Well, I believe I have fulfilled my self-proclaimed prophesy. I am a terrible blogger. :) Sorry to leave all of you hanging for ... a while. Life here in Bonn (and various other places) has been quite busy. I've been traveling a lot lately both with my class and independently. Last weekend my friend Catherine and I went to Sofia, Bulgaria, and just today I arrived home from a six-day class trip to Berlin and Prague. Both trips were a lot of fun, and I can now Czech another country or two off my list. ;)
Sofia, Bulgaria
You might be asking, "Whitney, what on earth made you go to Bulgaria??" Well, the answer to that question is a fun little program that the airline Germanwings offers. On Germanwings' website you can find all kinds of cheap airfares in different ways including the program called "Blind Flights." Here you can choose between lists of possible destinations that are grouped together based on what they offer (for example: culture, party, beach, etc.). After you select a category of possible destinations and book the flight, you wait about thirty seconds and then the destination you have been assigned is revealed to you. Catherine and I chose the category called "Metropolis Eastern Europe" because none of the other trips we have planned would take us into Eastern Europe and ... we were curious about it. :) So we paid our fare, waited for the drum roll and .......... Sofia it was! We looked at each other with shocked faces and then started laughing because neither of us knew anything about Bulgaria at the time. We had a little trouble even finding it on the map! But we did our research and a week later off we went to Bulgaria.
I'll just say that Sofia is quite different from where I'm living in Bonn, Germany. I'll suffice to say that the past presence of Communism could be felt strongly there. It was present almost everywhere in the architecture of most apartment and business buildings. Fortunately, some of the more ornate government buildings, churches and museums have been preserved. Catherine and I had fun going to watch the change of the guards at the Presidency, sketching inside of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and photographing odd sculptures in the garden next to the National Art Gallery. We also enjoyed browsing through a few open markets looking at philigrine, pottery and fur hats!
We spent two days in Sofia. We had lots of fun, but were quite worn out from walking all day both days. We were happy to be home Sunday night! Here are a few pictures to help tell the story.
The changing of the Guard at the Presidency. These guards
guards are not quite as stoic as the ones at Buckingham Palace
are rumored to be. The one on the left kept winking at Catherine
and I while we took pictures. Honestly, you have a job to do Mr.
These Roman ruins and the church that still functions
inside of them serve as evidence of Sofia's age.
This and the following picture are of "The Russian Church."
An example of Eastern Orthodox architecture.
The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Another shining example of Eastern Orthodox. Pictures
were not allowed inside, but I must tell you how ornate it
was. It seemed that every surface that wasn't sculpted was
painted. Besides the domes that make up the roof of the
cathedral, inside, the different chapels were divided from each
other by smaller (but still quite large) domes of their own.
Catherine and I were lucky enough to be there while a baby was
being baptized in one of the side chapels. There was something
so powerful about the sound of that baby's cries echoing off of the
30-40m tall ceilings. It made me think of how God is so in tune
with our lives from the moment they begin.
Catherine and I made sure we had the opportunity to try at least
one authentic Bulgarian meal. We had pork, chicken and a stuffed
tomato. The food was delicious and the restaurant, Pri Yafata, was
decorated in traditional Bulgarian ornament.
Well, that's it for Sofia. Due to camera problems, I'll have to get back to you on Berlin, Prague and a few other things after I can get pictures from some of my classmates.
I'm living out my adventurous side through you. You do such a good job describing your excursions - you're such a good writer. I feel like I was there. Reading this has made me miss you that much more; however, at the same time, I just think it's too cool that you're over there getting to do so many fun things that most people NEVER will in their entire lives. I love you.
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