The following doesn’t have much to do with CETMA happenings, but a few CETMA Facebook friends have expressed interest in this, so I’ll post.
NOW: Flickr photo essay - CLICK HERE.
I recently returned from Bulgaria. My wife and I traveled there to visit my father-in-law, who works as a make-up artist for the film industry. He’s on location in the capital city of Sofia filming the new Stallone movie, Expendables 2, and invited us to come visit the set and explore the country. Since this was a perfect opportunity to visit a strange corner of the world, see family, and embrace adventure, we booked a flight and dove in!
Day 1 - Inbound flight, first impression.
My wife and I are in a strange country called Bulgaria. We’ve just arrived in the evening and the sun is setting. It’s very cold. We flew in a jet airplane to Amsterdam first, and stayed there for a few hours. Then we boarded another jet plane and flew to Bulgaria. All the men have shaved heads and look like mafia. The women look like models. Lots of high-heels and techno music. The streets are narrow and taxi cabs run everywhere. The smell of burning leaves permeates the air. Cara and I have been awake for over 24 hours but no matter, we’re going out for pizza and wine and to meet people. Tomorrow we’ll explore every inch of this place. I saw a lot of burned-out buildings I wanna explore, and there’s a whole lot of commie-era factories and crap that I need to check out. Also, maybe we’ll rent a motorcycle and go into the country. Greece is just to the south. I want to see that place. PICTURES COMING.
Day 2 - Ancient ruins, local liqueur, sleep deprivation, and techno music.
I woke up at 5am and watched very strange Bulgarian television. It was still dark and the temperature outside was nearly freezing. I looked outside the second-story window and saw no signs of life. Cara slept.
Cara woke up and we made coffee. The television news showed people rioting in Athens and New York City. The footage was very graphic and unlike what I was used to seeing in my country. Then I watched Bulgarian music videos, Bulgarian cartoons, Bulgarian talk shows, and Bulgarian soap operas. Cara dressed and prepared for our day. Soon we left our building to explore.
We aimed toward the town center of Sofia. The sky was clear and the sun was up. We wandered through neighborhoods. Some houses were abandoned and looked like a big bomb hit them. I shouted at a stray dog to get away from us. My ears and nose were numb from the cold. Frost covered everything. People were beginning to go to work. We stumbled upon a closet-sized corner pastry shop. Inside, the smell of fresh bread and coffee permeated. My glasses fogged up and I ordered two coffees and a pastry thing for us. The woman there didn’t speak our language so we motioned to what we wanted.
We continued walking, mainly without direction. Trains rolled by and auto exhaust filled the air. There were a lot of people waiting for buses and walking. Everyone looked serious. It was early and COLD.
Soon we were in the city center and our minds were getting blown. We began to see buildings which were several hundred years old. Some of the people also appeared to be several hundred years old. The city was coming alive now.
At 11am we joined a two-hour walking tour of Sofia, hosted by a local. We visited ancient churches from the Middle Ages, a Mosque, drank from warm natural mineral springs, and descended underground to see original roads and ruins from the ancient Roman Empire.
When the tour ended, we asked the guide to recommend a place to eat. Soon we were eating weird lunch in an underground restaurant. We drank beer and an awesome local liqueur made from apricots.
The town center of Sofia was bustling with people. There were street vendors selling things and beautiful courtyards full of elderly people in groups talking.
At this point sleep-deprivation was taking a toll so Cara and I hailed a cab back to our apartment. The driver spoke no English. Techno music played on the radio.
At the apartment we slept for a few hours and then ate dinner. Afterward, we visited the market to buy a few things.
It’s now nearly midnight and we will probably go out soon for a drink or two. There are a lot of nightclubs here.
Day 3 - Directionless fun in Sofia.
From Cara’s journal: ”Already craving American breakfast, I cooked up scrambled eggs, potatoes, toast & jam in our apartment. Long walk all over town with my pop and my husband, each of us trying to top the other’s fake Bulgarian accent. The sun was out and we barely noticed the cold. A lot of people were making bold fashion statements. Italian coffee at a touristy cafe, hot crepes at a French-style (yet extremely Bulgarian) food cart. Lane & I later went to a fancy hotel lounge for a sip. The bartender, Yordanka, practiced her English on us and presented a bowl of “vury spayshull Japaniss wafer, but make from rice. Careful, a leettle spice.” It was Oriental Snack Mix. We acted impressed, anyway. Now we’re resting, perhaps nightlife is in our future…?”
Day 4 - The Gypsy flea market, mountain-climbing, The Snake.
Floro, our local guide/driver, brought us to the Bulgarian capital outskirts to visit a Gypsy flea market. A thousand things I wanted to buy and take home but since proposing a purchase is a huge production of bartering/begging in a language and custom I barely understand, I was happy with taking sly photos only. After, we drove through the ghetto amongst horse-drawn carriages to a cafe called The Snake for a beer and salad and coffee and pizza. Floro said the place was sketchy “but daytime is okay and it’s my place not to worry”. The actor Jean-Claude Van Damme (also in Expendables 2) has been causing fights around town and was recently here “breaking plates”. Later, we drove in the van up a mountain to a commie-era communications tower 7000 feet above the City. The air was thin and I felt like I could have fallen over the cliff. Then, a trip to the movie studio to look around a little. Dinner at our apartment, then I drank a big beer and slept for ten hours.
Day 5 - On the Expendables 2 set, making friends.
In the morning, our friend Floro was waiting outside our apartment to pick us up. Floro is a local Bulgarian and a bad-ass. He works for the movie studio and is a guide and driver for my father-in-law, the make-up artist for the new Stallone film called Expendables 2, which is being filmed here. Floro hangs around and is sort of a personal assistant. He’s a good guy and our friend.
We drove to the studio where filming was already in progress. The day’s shoot took place on a soundstage and featured a scene in which the actors were crawling out of a crashed airplane. There was fake smoke and the actors were fake sweating.
In between shots, we said hello to the fellas in the movie and met some of the crew. Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Dolph Lundgren, a Chinese actress named Nan Yu, and later Sylvester Stallone. All nice people, gracious and friendly but obviously busy and in work-mode. Cara used to hang with Sly for a while when she was younger, so it was a nice moment to see them reunite.
Soon after we decided it was time to go, so Floro drove Cara and I into the city to leave us to explore. We aimed for a sushi place and had tempura first with whiskey and vodka drinks.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur of wandering through narrow streets, discovering strange bars and cafes and saying hello to people. Our drinks were adding up and we began to get tipsy, the sun had gone down, and the clock said only 6:30pm. It was shaping up to be an early night.
Visited a McDonald’s to try a thing called “Hobo”, but no one knew what that was because it turned out Hobo means “new”.
Later, we had wine in a cafe, made friends with a little kid on a skateboard, had Gelato, beers in a smoky bar, visited some bohemian apartment/cafe, and then hailed a cab back to our apartment for bed.
Day 6 - Ghettos and locals.
A solid day of walking Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. An in-apartment breakfast by Cara, then coffee at the cafe. Taxi dropped us near city-center and we aimed north-west through ghettos to find an elusive outdoor market home to produce and junk-sellers. I scored a bitchin’ green Mafia track suit with BULGARIA emblazoned across the back which required more than a few minutes of squabbling. A miracle falafel house discovery made a good place to rest and the friendly Arabs declared “Obama problem!” to us. I thought to myself, “Yeah, also Egypt, Syria, Libya, Greece, Italy, not to mention your teeth, guys…” More wandering through ancient ‘hood which seemed to be in active collapse. Difficult to discern which doors were businesses and which were just abandoned—a hard pull on the door usually revealed the answer. A Bulgarian record store blew my mind, all kinds of local rock/pop. Swastika graffiti is very popular. Had beers in a hotel bar, then met an online acquaintance in person at an underground walkway and shared drinks at a bar. Afterward, Cara and I caught a taxi to a hi-rise sushi place for mediocre rolls but great people watching. Everything is inexpensive in Sofia. Cab ride across town is less than two bucks. Went home and crashed before midnight.
Day 7 - Drinking Boza, Bulgarian heavy-metal.
Cara and I walked from our apartment to the city center in search of something to eat and a few souvenirs. We chose an unfamiliar route and discovered a bowling alley—a few lanes inside but no action—looked like a nightclub. Found a pastry shop and had a spinach-thing and a cold, brown grain drink called Boza. Blechh…the drink went right in the trash and a local in her car watched me gag and laughed. In downtown we had wine in a pub, no matter it was before noon. Then wandered and haggled with locals to buy a few things. Later, found a salon and Cara stopped to have a few things done while I visited the neighborhood alone. Found a heavy-metal joint and other strange places. Finally, back to the apartment to pack our things and prepare for the plane-trip home the next morning. Drank wine and slept.
Day 8 - Sofia, Rome, Atlanta.
5am, the taxi drove us to Sofia Airport. A small jet flew us to Rome where we stayed for a few hours in the sun eating food and watching people. Italians are much more outgoing and demonstrative than Bulgarians. The airport cafe was lively. Our outbound flight was delayed, so our airline re-routed us and compensated us with a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Fine with us, but our fellow travelers seemed to enjoy wallowing in the inconvenience. A beautiful flight, trouble-free. Around 11pm, found a late-night hotel restaurant for a fish/fries/Tequila Thanksgiving dinner which I was VERY thankful for. Army dudes at the bar seemed to be relatively upbeat too. Now in Atlanta, drinking a beer in the Comfort Inn with my beautiful wife on Thanksgiving, reminiscing about wonderful Bulgaria. Everything’s fine. I am thankful.
Day 9 - Atlanta, Portland, Eugene.
In the morning we boarded a plane and blasted from Atlanta west across blue sky to Portland. Rented a car and headed into the city for lunch. Ran into a friend on the street and I gave her leftover Bulgarian money souvenir. Cara and I ate Thai food and drove home. Now ready for bed: our internal clocks are on Bulgarian time and it feels like 5:30am, been up all night…Bye!
