Goodbye yellow brick road, Sofia. Bulgaria. June 22

in Pinmapplelast year

Now barely visible in places due to their age and weight of traffic the yellow cobblestones which stretch from the city centre to Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, were given to King Ferdinand I as a wedding present back in 1893.

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At the time Sofia was not well developed, just rising from hard won independence from the Ottoman Empire; there was not even have a single paved road, just mud in the wet and dry dusty tracks in the dry.

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The construction of these yellow paved roads in 1907 was intended to transform Sofia into a fashionable city, maybe it did maybe it didn't.

Caution: Slippy when wet!

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Church of Saint George

Hidden from view, now, surrounded on all sides by hi-rise buildings, including the presidential building, and the national archeological building, St George's is widely accepted as the oldest standing building in Sofia

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Restored over the centuries the church was first constructed during the 4th century of the common era. It is still used as a place of worship today

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Constructed of simple red bricks, with still visible frescoes dating back to the 10th century

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So, waving farewell to St. Sophia, it is time to say.....wait for it.....I was wondering when I would get this in......

"Goodbye yellow brick road"

It is time to go native and wander the back streets back to my hotel.

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What a wonderful maze of tired worn out buildings, run down shop fronts
and people on the streets this old market place turned out to be. The Ladies Bazar in existence for over 130 years, but not a lot happening today.

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BATE KYŠI & SON, Locksmith and key maker

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The money tourism generates for a city never seems to filter down.

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Slowly coming back to cleaner streets, the words of Ralph Mc'Tell slowly awakening in my head, different city but same sentiment.

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No I haven't teleported

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My God! where did all this lot come from all of a sudden.

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Greetings!

I learnt so much about this city's history, culture, and landmarks. It's always a shame when the benefits of tourism don't seem to reach the local community. The Church of Saint George also looks beautiful and historic. I love the red brick which gives it an elegant outlook.

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope you have more wonderful travels in the future!😊

cheers @bigabigail thanks for stopping by and giving your much appreciated input, St Georges totally hidden away from view so good that it was protected and not demolished

What a very unique city with so much mix and match, if you didn't say, I'd never guess where it is.

cheers @livinguktaiwan that was part one of the city, a final bit yet to upload, it is remarkable in more ways than one

Rotunda building from old hidden by newer versions of life a delight to see, these old red brick buildings stand firm for a long time, enjoyed the history.

Old parts of city, really in need of some repairs and restoration, could make this really a place for visitors to veer off main roads to see life as is in Bulgaria among normal folk living there.

Children's jerseys hand knitting gives an glimpse into hand crafts still in practice, along with pottery jars.

!BEER to another great outing.

cheers @joanstewart for your words of support, much appreciated

Yellow brick road a little slippy when wet, at least no potholes in it yet..., made with pride, laid to last.

potholes.... its a nightmare on our roads, the council turn up chuck a bit of filler in and think they have done the job. Rubbish!

Giving work out to tender, no one checks on completion of job, in the end these guys are getting rich. Roads have more potholes here than road throughout my country....

yup, at least if your car gets damaged you are entitled to claim the cost back from the local government councils

Wish our council paid for anything.... not even insurance want to pay properly, all new clauses coming into play for them to keep the money!


Hey @grindle, here is a little bit of BEER from @joanstewart for you. Enjoy it!

Learn how to earn FREE BEER each day by staking your BEER.

St Georges still sounding proud is impressive and I love those cobblestone streets and yes for sure they can be very slippery

Thanks for joining the Wednesday, its always fun for me to visit the walks from all around the world, getting a feel for communities where people live and what they see on their daily walks

It's a cool tour of Sofia. I love the pots, I got a similar one from a Christmas market in Budapest.

It's sad to see those people on street, but I think it's everywhere like this. The money coming from tourism doesn't really reach the ones who really need it.

I like your pictures. Thank you for sharing!

cheers @delishtreats thanks for stopping by, Budapest is on my list of places to visit, it looks lovely. Thanks for your kind words.

Cool road. Looks Luke they need to take a pressure washer to that thing to clean it up a bit lol.

I think the feeling of some is to rip it up and lay tarmac, apparently it is quite treacherous in the wet

Yeah some cobbles stones are so smooth that they are extremely slippery when it rains

What... That crowd at the end! The camera lies ..

The money tourism generates for a city never seems to filter down.

Same everywhere. Very sad.

Love that church. You kinda make me want to add Bulgaria to list of places to go in Europe next year.

i know not where they came from, looks like a mass exodus from a football stadium.

There are some super bits to see throughout the Balkans and indeed the Caucuses.......do the grand tour