My first World Cup for fencing was in Plovdiv, Bulgaria–definitely the most unique place of my travels. Firstly, here's some background information to get us familiar with Plovdiv. Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, 150 km east of Sofia. Situated on the Maritsa River, the fertile area surrounding Plovdiv made civilization possible early on. In fact, Plovdiv is Europe’s oldest city, dating back to 6000 B.C.E.
I am sure that anyone who has gone from Vancouver to Europe, especially Eastern Europe, would find the 16 hour trip exhausting-- I sure did! We flew from Vancouver to Frankfurt to Sofia, then took a taxi to Plovdiv–in which I got scammed 40 euros. The flight was comfortable, and the food was mediocre, but the lemon mousse cake was fantastic.
Here are my first impressions of Sofia:
It had a small industrial town feeling, covered in fog
It had one single skyscraper in sight, with thousands of red-brick roofed houses dotted around the landscape.
It looked awfully similar to Lyon, France, but more dusty.
The cold air feels different from Vancouver and is more similar to the bitterness of Northeastern China.
Although the main purpose of my trip was fencing, I was still extremely curious about the culture and life in Bulgaria. During my stay in Plovdiv, I visited multiple local tourist attractions, including the Bishop’s Basilica of Philippopolis, the Regional Ethnographic Museum Plovdiv and the Ancient Theatre of Philippopolis. These are all important historical sites that reflect the culture and the traditions followed by the locals in Plovdiv.
The local cats are another highlight of Plovdiv. The adorable felines are an enjoyable sight to both locals and tourists, and there is food and water for them around many of the residential buildings and restaurants.
As well, an essential thing to know when going to Bulgaria is that Uber and any ride-share apps are banned there, so the only option of private transportation is by taxi–I found that out the hard way. Another interesting fact about Bulgaria is that there’s this restaurant called “Happy Bar&Grill” that has an absolute monopoly over the restaurants in the country! It's a London-based restaurant that serves cuisine from all over the world. With a restaurant that has 4.6 stars with 4429 reviews, it wasn’t what I had expected. Personally, I’m not crazy for it.
Quick fact: people there smoke a lot, at least the ones who were around me, so be prepared! Another fun fact: we were traveling more than 1000km/hr, the fastest plane I’ve been in. We were delayed an hour and when we got to our destination, we were early 30 mins, the captain must’ve really gone full throttle-- the wind was probably helping us out as well!
Overall, I had a pleasant experience staying in Plovdiv, however, it is not a place where I would want to live in the long run. I would really recommend people to travel to Bulgaria and especially to Plovdiv for its rich ancient history.
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