After being awake for 28 hours we finally hit the hay. We stayed in a cute hotel with big, clean rooms. We had lunch at a BBQ place on the way and the group enjoyed sausages, spicy meatballs, chicken skewers, and other meats (sorry I can't recall the dish names). For dinner we all had dishes centered around cheese (pizza, flat bread, cheese potato hotdish) except for Niko who had little fried fish called 'sprat' (kinda like smelt) and chicken livers.
The second day we walked around town looking at places that Lauren remembered (including a park that she helped get constructed). And ate more delicious food including a homemade lunch at one of Lauren's friends (dill-cucumber-yogurt-salad, dilled potatoes, tomato salad, chicken, homemade brandy).
A few observations about this country:
1) the countryside between the Sofia (the capital) and Elena is beautiful. Green rolling hills with some forests. Elena is very pretty and green.
2) as with other countries, driving like crazy is more common and the roads can be downright dangerous. It's not as bad as Africa but it's common to see cars passing others on the highway and missing other cars (including oncoming traffic) by mere feet.
3) the country is home to a large Roma population. These people have a reputation for not settling down, criminal activities, and living a lifestyle that to some, can appear to be 'non-productive to society'. Some live in poverty conditions and you can see them on carts with horses or donkeys. And just like the challenges we face with minorities in our country, there seems to be strong opinions as to how (and whether) to help them.
4) they sell a lot of different kinds of candy here. Including Kindereggs and this tube of chocolate you can squeeze out like toothpaste.
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