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Day 1 Sofia
I left Budapest after in the afternoon . The flight was about 2.5 hours and reached airport around 10 in the evening. From Airport , it’s about 30 min ride to Elgence Hostel and guesthouse.
Day 2 Sofia
Today I left the hotel in morning . Had a very good breakfast at a local cafe near the center of the town and the joined a free walking tour called “Free Sofia Tour”. This is by far one of the best free walking tour I ever did. The tour is about 2 hours and we started from Palace of Justice . Then we visited Sveta Nedelya Church, Coat of Arms of Sofia, Statue of Sofia, Church of St. Petka,Largo Square Roman Ruins, Banya Bashi Mosque,Sofia Synagogue,Former Public Bath / Museum of Sofia,Mineral Water,Council of Ministers, Former Communist Party Headquarters / Parliament,Presidency,St George Rotunda,City Garden,National Theater Ivan Vazov,National Gallery (Former Royal Palace), Russian Church,St. Sophia Basilica. The tour was finished at the gorgeous St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
After lunch I went to hike Mt. Vitosha and Boyana waterfall. It is about 7KM with an elevation gain of 520M. Overall the loop took me about 4 hours.
Day 3 Rila 7 Lake
This is my last full day in Sofia and no visit to Bulgaria would be complete without visitinf Rila 7 lakes. The Seven Rila Lakes are a group of glacial lakes, situated in the northwestern Rila Mountain in Bulgaria. They are the most visited group of lakes in Bulgaria. The lakes are situated between 2081 m – 6827 ft) and (2535 m – 8316 ft) above sea level. Each lake carries a name associated with its most characteristic feature. The highest one is called ‘Salzata’ (the Tear) due to its clear waters. The next one in height carries the name ‘Okoto’ (the Eye) after its almost perfectly oval form. Babreka (the Kidney) is the lake with the steepest shores of the entire group. Bliznaka (the Twin) is the largest one by area.-Trilistnika (the Trefoil) has an irregular shape and low shores.The shallowest lake is ‘Ribnoto Ezero’ (the Fish Lake) The lowest one is ‘Dolnoto Ezero’ (the Lower Lake), where the waters that flow out of the other lakes are gathered to form the Dzherman River.
The bus picked me up from St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. It was about 3 hour drive and unforunately their was lot of snow around the area and ski lift was also not working. So we had to trek up towards the lakes , most of the lakes were frozen at that time. A better idea probably is to come back in summer and enjoy the lakes to their full glory.
Day 4 Fly to Home
This was the final day in Sofia. Spent time in walking around the city center and latter took the train to airport and then flight back to home.
