National Palace of Culture
Our train arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria about 9 PM. The bus station was situated near the train station, so was going to buy a bus ticket to my next location: Skopje, North Macedonia.
The train station was virtually empty and dark and covered with very well designed graffiti as I made my way to purchase my bus ticket.
Unfortunately, the ticket office was closed, but a helpful information staff member told me which bus company went to Skopje and that they were two departure times: 7 AM and 5:30 PM
Fortunately, my cell phone was working as was Google Maps as I made my way to The Bla Bla Hostel where I had made reservations for two nights a few days before. I passed by this mosque as it was beginning to get dark.
When I arrived, the receptionist, Dali— he has a droopy mustache like the real Dali—told me although I had made reservations, I couldn’t stay there because I was too old. He asked me if I read the notes on the booking page. I said that I read some, but not much. He said the maximum age here was noted up to 55 years old and older people gave off the wrong vibes.
I told him I was tired, the notification was in small print. I said they should’ve highlighted in the initial description of the Hostel and not buried in pages of text.
Dali tried to call his boss to see if I could stay, but he didn’t connect, but he ended up telling me I could stay one night, but forfeit the second night.
Instead of a room with eight bunks, Dali upgraded me to one with two bunks, and I immediately went to sleep.
In the morning, i got my five euro key deposit back and headed to The Mostel Hostel for one night.
After a 15 minute walk, I got there about 9:30 AM and the receptionist said I could store my bags there until check-in at 3 PM. Here’s the bunkbed I stayed in.
I later got a WhatsApp message from the Turquoise Hostel staff back in Romania, that I left behind an electronic device. He agreed to mail it home to me, and I told him I would pay for the shipping via Western Union or PayPal or some other system. I thanked them very much for this help. I’m so glad the manager insisted on getting me added to his WhatsApp file.
As I headed down to the tourist areas, I found a wonderful place for breakfast called 718 Ood where I had a delicious quiche, salad, mango-passionfruit smoothie and coffee latte for €19. Check out the two scorpion patterns on the Café latte.
A great way to start off to start touring Sofia, Bulgaria.
The Mostel Hostel gave me a walking tour map guide, and I used that to see the highlights. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful buildings in Sophia.
Fairly close to my hostel, I found this beautiful walking street loaded with stores and restaurants. I even saw a wedding party with a photographer, busy back, peddling and taking pictures
I stopped at this one called Iuzini Vetar, and had two delicious pork-scallops smothered in a tasty mushroom sauce with another great salad and fries.
I got up early to catch the 7 AM bus to Skopje, North Macedonia with a half-hour walk in the early morning rain. Along the way I got flaky pastry filled with cheese and coffee from a Turkish baker.
The Kaleia bus left right at 7 AM in the rain toward Skopje, North Macedonia. We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and two immigration border crossings.
It was still raining as we pulled into the Skopje North Macedonia bus Station. From the Bus Station, it was about a 20 minute walk to the Mickitos Urban Hostel.
It is much better to be driving in the rain than touring outside in the rain. This is unexpected weather for summertime.
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