Sun, Nov 22 2009
About 50 results were found.
Sunday: "Welcome Back to Bulgaria!" I almost expected banners and balloons when I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac with the other passengers returning from a summer vacation abroad. But alas, no banner, no balloons, just the customs official stamping my passport, one of many he sees on a daily basis and therefore decidedly not special. But, hey, I'm back, it feels good and I'm happy. So where's the
A casual meal in a casual dining environment, 21 is nothing exceptional in its ambience. However, this restaurant delivers in its high quality cuisine. With wooden tables on an elevated "outside" area (more of a covered garden with a soothing waterfall) and fancy tables and booths inside, it is the perfect place for any occasion, be it a date, a family meal, a business meeting or a gathering of friends. Located on a tucked-
Wednesday: The sunshine girl is gone. A part of my soul is wounded, I feel it in the upper right side of my heart - a hollow place that seems will never be full again. I was a few thousand miles away, bustling around the busy streets of Sofia. I called home to say I had good news - why not take a month off and visit home in time to see all my seven siblings reunited for a week of summer fun? That's when I found out my father
In The Sofia Echo last week, the From All Sides feature included a number of foreigners living in Bulgaria addressing the question of the standards of service in the country. "In most cases, service in Bulgaria is, while not as out-of-the-way helpful as it is in the United States, sufficiently decent. It's like the reputation that service has in France: a bad one, but personal experiences tend to prove the stereotypes
Customer service in Bulgaria is a relative concept. For foreigners coming to this country whether as tourists or for business purposes, this relativity can come as quite a shock, despite forewarning. Most people are used to a form of "status quo" service: a standard set forth by the theory that "the customer is always right" and if you treat them as such, you are justly rewarded (and if you don't, you can face a lawsuit
Most girls jump at the chance to have a day of beauty and rest. Victoria Beauty and Spa provides both in a convenient location and tranquil environment. Located at 14 Professor Giovanni Gorini Street, a few steps from Oborishte Street, the spa offers many services, ranging from massages to nail care, hairdressing to make-up application. In almost all respects, it is as similar to an American spa as I have yet come
Monday: Treated like a queen, worked like a dog. Am I the only one who questions what it's all for? The right place, the wrong time, or even worse, the wrong place at the right time. I spent today babysitting, oops I mean teaching, other people's kids. At one point I was holding up a book in front of my face, body turned sideways, and telling the students to stop taking pictures of me and put away their cell phones.
A RECENT networking conference under the auspices of RINFOR, Real Estate and Investment Forum, took place at the Sheraton Hotel in November, gathering investment and real estate companies to collectively discuss the Bulgarian market and its potential. Claimed to be "the largest conference in Bulgaria in the real estate, construction, and tourism sector", RINFOR was executed in a highly professional manner, with security personnel, an adhered-to programme, speakers divvied into separate conference halls, and an organised registration process.
A whole crew of Americans, dotted with the occasional Italian and Brazilian, crossed into the land of Eastern European filmmaking for the sole purpose of producing a Hollywood film in the high mountains and majestic scenery of Bulgaria. However, they all took out of it an unexpected and unforgettable adventure. Working with a Bulgarian production crew was an experience highly valued by the producer...
ON a daytrip to Vratsa with "the girls", I met my good friend Detelina's parents - honest, genuine Bulgarians, good people who work the land in a village outside the city. Surprised at my interest in their country and my enthusiasm for their humble and nearly self-sufficient way of life, they extended an invitation for me to experience village life firsthand.
ANTON MITEV ("TONNY"), art teacher and owner of a car rental business in Sofia, and PRAVDOLIUB IVANOV, visual artist and photographer, talk about their lives before and after November 10, 1989, the fall of Todor Zhivkov. Who were you at this time? TONNY: I was an artist, just finishing my degree in fine art at the Academy.
FOR six months I've walked past The Old Lime Tree Restaurant - through three seasons, four boyfriends, and one family visit. Something about the place never cried out for me to visit. Until two weeks ago that is. Since that time, I've frequented the restaurant three times, each time experiencing a new problem. The first visit with a close friend yielded no lukanka (a Bulgarian dry meat that is traditionally served as an appetiser).
WITH a name like Sin City, one can think of a hundred reasons or temptations to visit this new club. Located in the centre of Sofia on Hristo Belchev near Vazrajdane Square, the building itself is an imposing structure - three stories tall and resembling the Parthenon in Greece, with red lights illuminating it from the ground up. The Bulgarian designer Julian Tahov was inspired by the classic design of the building and kept this theme running throughout the interior...
THE taste of Tuscany on a side street in Sofia. Maybe the idea was a little far fetched, but I was in the mood to find out if it was possible to find the classic Tuscan kitchen in Bulgaria. So with a cute date I found myself walking up to the house that has been converted into Ristorante Tosca, past the green garden and elevated terrace, through the door and under a hanging purple curtain into the elegant restaurant.
STANCHO Stanchev is a Master of the Five Perfections, a traditional Chinese title he's earned through years of learning Chinese techniques and putting his studies into practice here in Bulgaria. Mastering Wushu (martial arts), medicine, philosophy, cooking, and culture, Stancho has laboured hard for this title that carries with it great honour and great respect.
NOT your typical expat residing in Sofia, Tolga Esmer has been visiting Bulgaria regularly since 2000. He originally came to learn the language, being a student of Ottoman and Bulgarian Studies. "I enrolled in an intensive language-learning course on a FLAS summer grant. I met with an excellent individual tutor four hours everyday and worked really hard."
LITTLE is known of the tunnels that lie under various parts of Sofia. Built as bomb shelters during times of looming war, the tunnels are a mystery for both Bulgarians and foreigners, most of whom are unaware of their existence, much less their history. It comes as no surprise that the building that is now the President's Palace, and has been since the 1990s, boasts a bomb shelter.
BULGARIAN group Upsurt is considered one of the best acts on the hip-hop scene in Bulgaria. Definitely the most popular, the group was formed in 1996 and originally consisted of four guys: Itzo Hazarta, Bate Ventsi, Butch, and Panchev, who left the group three years ago, all friends from school No.76 in Sofia. They've made numerous recordings, topped music charts, toured throughout Bulgaria and have been enjoying recent success and high acclaim for their latest single, 3 v 1.
THE United States embassy recently held a book launch for the release of the Bulgarian translation of American Indian Myths and Legends, by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz. The book is symbolic of Bulgaria's shift towards embracing the Western world, a move was once not only unpopular, but illegal. Before the changes, cultural anthropology was not studied in Bulgaria but is now being incorporated into the curriculum of many universities and colleges.
LAID-BACK and open-minded, Alexander Markov, (23), better known as "Sasho", has a light in his eyes and a genuine goodness that shines through. His fluency in English is impressive, and he loves to practice with foreigners. Presently he's a student at the School of Architecture and has worked as a bartender and helping hand at Lotki Bar in Boris's Garden for some time.
WITH an ideal location in one of the most comfortable neighbourhoods of Sofia, Sweet Bar is the place to be for all those decked out in style, living the Bulgarian highlife. Well, at least those seeming to. It's not rare to find the newest models of BMW, Mercedes, and other luxury cars parked out front, beautiful women dressed in full seduction attire casually sipping coffee and cocktails, businessmen grabbing a coffee and a sandwich between appointments...
THOUGH the name of this restaurant would imply a mehana (Bulgarian tavern) housed in the cellar of an old house, the restaurant is, in fact, a fairly modern establishment housed in the cellar of a rather new house. The outdoor area is far more appealing than the inside area, though it is comforting and cozy down the stairs and inside the cellar. Outside there is a sheltered front table that seats 6, and in the back garden, there is both a protected "winter" garden...
STYLISH and gifted, Alfredo Torres is a special person, and one that any dance enthusiast or curious amateur should seek out. His dance studio in Sofia is the perfect place to learn almost any kind of dance, because he has brought his heart here to teach, and his heart is dance. Alfredo was born in Havana, and after a short stint as a boxer, at the age of 15 he turned to dancing. "I stopped boxing because I started to dance. It was difficult to do both, and besides, there were too many punches."
EILEEN Feeney has just returned from Ireland after participating in a triathlon to raise money for Bulgarian orphanages flooded by recent storms. This is an athletic feat she had never thought of accomplishing. With three kids - a six-year-old son and twin daughters aged four - she somehow found the time and energy to train for and participate in an event so gruelling it would defy some professional athletes.
BULGARIA'S history of charity groups is a tarnished one, owing to corruption and fraud; as a result, most people shy away from groups that claim to raise money for a worthy cause. One Life Bulgaria is a fairly new organisation, with just one year of history, but it is a very open history, with formal record-keeping, accounting, and a general will to instill trust in Bulgarians and foreigners alike that charitable organisations in this country can be legitimate and honest.
EXPATRIATES old and new can rejoice: the first edition of The Insider's Guide: to Sofia and Beyond has just been published. For the tourist and Sofian alike, the new guide is much more than a guidebook of what to see and do: it is a reliable resource for understanding the city and country you're visiting on vacation or plan to settle in.
BIDDING a fond farewell to a friend requires a simple, yet elegant dining experience like that provided at Vkusen Svyat (Tasty World). This Bulgarian restaurant actually has two locations in Sofia, and having visited both, I chose the one within walking distance of my flat to entertain a friend I would be seeing for the last time after a brief but valued friendship.
COMING to Bulgaria, one is often warned about the "wild" street dogs and their danger in packs. But compared to humans generally, are the dogs in Bulgaria so different? They're mostly the victims of the economic crisis of the mid-nineties when people couldn't afford to feed themselves, much less their dogs.
BORN and raised in Essen, Germany, Yvonne Kurtze considers herself a very normal, average person with a "normal, unspectacular life in Germany". Maybe it should be clarified: she used to have a normal life. Yvonne married her high school sweetheart, Cartsen, and lived in the same city as the members of both of their families. She never planned to travel around Germany, much less leave the country for an unknown place like Sofia.
THE Blagoevgrad Zoo is like most zoos in Bulgaria: no one knows or cares that it exists. Poor funding and underpaid animal keepers make the conditions for some of the animals almost unbearable. Built in 1959 and located on a hilltop overlooking the city on beautiful and well-maintained grounds, it was once a thriving zoo during Communism but is now falling to ruin. This does not stop the zoo from keeping animals.
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