April 2024. Sofia.
The last pub of our (first) night in Sofia, before heading east to Plovdiv in the morning.
We’d ticked the churches, the graffiti, the art, the Communism, the old trams (more were shiny and new to be fair);
and been pleasantly surprised by the vibrancy of the bars on a steamy Monday evening.
In hindsight it’s a shame we’d stuck to the “approved” craft bars, and I wish Mrs RM had made me go in this place,
Instead I just peered in our way to the hotel to check it wasn’t Bass in those barrels. I know nothing about the “I Came Alone” pub, but these pics from Google tell quite a story,
even if it’s not one of murky sours and R.E.M. albums.
I must go back, just to use that toilet !
But we’d ended the night next to our hotel (actually, a basement apartment) at High Five, Duncan’s top tip,
a cheery place with Mrs RM’s favourite beer of the trip, basketball memorabilia and the first sighting of foreign tourists.
Dunno whose arm that is. Probably mine.
My basic tactic is to go for the ones with “BG” next to them, hoping they’re local and strong.
As a bonus, they’ll have a silly name with a picture of a hamster wearing sunglasses on the label.
Yes, we really liked those two, and signs saying “No plans to grow” and “We sell lager” are a lot better than “Man creche” or “Ask for a taster“.
Those prices on the board are in Lev (2.25 to the pound), but I’m not doing the math for you. They were cheap compared to Manchester, expensive compared to Bulgarian lager.
You could have been in Kelham, or Preston, or Riga,
with a collection of cans seemingly competing for Blackpool Jane’s attention.
And that’s the only downside of Untappd; you’ll be directed to places with “exciting” beer, but you’ll always end up with an ice cream sour, listening to the ******* Arctic Monkeys.
retiredmartin 