Short update today. A coach took me across the border from Thessaloniki into Bulgaria at Kulata – mostly an uneventful journey, with mountains looming large in the borderlands. I was dropped off at Sandanski, but didn’t see anything of the town; a twenty-minute walk from the petrol station where I arrived to the railway station took me through a rough-and-ready industrial area. The train was punctual from start to finish, though, and even had at-seat power sockets.
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| The train arrives at Sandanski |
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| Platform cats |
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| Terrain south of Blagoevgrad |
The landscape, as we head north along the Struma valley, reminds me of the North Pennines; not exactly what you’d call mountains, but definitely big and imposing as hills go. Occasionally snow-capped mountains do rear their heads in the distance. I’m already getting the impression of a big and diverse country, though not, I’m told, one with a large population: Wikipedia says under 7 million, of whom over a million live in the Sofia urban area.
Speaking of Sofia, in mid-afternoon I arrive there, and a new chapter begins.
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