Five Things I Noticed In Sofia, Bulgaria

For good or bad, when we travel, we notice all the differences from our own hometowns and cultures. Reactions range from “Why doesn’t everyone do this?” to “This is the stupidest thing ever!” We view everything through our own cultural lens. The more that the culture and surroundings are different from our own, the more they stand out. This is the big bonus of travel for me. It widens one’s perspective. In that spirit, here are five things I noticed when visiting Sofia, Bulgaria.

Branding? Who Needs Branding?

Being in the PR industry, I spend a good deal of time thinking about branding. Fairly quickly, I noticed in Sofia that companies don’t appear to spend a lot of time coming up with unique or clever names. The name of a major shopping mall is called “Mall of Sofia,” for example. There is also a free walking tour of Sofia called “Sofia Free Tour.” The airport is called “Sofia Airport.” A major pet store? Sofia Petshop. You get the idea. The rare time I did see branded shops, they seemed vaguely familiar, like the lingerie store called “Women’secret” that I spotted at the mall. One thing I’ll say, there is no ambiguity to this approach. You know what you’re getting.

Food is Incredibly Inexpensive

OK, this didn’t take a genius to notice. Along with a favourable Canadian exchange rate, Bulgaria’s lower food costs make eating out a terrific bargain. At a nice, mid-range restaurant, we could order two glasses of domestic wine (Bulgaria has great wine, by the way), two appetizers, and two entrees and spend around $25 CAD.

Bulgaria Might Have A Secret Weapon Against Fat

Bulgarian food is delicious, and as mentioned above, inexpensive. Grilled meats and potatoes are prominent as are satisfying sauces. Yet, compared with North America, most people seemed to have a medium-sized build. Indeed, Bulgaria falls in the lower middle in world rankings for obesity (about 23%).

I’m not sure why this is, but I did learn that Bulgaria is home to lactobacillus bulgaricus, which is the bacteria found in Bulgarian yogurt. I heard from two separate sources (one was the guide on the cultural tour I took, it’s called “Sofia Culture Tour”) that this is a unique bacteria only found in Bulgaria and that it is a super probiotic. With recent research into gut bacteria playing a role in obesity, maybe the Bulgarians have a secret weapon.

This traditional yogurt drink is very popular in Bulgaria.

Also, restaurant menus list the weight of the food you are ordering. It’s incredibly helpful in terms of matching your level of hunger to the portion size. This is one of those “Why doesn’t everyone do this?” situations.

Stray Dogs Not As Bad As I Feared

One thing I was worried about travelling to Sofia is its stray dog population. On previous work trips Steve took a few years back, he would hear stray dogs fighting at night in the distance, and he was once cornered and growled at by a dog just outside a subway station. I love dogs, but I have a fear of dogs I don’t know if they are loose on the street. I was worried.

Indeed, I came upon several stray dogs, but none of them was at all aggressive. Steve noticed a remarkable decline in the number of dogs he saw on previous trips so asked a local about it. We learned that a few years back, a shelter undertook a major stray dog neutering program. From a quick Google search, I found the appropriately named, Animal Rescue Sofia, which since 2009 appears to have taken a lead role in managing the stray dog issue in the city. Well done Sofia!

Bulgarians Tell It Like It Is

We didn’t have the very best hotel experience in Sofia. We stayed at the Metropolitan Sofia, which appears to market itself a business hotel. But, the wifi was dismally slow at times, there was no iron or ironing board in the room or a coffee maker. We asked about the coffee and the response at the front desk was simply that there is no coffee in the room. If we wanted any, we could order it from room service. Iron? There are none because they are a fire hazard. There was no softening of the news, no “My apologies, we do not have in-room coffee service, can I order room service for you?” It could have been a language issue, but Steve’s experience working in the country is that people are just matter of fact. There are rules about how things work, and that’s the way it is.

No in-room coffee service, but the Metropolitan Hotel stocks a free mini-bar with beer, Coke, and juice. Go figure.

I came across a piece of public art that seems to reflect the same tell-it-like-it-is approach.

In the city centre there is a statue of Stefan Nikolov Stambolov, Bulgaria’s longest-serving prime minister. He was assassinated in 1895 near where his statue stands today by three men who attacked him with knives. They knew he wore an armoured vest, so they slashed his head and face. The statue shows just that.

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