It was a grey and cold morning that the team woke up to. They rolled by 9.45 am and checked out the main local sights. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is an Orthodox Cathedral in the centre of the city, towering, huge and imposing. It is the biggest and most beautiful Orthodox Cathedral in Bulgaria. The inside of the Cathedral is just as beautiful and can hold about 10,000 people. The interiors were decorated with Italian marble in various colours, Brazilian onyx, alabaster, and other luxurious materials. The cathedral crypt is also worth visiting. At the cathedral, quite a few curious people saw them and asked about our trip .
They then saw the ruins of Sofia. Sofia was built thousands of years ago. As an ancient city, there are some ruins left from the past times which are now today's tourist hotspots.
The Church of St George 's Rotonda -"Sveti Georgi”, was built by the Romans in the 4th century, it is a cylindrical, domed structure built on a square base. It is believed that it was built on the site of a pagan temple, though the original purpose of the building was for public use. The building is famous for the 12th-, 13th- and 14th-century frescoes inside the central dome. Three layers of frescoes have been discovered, the earliest dating back to the 10th century. Magnificent frescoes of 22 prophets over 2 metres tall crown the dome. Painted over during the Ottoman period, when the building was used as a mosque, these frescoes were only uncovered and restored in the 20th century.
They were enraptured in the beauty of the Church, but they to keep track of time, and so they hurriedly tanked up fuel and exited Sofia. Exiting Bulgaria was simple, for there were hardly any cars. But at the Macedonia entry, they were asked for insurance, which the officer said was not valid although Macedonia is mentioned on it. He kept saying “problem, problem" and wanted to them to buy another one issued in Macedonia, so they obliged and bought another Insurance valid for 15 days although they were technically in the country for 2 days only .
Macedonia seemed a lot like Greece. Mountains, mist and fog can be traced across its land. Their hotel was simple to find, and the receptionist Philip pointed out briefed them on sights to see and places to eat. The hotel was centrally located and everything was at walkable distance .
The cultural offering was immense. From the Triumphal Gate to the giant statue of Alexander the Great. There were also numerous museums surrounding the area and the old stone bridge. They wandered on the main square, on the multiple ornate bridges and had dinner at a restaurant by the river. It was still cold and chilly.
This city is also famous for the fact that Mother Theresa was born here and spent her early years here until she was 18.
This city had a cultural extravaganza to offer to those who sought history and beauty, for there were years of war, bloodshed, love and strength infused in every stone that built the city.