Monthly Archives: July 2012

1000km later, she was… fatter.

Posted on July 25, 2012 by sozofia

I worked out yesterday that I’d cycled over 1000km in the past 8 weeks. For most people this would result in weight loss. Not me! I have been too keen on eating the delicious Bulgarian food, which – contrary to … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged baked aubergine, Balkans, bar snacks, breakfast, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, Bulgarian food, cheese, clay pots, courgette, Cycling, diet, dieting, dinner, doughnuts, Eastern Europe, eggplant, exercise, food, kavarma, lunch, mekitsi, sozofia, sprats, tsatsa, weight gain, weight loss, yoghurt, zucchini | 1 Comment

Religious views

Posted on July 24, 2012 by sozofia

Having just mentioned the Russo-Turkish War, I suppose I ought to show you the most photographed sight in Sofia – Alexander Nevsky Cathedral – which was built in honour of the soldiers who died in the Russo-Turkish war in 1877-78 … Continue reading →

Posted in Sofia | Tagged Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, cathedral, Christianity, church, photos, religion, religious views, Sightseeing, Sofia, sozofia, travel | Leave a comment

Hot drinks and warm feelings

Posted on July 24, 2012 by sozofia

A few years ago I had the misfortune of living with Creepy J. He was creepy in 2 senses of the word. One night, I woke up in the middle of the night to find that a) he had creeped … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Travel in Bulgaria | Tagged Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, creepy flatmate, Eastern Europe, flatmates, General Gurko, history, hitchhiking, hostels, hot drinks, independence of Bulgaria, jazz music, Lonely Planet, Ottoman empire, Ottomans, Russo-Turkish war, Second Bulgarian Empire, Sofia, Tarnovgrad, travel, Tsaravets fortress, Veliko Tarnavo, Veliko Turnavo | 2 Comments

How not to tackle hate speech

Posted on July 20, 2012 by sozofia

There was public outrage in Bulgaria yesterday when it emerged that a file uploaded on the Bulgarian president’s website contained an ethnic slur. The file, which contained Bulgaria’s National Roma Integration Strategy (2012-2020), a document which sets out various objectives … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, Bulgarian president, crime, discrimination, Eastern Europe, education, employment, gypsies, gypsy, hate speech, integration, mangali, National Roma Integration Strategy, roma, Roma community, Roma neighbourhood, Rosen Plevneliev, sozofia, strategy | Leave a comment

Breakfast in Bulgaria

Posted on July 19, 2012 by sozofia

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged airan, Balkans, banitsa, breakfast, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, Bulgarian food, cheese, dairy, dairy products, Eastern Europe, eating, eating out, food, food and drink, grilled cheese, milk products, pastry, sirene, sozofia, tarator | 7 Comments

A singular issue

Posted on July 19, 2012 by sozofia

This weekend I went to the Black Sea with my friend Q. We had a lovely time, despite the fact that there were record temperatures and I am now severely burnt. Q is female, but depending on who was interested/available … Continue reading →

Posted in *My Favourite Posts*, History, Travel in Bulgaria | Tagged bachelor tax, Balkans, Black Sea, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, Bulgarian history, co-habitation, communism, Decree on encouragement of fertility, double room, Eastern Europe, finance, finances, history, income tax, Kiril Minkov, marriage, marriage licences, marry, militia raids, non-married unions, platonic, sharing a hotel room, socialist, sozofia, tax, Temperature, unmarried, unmarried women, Varna, wed, wedding | 1 Comment

Colour me happy

Posted on July 18, 2012 by sozofia

A flash of colour, natural or not, can really brighten up my day. So here are three colourful Bulgarian sights that put me in a good mood: 1. Martenitsi In March, Bulgarians exchange red and white martenitsi (from the word ‘Mart’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Sofia, Travel in Bulgaria | Tagged Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, color, color therapy, colorful, colour, colour therapy, colourful, graffiti, martenitsa, martenitsi, слънчоглед, semki, South Park Sofia, sozofia, sunflower, sunflower oil, sunflower seeds, sunflowers, Yuzhen Park Sofia | 2 Comments

A cat that looks like Hitler

Posted on July 17, 2012 by sozofia

I saw this cat in Veliko Turnavo this weekend. Given that there is a website about lesbians that look like Justin Bieber, there is a high probability that there is also a whole website dedicated to cats that look like … Continue reading →

Posted in Eccentricity | Tagged blog, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, cat with moustache, facial hair, hitler moustache, moustaches | Leave a comment

A cultured people

Posted on July 17, 2012 by sozofia

Avid readers of this blog (Hi mum and dad!) will remember that a few weeks ago I mentioned that the Bulgarians’ love for yoghurt is so great that it required a blog post of its own. I don’t know much … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged airan, Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, bulgarian yoghurt, cookery, cooking, dairy, Eastern Europe, fermented milk, food, Greece, Greek, greek yoghurt, ilya metchnikoff, kiselo mlyako, lactobacillus bulgaricus, lactose intolerant, sozofia, stamen grigarov, tarator, travel, yoghurt | Leave a comment

What men get up to in Sofia’s parks

Posted on July 12, 2012 by sozofia

It’s pretty common to find groups of men trying different porn moves in Sofia’s parks.

Posted in *My Favourite Posts*, Sofia | Tagged Balkans, blog, Blogging, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian blog, chess, Eastern Europe, old men, outdoors, parks, pawns, porn, porn moves, retirement, sex | Leave a comment