Today was my first full day with the 80+ members (and staff) in our AHI Travel group. I woke up at about 0615 and did some reading and Duolingo. After that, I got ready, packing a day-bag for our busy schedule before leaving my hotel room (0730). I’d noticed late last night that there was a Mass for the other members of the ND Alumni Club about 30 minutes later so hurried to breakfast. Hoping to learn more about my hotel departure alternatives, I used the stairway and came out into a courtyard that was actually located below my room. What a wonderful surprise - the courtyard contained an old church! I would have stayed to examine it further but was short on time. Instead, I entered our group’s private eating area and got some good food from the buffet. I saw Dennis again but ended up eating with Ron (ND grad) and his wife. At 0800, the Notre Dame group moved to the larger conference room and Father Pat (our "own" ND priest!) said Mass for us. There were other people there from the other schools but it was mostly just the 10 in our alumni group. We were finished at about 0845 and I spent some time visiting with passengers I hadn't met. At 0900, I attended an Enrichment lecture about the “Bulgarian Revival” (provided by a local Bulgarian Historian, Maggie). It was quite interesting and time sped by. At 1015, the entire tour group assembled and we departed (in three groups) on a walking tour of Sofia. My group (with most of the ND folks) had Maggie as our guide and wandered around the sights near our hotel and points to the east (most locations between Bul. Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov and Bul. Tsar Osvoboditel). Using some swanky headphones, our guide showed us the Roman ruins of Serdika (located right in front of our hotel), tiny St. Petka, the St. Sofia statue and other government buildings in that same area. We stopped at a very old Orthodox Church, called the St. George Rotunda (4th Century), that I’d noticed in the square below my hotel room and went inside while Mass was being celebrated. The whole service was being chanted - this style of worship was very beautiful and (to me) unique. Crossing the courtyard, we exited close to where the Presidential Palace Guard was starting to change (goose steps and all). Crossing the street, we learned about the Cyrillic alphabet and Bulgarian language. This was the area of a historic building that now houses the National Archeology Museum - the artifacts outside made me really want to go inside but we continued walking. By now, the temps had climbed into the 90s so shade was premium. Maggie told us a LOT about everything we passed and we were soon the last group on the tour. But it was all interesting - she told us her country’s history with such passion (including some genuine tears)! Next, we walked through the “Yellow Brick” zone, an area of commerce and government with distinctively colored pavement (no paint required, due to ceramic properties). We passed through the City (AKA “Boris”) Garden, saw the National Assembly of Bulgaria, visited Alexander Battenburg Square, marveled at the onion rooftops of the Russian Orthodox Church of Saint Nikolai (that contained the relics of a recently canonized local Saint Serafim) and passed some nearby embassies. Suddenly, we turned a corner and were treated to amazing views of the Aleksander Nevski Cathedral. It wasn’t an old building but was very pleasing to the eye. We were allowed to go inside this building and, after I paid a small “photo permit”, I took lots of photos of the interesting interior. Departing from there, we visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, saw the Synod Church and made our way to another old church (current version from 6th Century) in the city: the Basilica of Saint Sofia (“Holy Wisdom”). We learned that the Council of Serdica (c. AD 350) was held here and helped to formalize the Christian Creed. During the delays between moving ("shade breaks"), I met two solo ladies (Angela and Karen) who seemed restless to escape the group. However, they soon changed their mind and mentioned going back to the hotel. Just then (1250), the tour ended and we were given freedom to explore on our own. I took advantage of this opportunity to go inside the church, where another chanting Mass was being said (several baptisms). Photos were not permitted in the sanctuary but I found an archaeological site below the church itself that had a Necropolis that dated from about AD 200. I paid to go down into this area and was impressed by about eight levels of streets, walls, burials, temples and several church foundations. So amazing! By this point, I was hungry and started looking for food. Before I could get away, though, I was confronted my an older gentleman who wanted to talk to me about something. I presumed he was a panhandler but was not prepared for his persistence in trying different languages to convince me of his need. In the end, he settled on Italian (!), which I barely know, and he confirmed my suspicions... After walking across the square in front of Alexander Nevski Cathedral, I found a quiet restaurant nearby called “Victoria” that had some nice shade and got a table there. During my meal (food arrived by 1350), I enjoyed some Stolichno Bock beer and something that (in English) was called “Homemade Meatballs” (“pardon” peppers, rustic chutney, sheep cheese) with fries/chips. I watched some of the Olympics (cycling events) while I was there and finally stopped sweating. Next, I walked back to Aleksander Nevski Cathedral (got great views of Vitosha Mountain) and entered the Crypt so I could see an Icon display they had. It was interesting and I found some other ND folks there. Walking east from the church, I took photos of a monument to Vasil Levski, a hero of the 1878 liberation of Bulgaria. Backtracking towards the hotel, I made stops at/inside/near: Saint Nikolai; the Sofia Mineral Baths building (and a nearby mineral artisan fountains); the Banya Bashi Mosque; Tsentraini (Market) Hall; Sofia Synagogue and Catholic Cathedral of Saint Joseph. All these building of four different faiths so close together! At the latter house of worship, a parishioner told me about four miracles that took place on the site before the (re)building of the latest church. By this point (1600), I was tired and sweaty so headed back to the hotel for a break. Somehow, I managed to connect with Erin on the phone! At 1800, I donned my ND polo short and joined a “Welcome Reception” for all members of the group. I finally met everyone else from ND (Father Pat, Ron & Sandy, Jim & Susan, Bob & Pat, Steve & Donna) - I’m the “baby”, by far, of the ND group (most older than my dad)! One more hour later, all 80+ passengers assembled to enjoy a delicious dinner of assorted Bulgarian salads, some grilled chicken Trakia and some mascarpone yogurt mousse. Wine (including a good Bulgarian Merlot) and beer flowed freely during the roughly three hours I was with the nine other ND Alumni, folks from several other colleges (Iowa State, William and Mary, Washington-STL, Emory, Minnesota, Mississippi, etc.) and Smithsonian Journeys. Our travel hosts (Nani, Vessy and Alan) talked to us a lot about the upcoming journey (a sort of travel orientation session). Bonus: some Bulgarian Folk Dancers (with their musicians) treated us to some of their special celebratory dancing! Note for my daughters: they grabbed people from the crowd to dance with them but I didn’t join this time. By the time the festivities ended (2100), I felt like I’d really gotten to know about 25% of the other tour group members. This percentage will definitely increase during our excursion travel tomorrow. On the way to my room, I stopped at the hotel front desk and convinced the clerk to give me some small Bulgarian coins. In my room, I did some blogging and reading until going to bed at 2330. After seeing almost everything of interest mentioned in my guidebook, my overall impression is that Sofia is a very interesting city, full of lots of memorable landmarks, friendly people, good exchange rates and a bewildering language/alphabet. Very glad I visited this unique place!
