Stanziliëri

I'm in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, for Athanas' birthday, and it's wonderful!
Sofia is one of the most ancient cities in Europe, dating well back into the prehistoric ages. The city walls alone are dating from earlier than 7000 before Christ already.

One of the most impressive buildings is the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. It is the largest church in the Balkans and the second largest Orthodox cathedral in the world, and it's stunningly beautiful with all it's arches, domes, gold, precious stones, and paintings. The insides of the Cathedral are jawdropping. But I only took pictures from the outside, not willing to desecrate the wonderful peace inside this magnificent building with my loud shutter. Some things are better left to live on in the mind and heart.
The Cathedral was built in the early 20th century in memory of the 200,000 Russian soldiers, who died in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878.

Opposite the Cathedral is an old Roman church: The church of St Sophia, the Hagia Sophia. This church is the second oldest church in Sofia. After having survived many changes, being destroyed a few times, and earthquakes in the 19th century it is now very nicely restored and a great architectural example. This is one of the most important buildings in the city and is the source of the name of the city.
On the side of the building is a monument for all soldiers that have fallen during wartimes.

Next to the Hagia Sofia is another impressively beautiful church: the Church of St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, a Russian Orthodox Church. It was built after the Russians had freed Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule. With it's typical 4-to-1 pattern golden dome towers it's a beautiful example of Russian Revival Style architecture.

When walking onwards a little bit, you will find the massive Sheraton Sofia Hotel. This hotel has a very special feature: it is build around the very oldest building in Sofia: The church of St George.

The church is situated among ruins from the ancient Thracian settlement called Serdica. The church itself was build in the 4th century.

In the same central area of the city is one more important church: the St Nedelya Church. It was probably build somewhere around the 10th century. Over the ages it has been destroyed many times. The last time it was blasted away by a terrorist attack in 1925. However it was promptly rebuild and inaugurated again in 1933. Built in the same Neo-Byzantine style it looks like the little brother of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. When we walked past there, there were 3 weddings in progress. A popular place!

But ofcourse there's not just churches here. But they're just the most interesting thing to look for in my opinion.
Here are some typical balconies from some random building in the city center:

And also stray dogs are a common thing to be seen. Not as much as I saw them in Bangalore, India. But still. Playing together in the middle of the road, acting dangerous. The roads here in the city can be extremely busy! An insane amount of cars in every variety. Old Lada's that almost fall apart, and rich-chicks cruising in their Audi A8's are both just as common as western European middle-class cars in western Europe.

And what's the best way of ending the afternoon, and preparing for the birthday party to start in the evening? Having a couple of White Russian's in a nice bar ofcourse!

Now it's time for some more relaxing, and then tomorrow afternoon back home again...