There's MORE than JUST the INNERCITY in SOFIA, BULGARIA

[@BgMasterGames]

You should've been more generous with the bell-ringing! Everyone is allowed to do so, despite what the sign says. I live in the neighbourhood right next to the monument, and it brings me endless joy to listen to the distant rings, it is weirdly enchanting, especially combined with the serenity of the area and the sounds of nature, even during the harshest of winters. I'm so happy that you came to see that truly inspiring piece of Sofia's history!

[@wattstraveling]

If we make our way back out there before we leave, we'll ring them just for you! 👍 thank you for watching!

[@udififkfkfck]

​@@wattstravelinghalf the bells from the Children's Assembly "Flag of the peace" were stolen in 90s during the Great Daylight Robbery of BG when everything that can be stolen aka privatized was stolen (privatized) even the stolen was stolen from the stolen! The idea of the Assembly was chosen pointed kids of parents from leftist movements of each country around the world to meet here & start getting used to it with different cultures to establish contacts these kids were looked like future leftist leaders of their countries following the steps of their parents or grannies. A small investment investment in future, DS (the Bulgarian KGB) stuff.

[@eeeee6717]

Finally someone goes to the better part of town, I would recommend going up past NDK (towards the mountain) into the 2-3 neighborhoods above (Lozenec, Ivan Vazov, Vitosha), you can go by foot to Paradise mall (quite a steep hill) or take the metro there. Those are our old fancy neighborhoods and our YUPy new areas where young families buy apartments if they have a bit more disposable income.

[@wattstraveling]

Thanks! We really liked it out by the business park, a lot of construction but nice to nice the contrast from old to new! Thank you for watching

[@crystalm1122]

Oh I want to see this area too when I come back. Thanks for these tips.

[@vesmog]

The heat in BG is bigger problem than the cold. And one more piece of advice - Sofia has 2 big problems, air polution in winter and is far away from The Sea. All the same some ppl live there. Dont stay too long in BG - you will fall in love.

[@wattstraveling]

👍

[@nbss]

1:52 you were blocked cause you kept scanning the turnstile on your right while trying to pass through the turnstile on your left. For some unknown reason Sofia Metro is designed for lefties and it can get confusing

[@wattstraveling]

Good catch! 👍

[@mmmnnnnnnmmm]

Most of the buildings that you saw in "Business Park Sofia" are built around 2003-2007, so most of them are 20 years old or older :)

[@wattstraveling]

So they are like brand new compared to down town Sofia! 🤣🤣🤣

[@mmmnnnnnnmmm]

@@wattstraveling yeah, a good point :) I worked in the construction on some of them as an electrician when I was still in Uni in 2006 and now I'm almost 40 haha ... The "kambanite" monument look like it's out of the city limits, but it's surrounded by many new housing projects that are spreading up towards the mountain. You can't really see them because of the woods. They are slowly cutting the trees in these higher altitude areas because the air is more clean than in the downtown and building "closed" residential complexes.

[@wattstraveling]

@mmmnnnnnnmmm yes, just on the city limits, I loved the monument 😍 good for you, working on those construction sites! Thank you for watching

[@wattstraveling]

@mmmnnnnnnmmm yes, just on the city limits, I loved the monument 😍 good for you, working on those construction sites! Thank you for watching

[@cheryll8008]

Thanks for the video, the bell monument place is definitely the highlight! Glad you found Canada there 😂

[@wattstraveling]

Hi Cheryl 👋 it really was a cool monument! I'm not so glad about the Canadian weather 🤣

[@kengraves6425]

Would like to see Varna or Burgas if you decide to do a road trip since I like the beach.

[@wattstraveling]

We are hoping to get there at some point! 👍 thanks for watching

[@crystalm1122]

That pastry I was able to translate to kashtkaval - simply cheese cake, not much different than banitsa it seems, but kashkaval is the word for yellow cheese compared to sirineh which is the traditional white cheese. Vitosha mountain back there I hear is great for hiking with many trails and huts. We didn't get there ourselves, but hopefully next time we are in Sofia. Oh My.. thanks for the shout out. I'm happy to see what is out there, we never got out of the city ourselves. I love that you showed this area, it looks so different from anything I have yet experienced in Bulgaria. I have never seen any other Bulgarian travel vids showing this. I had not heard of this monument before. I did see other monuments or displays that represent the unity of peoples of the world in peace. I really liked vibe. I agree about the grafitti too, but then there is the street art which is beautiful and poignant. Since I keep my eye close on Varna I did notice a bit of snow last week, but then saw a pic from two days ago where it was 14C so I like that since we are planning to move there. I wanted to add that I really love your style and enjoy watching your videos, and I am not saying that just because of our connection.

[@wattstraveling]

Awe, thank you Crystal ❤️ today was 50C and sun! It was nice to explore!

[@snappymonkey]

-18 with the wind chill today yesterday it was -27, Great video, liked the bells, I was wondering if you were going to be going to a Costco or something similar. How about a shopping and snacks video.

[@wattstraveling]

Hey, thanks for watching! Yes, I'm hoping to do a shopping video soon 👍 -27..... yeah I heard it's crazy cold right now back home!

[@georgisimov4685]

I'm sure someone already told you that, but when you scanned your ticket, you should've use the entrace on your immediate right and you were always trying the one on the left. That's why it didn't let you through

[@wattstraveling]

👍we are going to try again. Lol

[@airforcebg]

Consider traveling to Plovdiv. Not that busy as in Sofia, snow is rare and it is cozy here.

[@wattstraveling]

@@airforcebg weer are hoping to visit! Have heard lots of good things 👍 thank you for watching

[@nadejda1]

The crazy thing on the subway stations is, that you have to hold your pass with your left hand and scan on the left machine. I have witnessed many confused people as I was myself at first. There must have been a sale on scanning machines or something, otherwise I have no explanation, why we have the machines as we are а nation of lefties 😂.

[@wattstraveling]

OMG....I was doing the exact same thing! A sale for sure! 🤣🤣

[@tinamartina1801]

Ohh, my country. I live now in the Netherlands, because personal issues,but I miss it. The breakfast thing, Called " banitza " is a traditional breakfast 😋 so delicious I envy you. People are great, I prefer Sofia than province❤🎉

[@wattstraveling]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@nickmastera]

The red-white building you wondered about is an apartment building.

[@wattstraveling]

@@nickmastera awwe.... interesting.... looked like a hotel. It was nice looking. Thanks Nick 👍

[@TimeToTravel-u2x]

Buddy looks like the guy on the Log Drivers Waltz!

[@wattstraveling]

Not familiar with that?

[@TimeToTravel-u2x]

@wattstraveling ohhhh come on!...CBC.. played at lunch...every Gen X Canadian kid knows it!...the cartoon with the guy riding the logs😁

[@wattstraveling]

I had to look it up! 🤣🤣🤣

[@TimeToTravel-u2x]

@@wattstraveling 😁...

[@СтоянАлександров-н4б]

In southern Bulgaria, the temperatures are much higher than the winter weather in Sofia!

[@wattstraveling]

Looking forward to exploring the coast!

[@Vasil_Hristov]

About the graffiti, most of them are just some text or so called "tags" which are like signature, so they're no more art than a dog's piss marking its territory, scuse my french. I'm glad you're enjoying Bulgaria. 😊 Not to be alarmed or anything, but we did have in Sofia -28c for 7-10 days in less than 10 years ago, but it's rare.

[@wattstraveling]

Yeah I agree about the graffiti... it's a shame. Yeah, I'm not sure i could do -28 🥶

[@TimAllisonPardy]

Celsius! lol I always wonder why you use Fahrenheit and I never look up the conversion lol. 🤷🏼‍♀️😂😂

[@wattstraveling]

🤣🤣🤣

[@smcPorter1]

You can just go Greece for the winter ;) and come back to Bulgaria in march.

[@wattstraveling]

I like that! ❤️

[@vasil.kamdzhalov]

The title of the video is wrong, the name of the country is misspelled.

[@wattstraveling]

Hey thank you very much! Fixed. Appreciate it

[@TzvetozarCherkezov]

Hi, you said in the clip that Bulgaria only became part of the Schengen Area in January. That is not true. Bulgaria became part of the Schengen Area on the 31st of March, 2024. Meaning that if you were flying in Bulgaria from other Schengen states, there was no border control after that date. What happened on the 1st of January was that the border control on land borders with Romania and Greece was also suspended. That's relevant only if you're coming in Bulgaria by car through those two countries.

[@wattstraveling]

@TzvetozarCherkezov yes, what's what I think Jay was referring too, he just didn't clarify. 👍

[@K_R_N.]

22:50 The amount of cigarettes I've smoked in this exact spot is huge

[@wattstraveling]

🤣

[@odalv316]

Catch a train to Plovdiv, Hisarya, Veliko Turnovo and other Bulgarian cities.

[@wattstraveling]

That's that plan! 👍

[@mitkodimitrov8396]

this is Kashkaval hihi,yellow bulgarian cheese.There was one woman,when this was made,she made Asembly flag of peace(Asamblea zname na Mira) for the kids,from all world,but she was murdered ,from non bulgarians to be stopped.Plovdiv is the suniest and verry different than Sofia,is hot and oldest in Europe btw:)

[@wattstraveling]

Wow, that's sad!

[@jeffright6627]

Both of you are above average even for Canadian standards.You cant compare women market in Sofia when people mainly work in agriculture and cleaning and barber services with you and your class of people working In IT and traveling the world.Second able where is the old western tolerance from your generation?thirty: Today's young Bulgarians are one to one level in any kind with the young Canadians.Just your level of brain development living in west is lot more foreword than same age people in BULGARIA because of Near back history.world Fact The Bulgarian Jhon Atanasoff is the inventor and father of that little think you are holding in your hand and making videos....THE COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@wattstraveling]

We weren't comparing anyone in this video? Not sure where you got that from? In Canada, there are all kinds of different jobs, including barbers and farmers, not just IT. I think traveling full time makes us more forward thinkers, not because we are Canadian. We've seen many different areas of the world but little of Europe and have been enjoying it so far!

[@yuriystefanov4069]

According to statistics, only 5% of Bulgarians are professionally involved in agriculture. 67% are engaged in services and 28% in industry.

[@wattstraveling]

Awesome thanks for the stats 👍

[@jeffright6627]

@@wattstraveling Base on your behavior is mine conclusion.

[@deepblueskyshine]

Unfortunately You came when all three aerial lifts/ropeways to Vitosha high area are dysfunctional (long story short: ruling political party of Boyko Borisov arranged privatization of all the municipal business in the mountain park including ski complex and lifts from the city up with the plan to allow the new owners to build hotels on top, but the greens scattered in all the political spectrum inforced nature preservation laws preventing new construction in the park, so the lifts without capital maintenance were stopped due to safety concerns), so the only ways to get there are by foot or by road - car/taxi/bus. It was great to be able in one hour public transport trip from your own door in the capital to get on top of the mountain and start skiing in winter or hiking/biking in the hot summer in a place with panoramic view to the capital, and clean fresh and cooler up to 5°C÷10°C than in the city valley air.

[@wattstraveling]

Wow! That does sound disappointing

[@AndreanNiko]

Rice puding h😅😂😅 hahahhahaha .....

[@wattstraveling]

I LOVE rice pudding! 👍

[@georgisimov4685]

@@wattstraveling That's so funny as I actually hate it in my bones. I was screaming my lungs when I saw you taking it. We were fed forcefully in kindergarden in Bulgaria with it and it created a huge childhood trauma for me :)

[@wattstraveling]

@georgisimov4685 awwwe....! It was like a treat for me when I was a kid!

[@udififkfkfck]

Half the bells in the Children's Assembly were stolen back in the Great Daylight Robbery of BG in 90s

[@wattstraveling]

Ohhhh REALLY!?

[@udififkfkfck]

@wattstraveling ye capitalism isn't free but offers freedoms. This BS Bulgaria today is less than quarter by all means of what the People's Republic till 1990 was my parents say. We haven't reached the GDP of BG from 1991 yet the last great era of the Socialism!

[@agentNoon1]

@@udififkfkfck Please stop spreading russian propaganda and misinformation. The average Bulgarian now is many times more rich than the average Bulgarian in the pre-90's era. The GDP of Bulgaria is constantly growing at a healthy rates between 2-5% each year, despite Global and regional challenges like Covid, Russian-Ukraine war, inflation etc. The Local purchasing power of the average Sofia person in Bulgaria for 2025 is actually better than many of our EU countries capitals like - Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, Athens, Belgrad, Lyublana, Lisbon, Rome and many more - Source: Numbeo statistics

[@vesmog]

To know better BG just watch the old Alina's editions.

[@wattstraveling]

I like to experience and explore myself. I don't like to research a place too much or watch too many videos about a place because I'm often disappointed. We getting to know Sofia quite a bit by just walking and exploring

[@Cnupoc]

You scanned your tickets on the wrong machines, which were on the left and right. Look at the video again, you're scanning your ticket for the machine that turns the lock for adjacent machine 😂😂😂 you need to pay attention which machine is for which lock. The scanners are located for your left hand, that's how the ticket scanning machines are built. You were scanning your ticket on the adjacent to machine that is not even connected to the lock you were trying to go through. 😊

[@wattstraveling]

@Cnupoc but mine worked? And yeah...... now we know 👍 gotta try it again! 🤣🤣

[@minminburugaria]

ブラガリアじゃない、ブルガリアです。

[@wattstraveling]

I don't pronounce it "Bla-garia"?

[@minminburugaria]

The Japanese text of the title is incorrect. × ブラガリアのソフィアには都心部以外にも見どころがたくさんあります 〇ブルガリアのソフィアには都心部以外にも見どころがたくさんあります Not Blagaria, but Blugaria. 　la＝ラ　lu＝ル　　×ブラガリア　〇ブルガリア English＝Bulgaria 　 Bulgarian＝България　　Japanese＝ブルガリア Japanese people cannot distinguish between L and R. la・ra＝ら・ラ　　li・ri＝り・リ　　lu・ru＝る・ル　　le・re＝れ・レ　　lo・ro＝ろ・ロ

[@wattstraveling]

I've never once said "bla"garia 🤣 or "Blu"garia 🤣