Walking Through SOFIA | The Capital of Bulgaria

Wandering through the streets of Sofia, the interesting capital city of Bulgaria.
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&
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Gabriel is a world traveler and travel writer who has been adventuring around the world off and on since his first trip to Europe in the summer of 1990 when he was 18 years old. He is author of "Gabe's Guide to Budget Travel", "Following My Thumb" and several other books available on Amazon.com and elsewhere.
Thanks a lot for watching and safe journeys!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

You can see more of Sofia as well as the prices of things in this video from my last trip to Bulgaria in winter 2018: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a324q2Odbc9ma80

[@kiwisounds3505]

Amazing videos.Food looked delicious 😋

[@anonymous-qc3sy]

Great video Gabriel. Cyrillic alphabet was created by two greek monks, Cyril and Methodius. You can't escape greek influence gabriel,if only you knew how many English words have greek origin

[@janed7774]

As much as I admire you and your intrepid exploration of this beautiful world ... I wonder do you ever feel a melancholy in your back pack ?

[@Burevestnik9M730]

Can you compare prices in Sophia vs prices in Belgrade, including real estate?

[@0xe849]

@@anonymous-qc3sy , you are wrong my friend. Cyril and Methodius invent the glagolitic script. St. Naum Preslavski and St. Klement Ohridski invent the Cyrilic alphabet in the literally school of Preslav.

[@electronictestingexpert]

Great video, I am German and studied in the old-time 5 years in Sofia (nice place, but have much more beautiful places in Bulgaria). My favorite is Melnik near the border to Greece or Bansko and the mountains (Pirin, Rila, Rhodopes or Stara Planina - Balkan) or - for beach lovers - Sozopol (for me better than the beaches near Varna). A very rich cultural country, a bit forgotten in the western world. (But maybe this is also good!) I love Bulgaria. And I love the music. And I love the food and wine! And the famous beers there. Please post more about this beautiful country and its people.

[@DepecheMode5]

Thanks, we appreciate your kind words about our country.😁

[@georgikolev7545]

I from bulgaria and i live here

[@JuliEn067]

Im so much happy that you like my country. Unfortunately I live in Greece athens also beautiful country. But I'm Bulgarian my stepdad is Greek so I grow up in Greece. I want so much to go and discover my country. It's look really beautiful. I've heard from many Europeans countries that Bulgaria is not good and beautiful but I think I'm not agreed with them 😅

[@rossidimitrova5947]

Danke fuer deine Meinung! Ich bin von Sofia, aber mag Deutschland

[@electronictestingexpert]

​@@rossidimitrova5947 Ich lebe momentan in Hong Kong! Liebe Grüße. Ich komme aus der wunderschönen Oberlausitz. Mein Tip: Oybin!

[@CaptainHarlock-kv4zt]

I'm Greek from macedonia in Northeastern Greece. I have visited Bulgaria many times. Interesting place and friendly people.

[@sirapos6550]

Καλησπέρα.Για λέγε τιμές διαμονής,φαγητού,μετακινήσεις κλπ.Ενδιαφέρομαι να πάω Σόφια κυρίως,για 3-4 ημέρες.Πόσα περίπου θα χρειαστώ ; (δεν συμπεριλαμβάνω αεροπορικά).Επίσης,είναι καλή ιδέα να πάω με το αυτοκίνητό μου ;

[@felicialx]

Hi, i'm Bulgarian from Sofia. I have been to Greece many times and have traveled almost all over it. I have always been welcomed super! Greetings!

[@filipgamer2674]

im macedonian from macedonia

[@georgeklimes7604]

@@felicialx What are good places to go in Bulgaria if you have 3 to 5 days?

[@felicialx]

@@georgeklimes7604 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmTWYmh7ntSnmKc

[@emilye126]

That little kid on his bicycle riding thru the pigeons with no worries in the world, is just precious ❤

[@xavdanda]

I almost forgot... while in Bulgaria make sure you try their yogurt and kefir. What makes Bulgarian yogurt different than yogurt in other countries is the BULGARICUS bacterium discovered by Dr. Stamen Grigorov, which is found naturally in Bulgaria and the region, and the reason why milk left outside can turn into yogurt by itself, without any special treatment. If I'm not mistaken Bulgarians have the highest per capita consumption of yogurt in world.

[@Ethan-lg4tv]

I'm from Bulgaria and i love yogurt (I'm eating one now)

[@xavdanda]

@@Ethan-lg4tv My wife is a fan of yoghurt and she even makes her own, and we really liked the Bulgarian type since the first time we tried it in Burgas... before that we'd had Greek, Turkish, Bosnian, Polish and other versions, and personally I think Bulgarian and Greek are the best, at least for my taste.

[@nikiindzhiev5369]

@@xavdanda I think Bulgarian and Greek are the best ones too

[@celestindimitriu3675]

Love Bulgaria, greetings from Romania

[@josedomingos96]

Hi Gabriel! I am from Brazil and I just came back from Sofia. It's a very interesting and a clean city. The restaurant Be Happy that you are showing in the video was my favorite place to eat. It's amazing. I will be back soon.

[@boskowalker6840]

Just "Happy". And its alwful. Nothing traditional, convinience food and its made for tourists mainly.

[@dreammfyre]

9€ dinners including wine. One of the reasons you go to Eastern Europe.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Hella totally.

[@dealsspot5928]

Thank you for visiting, the water in the beginning is natural mineral water for drinking, enjoy your stay!

[@HaiderAlZubaidi]

Love you Bulgaria! Greetings from Baghdad ❤️

[@rossidimitrova5947]

Thank you very much

[@marvinsalamero9111]

Wowww what a wonderful and very interesting City of Bulgaria, Cool and amazing beautiful place, and streets, thank you sir Gabe for your wonderful walk around tour Godbless from the Philippines 🇵🇭 sir Marvin ♥️♥️♥️😍👏👏👏👍

[@nikitrz]

Welcome back in Sofia, Gabriel!Sofia has been famous for its mineral springs since ancient times.During the Roman Empire, the city was called Serdika. The springs you show at the beginning of the video are not only drinkable, but even the water is very useful, allegedly curative for many ailments. Next time try the water 😉

[@RositsaPetrovarjp7]

Fun fact: In addition to being surrounded by mountains on all sides, Sofia is situated at around 500 meters above sea level on average, with parts being higher, so I is naturally cooler than other cities. It is actually a mountain city and a ski resort!

[@BrightEyes8513]

What a beautiful city. The people and places to visit are both equally beautiful

[@qedd722]

amazing

[@22patch22]

Went to plovdiv a few years back and really loved it . The old city is beautiful plus its got a ton of history too. Lot of Roman past has been unearthed around the city and is well worth seeing

[@eliza9799]

yeah, we even have a saying in Bulgaria for towns like Plovdiv that sounds smth like "dig and there is no way you won't find ruins underneath", which is a problem actually for Provdiv cause we have act stating that buildings should endure 9 on Richter, so the base should be deep but also act protecting those said ruins😂😂

[@stevasteva4982]

I pun cigana

[@HiKasandra]

The street art has real character and art. The dinner looks so good as are the affordable prices!

[@nickpapagiorgio5056]

Great walkthrough of downtown Sofia Gabe!!!! I totally agree that many of the Eastern European countries are highly under rated including Sofia and I would bet many of them are arguably more well kept and have cleaner streets than some more popular Western European capitols! Less visitors and traffic generally equates to less pollution.

[@rossidimitrova5947]

Its so nice when i read nice words about my country! Thank you

[@nikomollov4950]

Welcome back in Bulgaria, Gabriel.

[@rubytuesday9539]

We ate at Happy, the very same one, our last dinner before leaving Bulgaria. We invited a solo diner from UK to join us and had a great time. Yes, it's not really traditional Bulgarian experience but pretty good. Looking forward to more reportage from there.

[@kazzicup]

Seems like Sofia has nice summer. Warm, but not as hot as Greece.

[@yogiaol]

Very thue. In Sofia was never 40°. Most of time 25-30. And always in summer green.

[@stanislavstanchev7734]

U are very right... Sofia is landed on a big platon and is also near to Vitosha and Cherny vrah peak, which brings very cold winters and mostly cooler summers, unlike other by bulgarian towns where summer could be very hot as the greek summer, for example Plovdiv and Sandanski are usually hot spots in summer. But whats really mean hot weather, when this summer in Britain and West Europe temp. reached more than 40 C. In Bulgaria was also very hot wave mainly in central and south parts... I am not sure but last winter in north Greece was very snowly and made a real chaos on the roads. I am telling that cause I live in central Bulgaria and the hole winter passed without snow and mostly warm for the region, which compare to fals greek winters in the past and those about two decades in my home which bring like meter snow and very long freezing days. Now this looks simply insane. It was not long time ago when greeks didnt know what winter tires means cause they used only summer ones...

[@grigorgeorgiev6684]

Very nice video about Sofia, where i live in. Plovdiv is also very nice ancient city and worth to be visited. Bansko is another nice place in the mountains.

[@Did447]

Good job. Greetings from a Bulgarian. I was studying in Sofia and now watching my own country from France...kind of sad..I am from Plovdiv. Kisses

[@22patch22]

I went to Plovdiv a few years back. Great city

[@julietadimitrova7396]

Желая Ви късмет там и специални поздрави от София!:) 💖🇧🇬

[@carlsontravelsandwildlife]

I went to Sofia in 2019 for several nights and really enjoyed it! I would love to go back to Bulgaria someday, maybe Plovdiv too🙂

[@snizzle7077]

Hello Gabriel. If you are still in Bulgaria on the upcoming thursday, we would like to invite you to a wine tasting event in Lyutibrod. I'm a fan who's been following you for two or three years now and I myself am from Estonia but I have close friends in Lyutibrod who are hosting the event.

[@snizzle7077]

I'm serious about the invite. On thursday there will be a bistro train wagon that would pick you up from Sofia and one that would take you back after the event. Comment on my comment if you'd be interested. The wine is delicious.

[@RositsaPetrovarjp7]

Nice. What is the name of the winery?

[@bethetraveler7123]

Hi Gabe! Thank you for always traveling and posting, we always look forward to watching your next adventure! Still the OG!!

[@markclayton626]

Happy your there Gabriel, it’s a country I know very little about, looking forward very much to the series 👍

[@ivogalabov1973]

You are welcome again!

[@TomaNeagu]

Please do make more videos of Bulgaria and Romania! I like your videos, well done!

[@Peter-MH]

Totally agree regards the graffiti! There’s a big difference between ‘street art’ murals that add colour and vibrancy, and ‘tagging’ graffiti that’s just a mess and creates an atmosphere of urban decay.

[@marafarnham595]

Thank you Gabriel! Beautiful Bulgaria 😎☀️😊❤

[@melissadsilva6062]

A country I will probably never visit myself but so glad got to see it through your eyes and camera lenses 😀😀👍

[@maestromuffin1]

no pics of the Alexander Nevski Cathedral??? Loved my time in Sofia and all of Bulgaria! beautiful country with lovely people!!!

[@rumik-stahnke6512]

Wow..my city 👏😁I love Sofia so much and specially the central boulevard "Vitosha"❤👍beautiful city. It's not perfect but I like it because it's my city 😁Thanks for sharing and enjoy your time in beautiful Bulgaria 😁✌well done 👏😁

[@DepecheMode5]

We got it, it's YOUR city

[@danziger9996]

@@DepecheMode5 Some people own a whole city! You better get used to it! ;-) lol

[@carlsontravelsandwildlife]

I went to Sofia in 2019, for several days, and really enjoyed it! I would love to go back to Bulgaria and see Sofia again plus see the mountains and maybe Varna and Burgas!🙂

[@huskytail]

That's sweet 🙂 As for Sofia, it's not my city but I love it. 😍

[@thiriann]

The water from the first location is mineral and safe to drink. It's actually not allowed to bathe in it. It's hot and free, you can bring a bottle and get some for home. That's what most of the people are doing.

[@TheSwede70]

Nice to see Sofia again. I went to Varna, Veliko Tärnovo and Sofia in 2015 after coming from an amazing trip through Romania.

[@d947]

I wanna visit Sofia ;)

[@julietadimitrova7396]

Габриел,благодаря за видеото ! Поздрави от София за всички твои абонати! 🇧🇬

[@DepecheMode5]

Thanks for coming to my hometown! Hope you enjoyed it!

[@Ojstra]

So you are going to be in Bansko, I believe? Between Sofia and Bansko, you can find Rila mountains with amazing Rila Monastery, a national symbol of Bulgaria. Additionaly, Balkan mountains are named after northern Bulgarian mountain range Balkan (Stara Planina) and I think that the highest mountains in the whole Balkan Peninsula can be found in Bulgaria. Have a nice time in mountains.

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

I'll definitely try to get up to the Rila monastery and lakes, looks beautiful.

[@branimirgenev8019]

Great video, Gabriel! Sofia is indeed an interesting city to visit :) You should also visit Stara Zagora, it's not very far and is also a very interesting city to discover. Perhaps you can combine it with a trip to Plovdiv, both cities are pretty close to each other!

[@ianakiinkiow4303]

Hi Gabriel fountains at the start of the video are for drinking only. No washing is allowed. Welcome to Sofia!!!

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Thanks for the info, good to know.

[@e.dochoff6780]

It’s a warm,healthy and healing spring water. Bulgaria is rich in different kind of spring waters with many CPAs and treatment centers around them. Thank you Gabriel for the great videos!❤️

[@makemoneywithnarelle]

Looks like a really pretty and interesting city. Bulgaria has never been on my list of places to travel so I am grateful to follow your journey Gabriel.

[@xavdanda]

Bulgaria, Serbia, Rumania and Bosnia (other than Medjugorje) were never in my radar... but my wife insisted and of course, she won. We really have enjoyed these countries, their history, culture, cuisine, architecture, natural beauties, and most of all, their people.

[@NomadShifu]

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. The city is located at the foot of Mount Vitosha in the western part of the country. It occupies a strategic position at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula as commercial, manufacturing, transport, and cultural centre.

[@Posey12345]

Gabe I enjoy all your adventures

[@johnknox4293]

Thanks Gabe. Enjoyed walking around Bulgaria with you

[@davidmaligo5647]

Man this is good editing. Thanks Gabriel

[@themissdior1235]

I remember you being their the last time. Cant believe its four years! Loving watching your journey . Hopping all over the place :)

[@RositsaPetrovarjp7]

The fountains are with warm mineral water. They in front the Central Mineral Bath (the buildingin the background), which some smart people decided to turn into a museum. The water flows freely. It can be drunk. You can bathe in it if they open the bath one day. It has great curative powers. Sofia has over 80 mineral sources

[@SmoothSilk]

Thank you so much Gabriel for all your videos, I have learned a lot about this part of Europe. Safe travels, and best wishes. The Greece videos were amazing! I have to go to Greece next year!

[@tiaeshanicole6735]

I agree with you about the "street art"- I have been to so many cities that are covered in graffiti and they make it look like trash!

[@rado_grami]

In this case it looks awesome! Plovdiv has a lot more!

[@lucasfreire8360]

Lisbon haha

[@eliza9799]

Ohh we have those in Bulgaria. We have even effing swastikas in some olaces done by "edgy people" but thank goodness most of them no longer exist

[@dimitarvasilev5787]

I'd recommend the Indian restaurant India house. The food is fantastic. Also there's a great Assyrian restaurant in Sofia, called Ashurbanipal.

[@italogiardina8183]

Street art and walking with a hand held camera are mostly outside corporate or state sponsorship where aesthetic merit is continually generated through encounter on the street unlike the gallery, or accessible through the open web that is not behind pay walls, etc.

[@janed7774]

I’m looking forward to the lakes and mountains 😊💕

[@Phillyfan1998]

Wow this place is just suprising. An actual Gorgeous place.

[@carolgoergens9275]

I agree with you about graffiti! Look at Italy it’s everywhere just horrible black tags on every business same in NYC

[@vbaychevv]

Welcome to my country! Enjoy the beautiful capital!

[@curious1264]

It's very clean

[@Philipfilmz]

Living high life in Sofia Gabe!

[@edimi2454]

The water is very good to drink. It's mineralised naturally. So actually it's a spring water. It's hot and very beneficial for the health. People come to get it and take home. It is forbidden to bath and do laundry, but you can wash your face. 😀 I love my native city of Sofia and my Bulgaria! Living in Canada we'll be back as soon as we retire.

[@MartyMcflyWorld]

"Happy bar and grill"! Oh yeah, delicious food there and a nice place! I remember having great time in Vitosha Boulevard! Great food and drinks! Also try some shisha, Gabriel! There are also great and huge parks to walk! Have a great time!! Thanks for the upload! You ve triggered beautiful memories!

[@Did447]

Yeah, I ate in Happy bar too in May but in Plovdiv.

[@MartyMcflyWorld]

@@Did447 I d love to be in Plovdiv someday! Looks so beautiful! I am jealous that you ve been there! Awesome!

[@Did447]

@@MartyMcflyWorld I was born there and lived for 30+ years. We have a food shop there.

[@Did447]

@@MartyMcflyWorld where are you from?

[@MartyMcflyWorld]

@@Did447 Wow! Awesome!! Glad to learn about it!

[@ChinaUncleMikey]

Thanks for sharing your experience in Bulgaria. I haven't been to Bulgaria, your videos are informative to me. Cheers!

[@AnkleSnapper72]

Love all the trees as you went, they give such life to any city. Thank you for the casual look at Sofia, seems a city I'd enjoy. You're right re eastern Europe being under rated. Montenegro, especially the areas of Black Lake and Kotor, are absolutely stunning if you haven't been yet?

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

I visited Montenegro in 2017: kzbin.infosearch?query=Montenegro

[@sandratessem9980]

Thanks for your interesting travels. It brings back memories back in the day.

[@asianbiker69canada]

Looks clean

[@moseskalafula6837]

wonderful to see you Gabe

[@Blablagerman]

I am happy you visited Happy! Great restaurants with the most beautiful waitresses!

[@carolgoergens9275]

I love the way you show us your walk not just highlight reel

[@MrSupernova111]

Beautiful city! Thanks!

[@Philipfilmz]

Hehehe, yes, it is drinking water, mineral water

[@horseplop9]

Fun traveling Gabe Thanks for taking us with you. Cheers 🍻

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Cheers. ✌

[@vjc4964]

Always interesting voyage from Gabriel traveller 👍✌️

[@romanaandewan]

Hey Gabriel, been following you for years. Great content. We spent quite a bit of time in Sofia. Second home to us. Great city. Good people.😊👍

[@GabrielTravelerVideos]

Cool. ✌

[@rimonb555]

i wating you come again to sofia buglaria thanks gabriel enjoy ! bulgaria is the best :)

[@hotelhighlights]

Great video!

[@2010VIA]

I would not call the beaches south of Varna "reviera" , but if you planning to visit, check out "Eleni", "Sunny Beach" is (in my opinion) over populated, see Old Nesebar, Pomorie, Sozopol, Primorsko.

[@ageoflove1980]

Dont know what it is but I always love cities where you can see mountains in the background. A sort of perspective optical thing.

[@ivayloivanov8916]

Now it's time to come again to Varna :)

[@artmilirosecz3483]

wow interesting video ..I like travel

[@somewhereover5752]

Thank you, Gabriel

[@shirbykirby5188]

Was just there for over a week! Now in Burgus!

[@travellingcharles6088]

I am new to your channel. I very much enjoyed your latest Greece videos. Keep on truckin'.

[@Ne0LiT]

Oh, yes. The mountains! Man I'm from Bulgaria, Varna. I'm sick of the beach, yes, please every time I hear mountains, my heart melts. Millions of times more beautiful than the dull touristy beaches...

[@carlsontravelsandwildlife]

What places would you recommend to visit in the mountains of Bulgaria? Greetings from Florida in USA!🙂

[@Ne0LiT]

@@carlsontravelsandwildlife if we're talking about more of the natural side of things, then definitely visit the Eyes of God (Prohodna) Cave, the Trigrade Gorge and Devil's Throat Cave, The Seven Rila Lakes( Just note those are glacier lakes in which swimming is strictly forbidden due to the fragile ecosystem, fines are really high), Devrtashka cave and Ledenika cave. Then, if you're also interesting into historical sights, I'd recommend The Rila monastery, the Troyan monastery. Visiting Veliko Tarnovo's Fortress is also a must. Melnik,Koprivshtitsa, Etara, Tryavna are old bulgarian towns that have museums and old houses preserved from the 19th century and are really pretty. The belogradchik fortress is both historical and very much a natural sight you might wanna see as well. Another cool thing that is literally in the middle of nowhere, but you can just stop by for a few minutes and marvel it is the " Devils Bridge " which was built around the 16th century. The are also the Krushuna falls and many many other things to see, but too many to list. But I'd recommend visiting the ones mentioned above. If you're into hiking there is definitely a lot of mountain tops and hiking trails in the mountains with very picturesque sights. One I particularly like is " Raisko Praskalo " which is the highest waterfall in the balkan peninsula that is constantly running, usually it is pretty dry during the later summer months, so this is best to visit in spring/early summer while glacier water is more plentiful. It really is a beautiful sight.

[@sandratessem9980]

Our little town in Ajo, Arizona has great controlled street art.

[@xtrofilm]

Very nice, lovely music at the end too.

[@petardenchev75]

The water in the beginning - it is mineral water and people go there to fill in their bottles cheaper with mineral for free. So it is for drinking, yes.

[@Tony-gv6ty]

Great show❤

[@suzaniv7978]

Visit Plovdiv, the second big town in Bulgaria

[@Steinebewegenmitmusi]

East Europe got beautiful soul Walls are made for paintings 💝

[@martynaweronika1330]

Really nice city!

[@teodorastoyanova8072]

The water is perfectly drinkable, you should only wait for it to cool down :D

[@aleksandarmanov411]

Your videos are amazing! Thank you that present our country and wish you all the best and want you to come back in other amzing places here!

[@pameladepaulo5298]

Graffiti bridge in Pensacola is a great concept too. Love you and amazing content☮️💕

[@kanmaniramamoorthy3730]

Good, informative . Liked

[@evo3734]

Good job Gabriel, nice video :)

[@Bitte66]

Nice city👍

[@EasternDreamer615]

Lovely music to start this one off man!

[@elenab1380]

I would probably say there is no one main square but different pockets of social places scattered around the central part of town. Haven't been to Sofia for a few years, so was nice to see! Thank you for the walk. And Happy would be pricier than quite a few local places so food can be even more affordable :)

[@guugle]

Great man, thank u.

[@DM-hd4xm]

A lot cleaner than Athens and lesser graffiti as well.

[@aleksandarshilegarski4933]

Sofia is very clean city :).

[@jacobthomas6620]

Love to see beautiful churches in Sophia

[@alessandroantonelli2765]

I love Sofia ❤