April 2024. Sofia.
“How many people live in Bulgaria ?” asked Mrs RM. I had 10 million in mind.
Blimey. 9 million in 1985 before Communism crumbled; 6.5 million and falling now.
And further Googling revealed plenty of commentary on the ageing and depopulation of Bulgaria, the result of migration, falling birth rates (1.6, same as UK) and the sporadic availability of London Pride on hand pump.
It had certainly felt “spacious” on our night out, and though those craft beer bars we’d visited were busy enough I guess there’s your warning about judging a place by its craft beer bars.
On Tuesday morning we had a 9am bus to Plovdiv to catch, but no coffee in our hotel room to help us up. I’d been awake since 4, pouring over Mumsnet, and at 5:53 I decided to head out into the bustling Sofia morning in search of caffeine.
It was completely deserted. A couple of drunks splayed out on the concrete seats along the Vitosha, a lone cigarette cabin fulfilling the same role as the Boots all-night chemist, and that was it.
OK, no locals spoiling my photos,
but a sharp contrast to Manchester or Munich or even Montrose at 6am.
And then I spotted this;
Bulgaria runs on coffee vending machines at 200 yard intervals. This one produced a decent espresso in a cup with plastic stirrer and default sugar for 70 stotinki (30p); I saw it for 0 in Plovdiv.
The coffee I took Mrs RM back cost rather more, 4.80 lev at The Expressionist for a double strength Americano which required the lone English speaker to be summoned to translate.
Dawn was breaking as I carried my cup back through the side streets,
but life was barely less apparent at 6:30,
or at 8am as Mrs RM and I headed for the bus stop behind the cathedral.
Hey ! Great cat-based street art.
They love their cats in Bulgaria. Children seem a rarer commodity.
retiredmartin 
I met a couple in Carrington, Nottingham at the Bulgarian bakery last week. Excellent, 2 x feta stuffed croissants and a sweet bread ring for £2.40. And an English speaker had to be brought out from the back. Will Christine let me have it as a Bulgaria tick?
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Yes, as long as you licked your lips.
The lack of bakeries in Bulgaria (bar a few in the Sofia market) was notable.
What’s in Carrington ? (apart from baked goods)
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Carrington/Sherwood seemed to be a bit of a pub black hole (it had the GBG Doctors Orders micro) but good for restaurants including a lovely Polish one. Does that also get me a tick?
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In the Polish restaurant guide. I love the UK Polish restaurants, great one in Boston near the ring road if you ever head there.
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“They love their cats in Bulgaria” but dogs are more likely to be ‘a village dog’ rather than having an owner.
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Yes, though the Balkans seems to have less of a love affair with dogs than the English, much to Mrs RM’s liking. In consequence the streets are much cleaner than in France or Belgium.
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Love the stats. We all respect your enthusiasm for Mumsnet and know you how much you enjoy poring over it but I wonder if “pouring over” it is a step too far?
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Darn I forgot I left the camera on…
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I had a Bulgarian colleague when I was working- he once made a lovely buffet after work with typical Bulgarian food – it was a shame when only a couple of people turned up, he’d gone to so much trouble . When he found out my son had left home he said I should adopt him- he was very sweet & very keen to learn English- he could even tell that my accent was different from everyone else’s .Pauline
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Aww that’s lovely. Bet the food was good; we ate very well.
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