Tag Archives: Balkans

Leaving on a jet plane

Posted on January 3, 2013 by sozofia

Well, I’m off to work on a charity project in Ghana, which means that I won’t be back in Bulgaria until the summer at the earliest. No doubt I will have an African blog, so do track me down there. … Continue reading →

Posted in Me | Tagged Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian blogs, Bulgarian news, Leaving Bulgaria, links, recommendations, Sofia, sozofia, Travelling | 3 Comments

2. If I only had a heart

Posted on January 2, 2013 by sozofia

Genuinely, what has been most noteworthy about my time in Sofia this year has been the kindness of strangers – the generosity with which Bulgarians have welcomed me into their lives and offered me friendship. I love the UK. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Sofia | Tagged Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarians, friendship, generosity, generosity of spirit, Kindness of strangers, love, making friends, meeting friends, New Years Resolution, Sofia, sozofia, Travelling, welcome, welcoming | Leave a comment

Baby it’s cold outside…

Posted on December 31, 2012 by sozofia

In a previous post, I derided the skanky flip flops that Bulgarians like to give you when you enter their homes. But to be fair, some form of footwear is normally necessary, because it’s cold in Bulgaria. And fuel bills are … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Tagged air conditioning, appliance ownership, appliances, average income, Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, district heating, domestic sector, dwellings, eco, eco-friendly, electricity, Energy, energy efficiency, energy use, environment, environmental, eurostat, fuel bills, green, green issues, heating, home computing, housing, low income, multi-ownership apartment blocks, ODYSSEE, residential sector, Sofia, sozofia, standards of living, statistics, water bills | Leave a comment

It’s a problem free filo-sophy

Posted on December 31, 2012 by sozofia

Ok, I realise that this blog is starting to look like some kind of shrine to pastries, but please allow me just one more post about banitsas? It’s just that I made my parents one tonight and then remembered that … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink, Sofia | Tagged Balkans, banitsa, banitsa pastry, breakfast, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, cooking, баница, великобританица, кори, орлов мост, eagles bridge, filo pastry, food, food and drink, lunch, making banitsa pastry, making filo pastry, софииска баница, orlov most, Sofia, sofiiska banitsa, sozofia, subway, velikobritanitsa | Leave a comment

The end of the world as I know it

Posted on December 21, 2012 by sozofia

Well, if the Mayans are to be believed, the world is going to end today. If so, I’ll be quite annoyed as I’ve just spent quite a lot of time and money doing my last-minute Christmas shopping. But I’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged 21/12/2012, 21st December 2012, Balkan, Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian people, края на света, майте, end of the world, lyutenitsa, Mayans, national pride, negatives, negativity, positivity, Sofia, sozofia, world ending | Leave a comment

Пуш-и офф?

Posted on December 18, 2012 by sozofia

When we arrived in Sofia in May, one of the first things we noticed was that unlike in the UK, there was no ban on smoking in public places in Bulgaria. The boys I lived with were delighted. I was appalled … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged Balkans, Boyko Borisov, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian Parliament, Bulgarian prime minister, cigarettes, European Union, full smoking ban, GERB, Ne!Novinite, parliament, protesting, protests, smoking ban, smoking indoors, Sofia, sozofia, tobacco | Leave a comment

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Posted on December 17, 2012 by sozofia

In many ways, being in Sofia at Christmas is… well, just like being in any other European city at Christmas. It has the obligatory German market… …and tacky sponsored Christmas lights. But then, just when you think it’s become another … Continue reading →

Posted in Sofia, Uncategorized | Tagged Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Christmas, Christmas lights, Christmas market, коледа, патриарж евтими, koleda, Oxford Street, Patriarh Evtimy, skiing, snowboarding, Sofia, sozofia, weinachtsmarkt | Leave a comment

Обичам – I love it…

Posted on December 3, 2012 by sozofia

Aside from the occasional person who announces to me that they love Justin Bieber, One Direction or, as was the case yesterday, Susan Boyle, one of the most noticeable things about being a twenty-something living in Bulgaria is the sort … Continue reading →

Posted in Sofia | Tagged Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian music, bulgarian rock, Bulgarian Rock Music, обичам, Mixtape 5, music, уикеда, obicham, rock music, Sofia, sozofia, wickeda | 3 Comments

Let’s call the whole thing off?

Posted on November 25, 2012 by sozofia

Well, I’ve written about tomatoes before on this blog. I’ve also written about protesting. But this post is about both. Earlier this week, Bulgarian dissident Nikolay Kolev sent a letter to the Parliament, the President, the Prime Minister and the … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged Balkans, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, corrupt, corrupt practices, corruption, Nikolay Kolev, protest, protesting, protestors, Sofia, sozofia, tomato, tomato rally, tomato revolution, tomatoes | Leave a comment

Eats a banitsa

Posted on November 25, 2012 by sozofia

When I lived in Sofia in the summer, I made the most of all the delicious fresh produce that’s on offer here in Bulgaria. I’m ashamed to say that since my return here, my diet has been about 60% made up … Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged bad jokes, Balkans, banitsa, banitsa sus sirene, breakfast, Bulgaria, Bulgarian, Bulgarian cooking, Bulgarian food, Bulgarian puns, cooking, dinner, баница, баница със сирене, великобританица, великобритания, food, home cooking, lunch, puns, Sofia, velikobritania, velikobritanitsa | 4 Comments