater of Philippopolis

Nearby are the ruins of Nebet Tepe, which date back to 4000 BC. This is where the city was first founded, and you can see stone remains of buildings here. It is not very well preserved, however. The hill appeared to be a place where locals gather to have picnics and enjoy a nice view of the city below.

Hilltop ruins of Nebet Tepe

The Old Town is the most beautiful part of town, and probably the most beautiful city of Bulgaria (in our opinion!). The mansions here are very well preserved. Each one is unique, although they are not very old relative to the Roman ruins nearby. There are also many small museums and lots of souvenir shopping available. Make sure to wear sturdy shoes as the cobblestone streets are not very friendly to unsteady ankles.

We were also treated to a beautiful sight and sound while walking around Plovdiv. Apparently, Plovdiv was voted the European Capital of Culture for 2019. Because of this, there was a large music festival going on. We heard traditional Bulgarian music and saw some dancing. There was also a large troupe of bagpipe players! As a musician, I could have stood there for hours watching and listening. I felt their nationalism very deeply and could clearly see how proud they were of their culture.

Where To Stay In Plovdiv

If you stay in central Plovdiv, there are two parts to the area: the Old Town and the newer, more developing part across the main street. We stayed in the Old Town at Hotel Residence Hebros and walked across the street for dinner and drinks. The newer part is quite trendy and almost had a hipster vibe.

Since we train for triathlons, it’s also important to us that we can stay active. We discovered that there was a hotel nearby called Grand Hotel Plovdiv. It had a lap pool, spa, and weights room that anyone could use for a small fee. Be warned that if you don’t have a swim cap, goggles, and flip flops they will not let you into the pool and spa area.

What To Eat In Plovdiv

Bulgarian food is pretty hearty. We found that you can also get burgers, beers, and other Western comfort foods in the new part of the Old Town. If you like to drink, there are a couple of very trendy bars with a great beer selection.

Crystal Boutique Dining

One night we went to a restaurant called Crystal Boutique Dining. It had a Michelin star feel and was small and intimate. The chef himself came out and talked to each table and was fluent in several languages. The most amazing part was that we had a great 5-course meal with wine and champagne for under €80 for two people.

For breakfast, there are really nice pastry shops where you can sit down with a cup of coffee and a tasty pastry. We didn’t recognize many of the pastries but were more than happy to try them all. One Sunday mornings there is not much open, however. You might want to consider buying something the night before for breakfast.

A sampling of pastries in Plovdiv

How To Get Around In Plovdiv

Be prepared to do a lot of walking! The parts of the city worth seeing are in the center, and it is impossible to get around without walking as cars are not allowed in the Old Town. If you need to travel to another part of the city you can take a local bus, and taxis are very cheap. We walked everywhere and had no trouble using maps or following signs which were in Cyrillic and Latin letters.

Don’t be put off by the bus station in Plovdiv – it may look old and run-down but the buses were incredibly accurate in departure and arrival times.

Pazardzhik

After our stay in Plovdiv, we traveled by bus, and then by car back to Sofia. The bus ride was very interesting! We scouted out the bus station the day before to see if we could get tickets, but they refused to sell us tickets until the day of our journey. The station is pretty run down, but the buses run exactly on time. The driving also felt quite safe.

We had some Bulgarian friends whose parents picked us up at the bus station in Pazardzhik. They took us to see their hometown of Pazardzhik before bringing us to Sofia. It was very nice to experience Bulgaria from a local’s point of view, and from someone who was not from one of the larger cities.

Pazardzhik Highlights

There are a few highlights in Pazardzhik, including the Cathedral Church of St. Mary. This is one of the oldest buildings in the city, and dates back to the 17th century. Apparently, the Ottoman authorities did not want the people to build a large church. A builder convinced them he could build a church no larger than a buffalo skin. He cut the skin up into thin strips and laid it out to show the borders of the church. The builder was allowed to build his church based on this outline. The church is mostly famous for its iconostasis, which is quite beautiful and made out of a walnut tree.

When we entered, our hosts lit some candles for us, prayed for a moment, then entered. We were told that most Bulgarians worship inside a church in a different way from many Westerners. They don’t sit in pews but rather stand around the edges of the sanctuary and stand or sit as they please.

Other Things To See & Do In Pazardzhik

After visiting the church, we walked around the central part of the town. There is a new statue of St. Cyril. He invented the Cyrillic alphabet in order to translate Greek to Slavic. Cyrillic is heavily related to Greek and is still a relatively new alphabet in the world today. Our friends told us that they knew the man who created the statue!

We also visited the outdoor market and walked around the city with our friends. It was so delightful to see that they knew everyone in the city as we walked by. Someone even gave us a handful of oranges and nuts as we strolled through the market, purely because we were friends with people they knew!

Some surprising sights in Bulgaria: old Soviet style buildings with Army tanks and planes sitting abandoned in the courtyard

Sofia

After spending a few hours in Pazardzhik, our friends drove us to Sofia and dropped us off at our hotel. We stayed here for the remainder of our time in Bulgaria. We met up with our other friends for dinner and had some great traditional Bulgarian food.

The next day, we went for a hike to see the Boyana Waterfall. We weren’t exactly prepared with our winter gear for an icy, snowy hike, but it was possible! It took us about 1-1.5 hours to get to the waterfall. We took our time, stopped to take photos, and chatted with other hikers on the way. Generally, people were very friendly everywhere we went.

If you are interested in hiking around Sofia (or Bulgaria), there are many options. Bulgaria is full of small mountains and is a hiker’s paradise. To get to the Boyana waterfall in Sofia you may need to drive to the entrance of the park as it is quite a walk from the city center. Entry is free and the trails are well marked. If it is too snowy or icy they will close the trails.

The Sofia Free Walking Tour

We highly recommend taking the free walking tour of the city, organized by guides from a non-profit organization in Bulgaria. It is literally free! We would recommend tipping your guide if you enjoyed your experience, but otherwise you don’t need a ticket or anything. Just show up! There are three tours per day, rain or shine.

The tour is in English, with a few offered in Spanish. Depending on how many people show up they split the groups up into around 20 people in each group. Our guide took us to all of the highlights of Sofia, including all of the churches, synagogues, and mosques which make Sofia so unique. We would actually recommend taking this tour as one of the first items on your itinerary so you can see if there is anything you want to go back to and take a closer look.

If you are interested, please go to their website: https://freesofiatour.com/

Highlights & Must Sees In Sofia

The best things to see in Sofia are the buildings – especially the religious buildings. Sofia is famous for having churches, mosques, and synagogues right next to each other. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is arguably one of the most beautiful and most difficult to miss.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria

Very close by you will find the Banya Bashi Mosque, which is almost like a little brother to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It was built in the 16th century and is the only surviving mosque from the Ottoman Empire.

The Banya Bashi Mosque

Next door to the mosque, you will find the Sofia Synagogue. It is the largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe, and the largest synagogue in the Balkans.

Nearby you will find the Church of St. George. The Church of St. George is one of the oldest standing buildings in Sofia and dates back to the 4th century. It is surrounded by the remains of the ancient city of Serdica.

The Church of St. George

Besides the religious buildings, you will find the Saint Sofia Monument, and the remains of Roman ruins which are preserved within the city and are free to look at. There aren’t a lot of displays, so here it is best to have a guide to explain what you are seeing in the ruins!

Another thing you can try is going to the spa or sauna. It’s pretty simple to rent a towel and lounge in some peace and quiet in a steamy sauna after a long day of walking. If you aren’t sure if it’s a nude spa, it’s totally fine to go in wearing a swim suit.

New Year’s Eve In Sofia

On New Year’s Eve, all of the shops will be open as normal. Most people work a normal day if it is a weekday. From 10pm, however, the whole city goes crazy! We went to a NYE party at the friend of our friend. It was so interesting to see how Bulgarians celebrate bringing in the New Year. It was in many ways similar to how we might do it ourselves. There was a lot of drinking, some dressing up, and about 10 minutes before midnight, we turned on the TV to watch the Bulgarian president address the nation.

Exploring the streets in Sofia! There’s a certain charm to the run-down buildings you encounter.

Fireworks started sporadically as soon as it got dark, but they really started going around 10pm. After that, they didn’t really die down until 2 or 3am. We walked home around 1am and walked in the middle of the street because people were throwing down firecrackers from the balconies onto the sidewalks.

On New Year’s Day

The next morning it was very quiet! The streets weren’t too dirty (unlike Berlin!), and nothing was open. We walked around for a while in the morning trying to find a place to have breakfast. Nothing opened until much later in the day. If you do go to Sofia during this time, be prepared for this, and maybe buy some snacks the night before to hold you over until lunchtime. It is probably better to have breakfast in your hotel if possible.

Where To Stay In Sofia

We stayed at Crystal Palace in Sofia. It had a 4-star feel but was well within our budget range and centrally located. If you stay here, just be aware that they will most definitely kick you out of the breakfast area when it closes in the morning. If they say their hours are from 7-10am and you are still eating at 10am they will ask you to leave!

They had a workout room which we were able to use, and one night, we also had a Thai massage. It was wonderful, and also quite cheap!

Typical streets in Sofia

What To Eat In Sofia

Bulgarian food is surprisingly tasty. We had many dishes full of meat, tomatoes, sauces, and really wonderful chocolate cakes. Compared to many other countries in the region, we were surprised at the freshness and variety of food.

Everything on this table was homemade or homegrown by our Bulgarian friends and was very tasty and delicious!

They have fresh salads with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and cheese, musaka (which is like a lasagne full of potatoes and meat), yoghurt-based soup, grilled meat or kebapche, grape leaves stuffed with minced meat, rice, and herbs, hearty stews, and pumpkin pastries.

Sofia has a great selection of restaurants. We tried Bulgarian food, but also went to a tasty Nepalese restaurant and a few other places with different cuisine. Once again, there were also lots of tasty pastry shops to stop at for a coffee or a snack.

Don’t Worry About Learning Bulgarian

Although not everyone speaks English, many Bulgarians are very friendly and helpful and will do their best to understand you. We found English speakers in every city we visited in Bulgaria. We didn’t have any problem going into the supermarkets and buying food, for example. It’s pretty easy to point, motion how much you want, look at the price on the checkout screen, and pay.

Nearly all of the younger Bulgarians we spoke to knew English. There are many English speakers in the restaurants and around touristy places, too. We did end up going into a couple of small restaurants where the owners only spoke Bulgarian, but we still didn’t have any problems ordering. If you have an idea of what kind of Bulgarian food you like, you can usually get away with asking, “Musaka?” And they will nod yes or no. We also did a lot of pointing at the menu and they would also point to someone else’s dish to show us what they thought we wanted. You can’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone, but have no fears about getting by without knowing Bulgarian!

People collecting water for free from the hot springs in the city center in Sofia

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed a pretty relaxing time in Bulgaria, and it was great to see how Bulgarians live and celebrate the New Year. If you have any interest in Soviet architecture, it’s also very interesting to see the dilapidation of the old buildings there, but also the beauty of some of the other landmarks, such as the churches. Our friends told us that there is growing nationalism in Bulgaria, and many young Bulgarians who have left home for their university education are returning to the country and really investing in it. It will be interesting to see where Bulgaria goes in the next few decades with this influx of young, Bulgarian scholars and talents!