Traveling in Sofia...

As I said in my previous post, I was in Sofia this past week. And man, sometimes it can really suck to be traveling in Sofia. I generally don't mind Sofia and I was actually looking forward to getting away for a bit to the big city, with the great weather, and hoping to meet up with some friends. Well, I got to the big city, I met up with friends, but the good weather had suddenly disappeared. For the last couple months Bulgaria has had nothing but beautiful weather, reaching pretty high temperatures. Those highs seemed to have faded this week in Sofia as I was met with pouring rain, thunder and lightning, and the muddy streets of the big city.

(Inside a typical tram in Sofia...my public transportation.)

Normally the rain wouldn't bother me. If I had an umbrella and real shoes I would get over the mud. But I came to Sofia expecting hot weather and nothing but sunshine, meaning I packed no umbrella and wore flip flops for the first time all year. BUST! But all of this reminds me of a book I read awhile back.

In "Cafe Europa: Life After Communism", Slavenka Drakulic writes...

"You might associate mud with rural areas, but in Eastern European cities it returns to haunt you, the ghost of your peasant origins. I remember that in rained early that morning, and as I walked towards the old marketplace in the center, I thought I'd never get there. The streets were covered with mud and were so slippery that it was dangerous to walk there. It appeared under the asphalt, through holes and cracks - brownish, sticky, greasy, just like shit. I tried to watch my step, jumping over puddles, but there there was no way of escaping the mud. It stuck to the soles of my shoes, splashing high up to my knees..."

Nothing could be more true in a country where they continue to replace streets and sidewalks of broken tiles with more tiles that will inevitably break soon too. Why not just pave the sidewalks? Who knows. But until then, the mud will always return from hiding under the patched roads and cobblestones, waiting for its chance to overtake the city. The mud follows you home too, on your shoes and the bottom of your pants. Grrr..