Sofia, or Serdica as it was called in ancient times, is – along with Belgrade – the only truly big city I’ve visited on this trip. My modus operandi here so far is roughly the same as it’s been everywhere else: wander around, see nice buildings, go to museums, drink nice drinks, eat nice food. The difference here is that my ramblings are not purely stochastic this time: I have a guide. My erudite host, B., is showing me around the city.
In the evening we explore the city centre. In the morning we return and almost retrace our steps, this time looking into some buildings along the way that were closed the night before.
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| Sveta Nedelya church in evening light |
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| University main entrance hall at night |
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| National Palace of Culture at night |
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| Synagogue during the day |
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| Presidential guards on duty |
Among other things, I learned that Serdica was almost picked as capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great (himself born in Niš), though was passed over in favour of Byzantium, later Constantinople. And the first part of the name Serdica is cognate with Greek kard-, Latin cord- and English heart. In the afternoon I visited the archaeological museum to get my fix of old physical objects. There’s still much to see, and I look forward to spending a bit longer here than I have in other places in the Balkans.
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