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Report 1948: Treasures of the Balkans and Transylvania

By e3brown from Colorado, Summer 2011

Page 5 of 13: Day 5 - Rila Monastery, Sofia

Wake-up 7:30, breakfast 8:00, depart 9:00.

What an excellent breakfast!! Cold cuts, fresh breads, cheeses, jams, eggs, baked beans, juices, coffee, cereals, fruits, sweet rolls, yogurt, etc.

Today was a 2.5 hour drive to the Rila Monastery. Once there, we had a walking tour about 1.5 hours long. Afterwards, we were given about one hour and 45 minutes for lunch. There are two restaurants and we chose the one by a bubbling brook. Had a beer, shopska salad and large fried trout for 17Lev ($5.70). Then I walked to an ice cream store and had a large scoop of banana ice cream for 2.15 Lev ($.72).

Note: There are a lot of good ice cream places available in these countries and I never missed a chance to get some. However, the ice cream in Bulgaria was my favorite.

That night we ate in a restaurant recommended by the tour guide. It was excellent!!. I had shopska salad, garlic cheese bread and grilled pork steak with French fries. Dave had BBQ ribs with a side order of French fries. Of course, we each had a beer. Total cost was 30 Lev ($)20.00.

I did not go on the optional folklore dinner that evening but the folks that did said it was very good and the food was exceptional. All of us agreed that the food in Sofia whether the included dinner, the optional dinner or dinner on your own was exceptional. Everything was prepared with a chef’s flair. Thank you Sofia!

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