See the hot spots around The Balkans In 60 Days – Stop 25 Sofia, Bulgaria

15-16/9/2020. After a five-plus hours bus ride from Skopje, I arrived at Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Bulgaria seems to be a country of few words. It is seldom heard of and from in the international arena. I don’t know why. So, I very much looked forward to unraveling its mystique.

Upon arriving, the sun was setting, but this happened to be Saturday, and the streets stirred with people. As I was going with the flow, suddenly I heard rock-and-roll, getting louder and louder as I approached the city square. There, people swarmed, probably a few thousand rubbing shoulders. On the stage, the artists roused the crowd with high-octane sounds; below the stage, people sang and swung along. I felt a lot of pent-up energy. This small, relatively unknown and low-key country, sang its heart out, basking in that cathartic moment.

A few streets away, in front of a small restaurant, a four-man band busted its lungs, the lead singer, a bottle of hard liquor in one hand, belted out one song after another, constantly dousing his inflamed throat with it. The backup vocalist chimed with a glowing cigarette dangling from the corner of his lips. In front of the stage, half-drunk patrons whistled, yelled, and cheered in total indulgence, like there was no tomorrow. I felt for them a new freedom never before felt, a liberation never thought possible.

Sofia is a salad bowl of religion, with Islam, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Judaism, and atheism all having a place in this country’s history, and each now continues to leave a mark in the city.

五六小时路程后抵达保加利亚首都索菲亚。这国家不知为何沉默寡言, 也不常上新闻，有点神秘感，蛮期待。抵达时已夕阳西下，但恰逢周六，街上开始涌动。走到中心广场时，忽然摇滚乐如雷贯耳，到广场时开始挤满了人，该有上千人。台上唱，台下和。一个多月走了六七国，感觉他们的能量多年的压抑还没完全释放。到这寂寂无闻的国家，很意外这么开怀兴奋。再走了几条街，在一小餐厅前小广场四人乐队在疯狂摇滚，主唱手拿酒瓶，边唱边灌烈酒润喉，伴唱嘴边边唱边悬着根点着的烟，台下听众喝酒呐喊尖叫摇摆助兴，乐成一片。开怀潇洒的尽兴，这就是解放。

索菲亚这名我久有所闻，那是头脑还没完全发育之前，这名字听起来太高雅了，现在才知道这是希腊名，意思是智慧，对我这只笨鸟很有启示。这城市曾被几大教派洗过礼，回教，东正教，罗马天主教，犹太教，无神论，都在这儿有过一段历史，一段斗争，留下五花八门烙印，遍布城市各角落。所幸现在尘埃落定，风平浪静。

晚餐点了烤鱼，烤菜和米饭。端上来的毫不含糊，鱼，菜，饭，虽高度近视加老花，都可清晰看到，界线分明。买单时账单上米饭比那条鱼还贵，服务员解释说那黑米较贵；早说我点两条鱼算了。昨天午餐吃了一个意大利馅饼，一个李子馅饼甜品，可可饮料，都好吃，晚上睡觉口水还流个不停。昨晚晚餐点了盘色拉，好像没洗过就端上来那么新鲜好吃，主食点了意大利面配烤鸡，那鸡肉很嫩，肯定是没打过针，快乐健康成长的。吃喝玩乐，保加利亚让我刮目相看。

当然最温暖的是受到这个陌生国家人们的友善接待，来者不拒的欣然帮助。真是一回生，二回熟的感觉。