Sofia, part two
This is where the photos run rampant! Accompanied, of course, by my enlightening commentary.
Garibaldi Square. Thanks to Cabin Pressure and the Garibaldi Hotel in Cremona, the name never fails to make me cackle. :D
The ads for durex were abundant. O_o
It made even these whatsits horny. *cough* (Sorry, can't turn off the 5 yo slasher goggles...)
These were the accessibility improvements for most of the metro or underground passageways that I saw. I have no idea how actually helpful they are, the slope looks terrifying to me, but they were at least useful for mother-propelled buggies.
There was a computer sciences related con of sorts, and this open-air exhibition accompanied it. I really liked this painting.
Within the same small area there were a mosque, a synagogue, a Catholic cathedral and an Orthodox church. (There were a lot more of the latter one, since that's the majority confession, much like in Romania.)
This is the mosque:
The mosque again, this time with 100% more fountain.
I forgot what this building was, something related to architecture and architects.
The statue of Wisdom, or Sophia, watching over her city.
House is apparently very popular. :D
St Petka church, which was nestled in a commercial complex below ground level. (I speculate that the well-known phenomenon of city sinking has occurred, but I have no idea.)
The KGB and Metallica, t-shirt neighbours...
This building was obsessing me (I saw it on the way to and from the hotel every day), so I had to go and take a photo.
And I did good, because this has led to the discovery of a... sculpture... monument... thingy below:
The owl is still my favourite, but the emerging turtle is a worthy contestant!
A shopping mall. I didn't go in, I had no money (see previous Sofia post).
The synagogue:
The Catholic cathedral:
A building decorated with the inspiring image of a hand holding a hammer!
I was expecting the other hand to be holding the sickle, but no, just another hammer. ;)
Sophia, again. She looked much better in the light of the sun, but by the time the sun deigned to show its face on Tuesday I was already in another part of the city.
St George church, in St George square! I'm very grateful to the map, or I wouldn't have thought of entering inside what looked like boring admin buildings (and were actually the Sheraton, IIRC; oops)
I love how the universal language differed from place to place. *g* Here it was French.
The remains of a public Roman building transformed into church (in the 5th century possibly?), west of a Roman road and the oldest preserved construction in Sofia
St George church built in the 4th century
National... Assembly? I think.
A ministry (or is that State Secretariat? In English I mean. Is it surprising that I'm better with fannish words than with political ones? ;) )
I was rather cautious, just in case they weren't as used to people gawking and taking photos as the long-suffering British soldiers at Buckingham Palace.
Museum of Archeology.
Guess what the paper stuck to the door says. :P
I think this was an art gallery? I love the musical notes on its roof.
This was the most dignified stray dog I have ever seen, and living in Bucharest, I have seen hundreds.
This kid was adorable, doing what I loved doing as a little!Enigel too, but without rubber boots or parental approval. :D I think he seemed a bit dismayed too that he was allowed to do this...
The lovely park in front of the National Theatre.
It was so strange, this elegant lonely old man with his chess table, and that huge crowd of old men kibitzing a pair of chess players.
Reflections of old buildings into new ones, one of my favourite tropes as photographer.
Adam and Eve remix?
National Theatre Ivan Vazov
Autumn! Shining gold and copper onto a lovely park!
I have no idea. But it's brilliant. :D
One of the happiest statues of elderly men I've seen. They're usually relegated to solemn, mournful postures, but not this guy.
Fake bird feeder. I used the last breath in my battery to take this photo, then got a brilliant idea: instead of moping around unable to express myself artistically, I should find a place to recharge both my camera and my belly in the same time! (I was starving by that point, and kept the boiled egg from the hotel breakfast as a last resort.)
And guess what - I did find such a place! Three meters from the bird feeder! The statues and the park were joined by a lovely bistro, a smoker-friendly one alas, but very cozy and friendly in general, which had a free table next to a power socket, and served sandwiches and cookies and fruit juice cocktails.
It was behind the Ethnographic Museum, I think. The only downside was that they couldn't take card payments, so I had to make a fool of myself by not having enough cash, run to an ATM, and run back with the money. But I fully recommend the Toba&co bistro on 6 Moskovska St, if you're ever in Sofia.
On to a trio of Orthodox churches: St. Sophia, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and the Russian Church.
St. Sophia:
St. Alexander Nevsky:
A lion gazing thoughtfully at the cathedral
It's not just my camera, it was really, really dark inside. It was also forbidden to take photos, but I didn't use the flash, which is usually what really annoys people, especially people who are trying to pray.
It's really big, for an Eastern Orthodox church (Alexander Nevsky Cathedral), too bad that the inside was so dark.
The Russian church
Back to St. Sophia:
It was also not allowed to take photos, but I was stealthy, because I loved the look of the bare brick walls too much. (For the reference, interior walls of Orthodox churches are rarely bare; they're usually entirely covered in paintings - saints, scenes from the Bible, sometimes the people who've contributed to building the church.)
This is also a rather sparse, but typical altar door (I don't know what they're called in Romanian, much less if they have an English equivalent.)
Back out on the streets: street poetry! A poem by Fernando Pessoa. I could google it (since my Spanish doesn't extend further than "hola"), but I'm too lazy.
The f-list knows all: what are those alien fruit things?
Autumn again, in another park. This was in the university neighbourhood, and I think that was the area I liked most. The park was host to an art exhibition, there was a medieval piper playing, and there were lots of animated and happier-looking people.
The piper and his friends, by St. Kliment Ohridski's statue
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski
This handmade kitteh is now mine! I was hurrying to the train station, didn't have any more stuff to buy (well, I could have used some more food, but...) and I saw a shop window. And I just couldn't let the cat there, he wanted to come with me.
A monument to the doctors who died in the war
This cheery locomotive was, where else, in the Central Train Station. *g* And the lingua franca of choice here seemed to be German - the explanations were in Bulgarian and German, so I remain only vaguely enlightened.
If you prefer Dreamwidth, you can reply or read the
comment(s) there.
Garibaldi Square. Thanks to Cabin Pressure and the Garibaldi Hotel in Cremona, the name never fails to make me cackle. :D
The ads for durex were abundant. O_o
It made even these whatsits horny. *cough* (Sorry, can't turn off the 5 yo slasher goggles...)
These were the accessibility improvements for most of the metro or underground passageways that I saw. I have no idea how actually helpful they are, the slope looks terrifying to me, but they were at least useful for mother-propelled buggies.
There was a computer sciences related con of sorts, and this open-air exhibition accompanied it. I really liked this painting.
Within the same small area there were a mosque, a synagogue, a Catholic cathedral and an Orthodox church. (There were a lot more of the latter one, since that's the majority confession, much like in Romania.)
This is the mosque:
The mosque again, this time with 100% more fountain.
I forgot what this building was, something related to architecture and architects.
The statue of Wisdom, or Sophia, watching over her city.
House is apparently very popular. :D
St Petka church, which was nestled in a commercial complex below ground level. (I speculate that the well-known phenomenon of city sinking has occurred, but I have no idea.)
The KGB and Metallica, t-shirt neighbours...
This building was obsessing me (I saw it on the way to and from the hotel every day), so I had to go and take a photo.
And I did good, because this has led to the discovery of a... sculpture... monument... thingy below:
The owl is still my favourite, but the emerging turtle is a worthy contestant!
A shopping mall. I didn't go in, I had no money (see previous Sofia post).
The synagogue:
The Catholic cathedral:
A building decorated with the inspiring image of a hand holding a hammer!
I was expecting the other hand to be holding the sickle, but no, just another hammer. ;)
Sophia, again. She looked much better in the light of the sun, but by the time the sun deigned to show its face on Tuesday I was already in another part of the city.
St George church, in St George square! I'm very grateful to the map, or I wouldn't have thought of entering inside what looked like boring admin buildings (and were actually the Sheraton, IIRC; oops)
I love how the universal language differed from place to place. *g* Here it was French.
The remains of a public Roman building transformed into church (in the 5th century possibly?), west of a Roman road and the oldest preserved construction in Sofia
St George church built in the 4th century
National... Assembly? I think.
A ministry (or is that State Secretariat? In English I mean. Is it surprising that I'm better with fannish words than with political ones? ;) )
I was rather cautious, just in case they weren't as used to people gawking and taking photos as the long-suffering British soldiers at Buckingham Palace.
Museum of Archeology.
Guess what the paper stuck to the door says. :P
I think this was an art gallery? I love the musical notes on its roof.
This was the most dignified stray dog I have ever seen, and living in Bucharest, I have seen hundreds.
This kid was adorable, doing what I loved doing as a little!Enigel too, but without rubber boots or parental approval. :D I think he seemed a bit dismayed too that he was allowed to do this...
The lovely park in front of the National Theatre.
It was so strange, this elegant lonely old man with his chess table, and that huge crowd of old men kibitzing a pair of chess players.
Reflections of old buildings into new ones, one of my favourite tropes as photographer.
Adam and Eve remix?
National Theatre Ivan Vazov
Autumn! Shining gold and copper onto a lovely park!
I have no idea. But it's brilliant. :D
One of the happiest statues of elderly men I've seen. They're usually relegated to solemn, mournful postures, but not this guy.
Fake bird feeder. I used the last breath in my battery to take this photo, then got a brilliant idea: instead of moping around unable to express myself artistically, I should find a place to recharge both my camera and my belly in the same time! (I was starving by that point, and kept the boiled egg from the hotel breakfast as a last resort.)
And guess what - I did find such a place! Three meters from the bird feeder! The statues and the park were joined by a lovely bistro, a smoker-friendly one alas, but very cozy and friendly in general, which had a free table next to a power socket, and served sandwiches and cookies and fruit juice cocktails.
It was behind the Ethnographic Museum, I think. The only downside was that they couldn't take card payments, so I had to make a fool of myself by not having enough cash, run to an ATM, and run back with the money. But I fully recommend the Toba&co bistro on 6 Moskovska St, if you're ever in Sofia.
On to a trio of Orthodox churches: St. Sophia, St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, and the Russian Church.
St. Sophia:
St. Alexander Nevsky:
A lion gazing thoughtfully at the cathedral
It's not just my camera, it was really, really dark inside. It was also forbidden to take photos, but I didn't use the flash, which is usually what really annoys people, especially people who are trying to pray.
It's really big, for an Eastern Orthodox church (Alexander Nevsky Cathedral), too bad that the inside was so dark.
The Russian church
Back to St. Sophia:
It was also not allowed to take photos, but I was stealthy, because I loved the look of the bare brick walls too much. (For the reference, interior walls of Orthodox churches are rarely bare; they're usually entirely covered in paintings - saints, scenes from the Bible, sometimes the people who've contributed to building the church.)
This is also a rather sparse, but typical altar door (I don't know what they're called in Romanian, much less if they have an English equivalent.)
Back out on the streets: street poetry! A poem by Fernando Pessoa. I could google it (since my Spanish doesn't extend further than "hola"), but I'm too lazy.
The f-list knows all: what are those alien fruit things?
Autumn again, in another park. This was in the university neighbourhood, and I think that was the area I liked most. The park was host to an art exhibition, there was a medieval piper playing, and there were lots of animated and happier-looking people.
The piper and his friends, by St. Kliment Ohridski's statue
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski
This handmade kitteh is now mine! I was hurrying to the train station, didn't have any more stuff to buy (well, I could have used some more food, but...) and I saw a shop window. And I just couldn't let the cat there, he wanted to come with me.
A monument to the doctors who died in the war
This cheery locomotive was, where else, in the Central Train Station. *g* And the lingua franca of choice here seemed to be German - the explanations were in Bulgarian and German, so I remain only vaguely enlightened.
If you prefer Dreamwidth, you can reply or read the
comment(s) there.