Ohrid/Sofia - Days 99-101

Thank goodness I was stranded in Ohrid for another day because the last day was the best yet. The sun finally decided to be less timid and made a full appearance - what a difference it makes. At the suggestion of the guest house owners, I took a local bus to a monastery called St. Naum about 30 km from Ohrid. The ride itself was along the lake shore and and up into the mountains, so naturally really scenic.

The monastery itself was beautiful but the location was absolutely ideal. Right on the cliffside by the Albanian/Macedonian border, it overlooks the length of the lake with Albania on the left and Macedonia on the right. And if you look behind, it's yet another snow-covered peak. Plus the grounds were inhabited by a dozen or so peacocks, a couple of which were quite the showmen. I'll post pics on Facebook later :)

So that evening, I made a second attempt at catching the bus to Sofia - success. 7 pm departure, midnight border crossing, and 4 am arrival (which is really 3am Macedonian time). At least they make the border crossings here relatively easy compared to the ones in Africa. The passengers get to stay on the bus while the border patrol comes on and collects everyone's passport. Of course there's always the occasional luggage check where people have to get off and open all their belongings.

I made it to my host's place around 5:30am after waiting at the station for the public transportation to start running. So it's back to couchsurfing. This time my host is a Bulgarian girl named Veneta and she is hosting with a young daughter. Now I generally trust people and will totally host when I get the opportunity, but hosting with a child is a whole other story. I assume you have to be really really selective and careful, and she told me she doesn't generally host men or even couples, but there are evil women out there too! But I'm grateful that my profile seemed legit enough for her to trust me and let me into her home.

Sofia is a small capital city and the center area is compact enough to walk everywhere. It has a quirky mix of Ottoman and European architecture and some parts of the city are so ornate that it feels like you're in Paris, except without the sky high prices and snobbery. Bulgarians are really friendly and whoever said that no one in the Balkans speak English totally lied to me. When I first arrived, I asked a local guy (at 5am) how much the ticket for the bus costs and if any exchange places would be open at that hour. He said "Not at this time," gave me 1 Lev and said "Welcome to Bulgaria." :)

Yesterday I explored the city by myself and met up with my host after work for a walk and decided to try to sneak into a Brand New Heavies concert. I had no idea who they were but why not? First attempt totally  failed, but second attempt was a breeze (much like the bus to Sofia). Turns out the Brand New Heavies is a jazz/funk group from the UK and they were quite good. Not really my cup of tea, but for a free concert it was appropriately entertaining. I was also witness to some of the most passionately awful dancing I've ever seen in my life. I can't even describe it...sort of like Austin Powers stepping on hot coal and getting bit by fire ants.

By the time I finally got home around midnight I was pooped. So today I slept in and spent a better part of the day at "home" online - checking email, writing this blog, sending out couchsurfing requests, and applying for a couple of jobs. Tonight I'm meeting Veneta again for dinner.