Interrail Trip Report – Brading to Bulgaria

[Birdbrain]

Day 30- Belgrade and onto the Night Train
We awoke later today and headed down to the breakfast room to fill up for the day ahead. We packed up the room and checked out late. We planned to leave our bags at the left luggage facility at the station so around 10am left the hotel and in the heat headed down there. Once on the councourse we followed the luggage signs past the old motorail platforms and found what looked like a portable classroom. The attendant put out his cigarette and took our bags and told us “pay later – open all time”. This didn’t seem 100% safe to me but we had all our important things in our day backpack so it didn’t really matter. We didn’t plan to collect them until just before boarding the night train at 2205. We walked up the hill to the city center, past the hotel Mokba and to the parliament buildings where the open top bus tour left from. Luckily we were just in time for the next depature. It was so hot so going on an open top tour seemed like a really good idea, and at 600 dinas each (£3.70) we couldn’t really go wrong! We took seats upstairs and plugged in our headphones to get commentary(and soviet music) in English. We were taken to many sights including the Yugoslavian history museum, Yugoslavian national stadium and the ruins of the 1999 NATO bombings. The bus then took us across the sava river to the area called new Belgrade which included a concentration camp remains, the palace of Serbia and the largest shopping center in the Balkans! The tour gave us a good understanding of the city’s history and kept us cool. After this 2 hour tour we went to a supermarket to buy a picnic and took it to the Pioneer park which had a nice water fountain display and was a relaxed atmosphere . We walked back to the city and I set eyes on this complete beast http://www.novosti.rs/upload/thumbs/images/gallery/2012/07jul/kalemegdan/kalemegdan-(3)_620x0.jpg . The train took us on a tour of the park and fortress and after we sat and relaxed by the depature point just watching the world go by. We remained here until dinner time when we decided that we could afford to eat out again in the same place as last night as it was so good. I was really enjoying the authentic Balkan cuisine. Again we had three courses including Serbian cheese curd, Skewered meat and veg, baklava cake and sardines! We didn’t want to get to the station too early as it was not the nicest of places at any time so we went to mcdonalds and had a long mcflurry! At around 9pm we headed down the hill and back to collect out bags. Much to my surprise they were still there as was the man looking after them. We paid him 300 dinas for two bags (£1.75) and walked onto the platforms. The only train in the station was the 2205 to Sofia, doors open but lights out with a few passengers on the platform. It was formed of just two coaches, an old Bulgarian Mk1 style open coach and an old ex East German Couchette coach. I must admit we were a bit nervous at this point! I had read stories of Cigerette smuggling, corrupt conductors, thefts and all sorts on this train. Around 2145 a man with a hammer appeared and started hitting the lower parts of the carriage. Suddleny the coaches came alive with lights ect and people made their move towards boarding. Then a couple of boys on interrail asked the guard on the platform how much to travel. The guard said twenty euros. I knew this wasn’t the fare so I imagine he was trying to make some quick cash. We climbed up onto the train and were met by the attendant. He took our interrail passes and sleeper reservation and showed us to a berth. Initally I was worried as there were 6 berths down but once the attendant had left we put away the middle berths to give us just 4. Now we had to wait to see who we would end up sharing with. After a few minutes a couple appeared. Their names were Fred and Sunita. We started chatting and found that they have been cycling around Europe on a tandem with a harp in tow! Fred has chained the harp to some seats in the seated carriage! The attendant came back with our bedding and soon we were leaving Belgrade. Internal sleeper shot https://www.flickr.com/photos/69856607@N02/6992368126/ . We chatted and told each other of our travels so far. They had became behind in their schedule and planned to travel to Sofia and onto Thessaloniki by train before continuing by tandem. It was still so hot we had used my partners bungee clips to hold the window fully open. I was relieved we were ‘safe’ and had sensible people to share with. At around 11pm we put the lights of and attempted sleep. I was wearing my money belt underneath my clothes and had tied my bag to my foot near the window and my head was near the compo door. There were strange men stood in the corridor but our door was locked and I presumed they were smoking.

 

[FQ]

A few more excellent reads! The photos really do help as well!

 

[Birdbrain]

Day 31 – Bulgaria!
So we attempted to get to sleep. Although the wide open window was keeping us cool, the jointed track was keeping us awake! We knew that we would have to be up for the Border check at 7am so sleep was looking less and less likely. I decided to close the window and this meant that I had some light sleep. I woke up around 4, and then 6 and realised that we were only at Nis meaning that we were running some 2 hours late and had not crossed the border yet. However to my delight, the section between Nis and the Bulgarian border is Diesel hauled. No more sleep for me then! I went to the droplight to enjoy some thrash as the sun was rising over southern Serbia. I will always remember the spirited run we were having to make up the time! Looked a bit like this https://www.flickr.com/photos/9306986@N07/1006308722/ The morning sun rising up above the valley with the sounds echoing around was hellfire. He is what the train looked like at this point, but ignore the Russian sleeper behind the loco, when we travelled on this train it was just the two carriages. https://www.flickr.com/photos/derqu...VjJ-d9Eg5Z-bpN3f7-bpN3fm-bpN3eY-bpN3fd-bnS8Zd . So around 7am we arrived at the Serbian border station Dimitrovgrad. I noticed the wires were up here so it was the end of the diesel haulage. After a half an hour stop, but no exit stamp on our passport we trundeled across the border and stopped just inside Bulgaria at Kalotina-Zapad. This border stop was very long as police and officers went through the train very thoughougly. Fred had to explain about his harp and had to go and show it to the officers who eventually said that this was ok. We put our clocks forward by an hour and now it was 9am local time, we were due in at 830! Finally we were on our way. This section was very very scenic and looks like this https://www.flickr.com/photos/rivo2...Tgh-6TJgdb-ySTQdP-bEWwBP-xTm8BP-4GiRPz-t4bHv7 . After a stop at Dragoman the landscape flattens out and soon we were in Sofia! We arrived around 1035 local time meaning we were still just over two hours late. We said goodbye to our room mates Fred and Sunita who went off to buy tickets to Greece as we took some pictures and left the station. The station at Sofia was being refurbished so we couldn’t look at the grand concourse. We found the metro system, brought 4 tickets, two for us and two for luggage, validated them and headed onto the train. The metro system in sofia is the best I have ever travelled on. Modern, bright and cheap! We took the train just two stops south to a station called Serdika. This is the roman name for Sofia and the station is like a museum as they found many remains as they were building it. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e1/58/93/e158934e53a6ac80b6e072e0df79f6d5.jpg . We walked down the Vitosha Boulevard, the main street in the city which is overlooked by the Vitoshia mountain and we were staying on a side street just off it in the Hotel Premier Thractia. We dropped our bags before sitting outside in one of the café’s to enjoy a late brunch. If we thought Serbia was cheap, Bulgaria was something else! After the much needed food we headed down to the National Palace of Culture or NDK. Sadly there was constution work going on here so we headed back up the main street and to the impressive Alexandra Nevsky cathedreal which was impressive inside and out. Sofia was a very clean, bright city. Somehow we felt very safe here. Next we visited the basilica of Santa Sofia which was very interesting as it takes you underground to view roman remains of the city with tombs, mosaic and paintings, most of which had only recently been discovered. We walked past the presidents building where a band was playing as someone important (maybe even the president) had arrived. We went in the Lindt shop and brought lots of chocolate at a much cheaper price than we could have paid back in Switzerland! We returned to the hotel for a much needed shower to find that we had been upgraded to a suite, bingo! The room was vast with a sofa, a his and hers bathroom and room service complimentary. We ordered some fresh milk so we could have some tea and relaxed. We headed out in the evening in search of more Balkan cuisine. We found a restaurant with a nice courtyard garden. We had three courses which were huge and paid about £6 total! We returned early to our room to catch up on some much needed sleep!

 

[Birdbrain]

Day 32 – Sofia
We awoke refreshed and eager to sample the hotel breakfast and we were not disappointed. This was the best of the holiday and included a selection of cereal, fruit, cheese, meat, fish, salad, full English, toast, pastries, cake, juice and teas. As well as these buffet items you could order fresh items such as pancakes, waffles, eggs, and toasted sandwiches for no extra charge. After a lengthy stay in the breakfast room we got ready for the day ahead. When we arrived yesterday I was interested in how close the Vitosha mountains were to the city so I did some research and found that on a Saturday (today) you could get up there from the city using public transport as the ski cable car operates on summer Saturdays only! We headed to the NDK metro station and brought all day transport passes for 4 lev each (£1.50) and validated them. We took the metro to Serdika and changed there for a train out to a station called Dimitriov. From here I read that you turn left out of the station and you will see the stop for the 123 bus. However there seemed to be two entrances and exits to the station . After looking around for a bus stop we saw a 123 bus whiz past. It stopped to pick up passengers down the road and we sprinted and just made it on board in time. This bus took us further out of the city through the suburbs where we viewed many stray dogs. This seemed to be one of the main problems the city currently has. At one stop some undercover RPI’s boarded and checked everyones tickets. Many people rushed for the manual validators! We passed an out of town retail park before arriving at the base of the gondola lift. We brought a return ticket and hopped aboard. The lift took around 25 minutes and took us high up above the city with absolutely stunning views. We arrived at the top at an area called Aleko. It was stunning up here and many families were enjoying a walk in the sun. We walked for a little while stopping now and again just to take it all in. There were wildlife trails and walks. We eventually got back to the aleko area where there was a cafeteria selling traditional food. I had a stew and a pudding which was delicious! After a very nice afternoon we headed back down the cable car which again was a great ride. At the bottom we had a little wait for the bus which felt like forever in the 32 degree heat. Once on the bus, the RPI’s boarded again at a stop just down the road. One young man tried to run off the bus but he was caught and taken away by the RPI’s. Revenue protection seemed to be taken very seriously in Bulgaria! At Dimitrov we took the metro back to Serdika and enjoyed a cool iced tea. We looked in a few shops before heading back to get ready for diner. We found another restaurant called Moma which had a nice courtyard. We had three courses again and it was one of the best of the trip. It felt sad to think we would soon be on our way home but we reflected about what an amazing time we have had. After dinner we sat on the main street and soaked up the lively atmosphere , street performers, music and the streets lines with lanterns, you would not believe you were in Eastern Europe! Finally we headed back to the hotel to enjoy our last night in the luxuary! We agreed that Sofia was one of the best places we visited and would recommend the trip up the mountain if you visit on a summer Saturday.

 

[Birdbrain]

Day 33 – Home!
And so all good things must come to an end and this was it. What an amazing time we had and now we just had to make it back to the Isle of Wight in a day. We had a long lay in and enjoyed our hotel breakfast once again. We left it late to check out so to avoid having to spend too much time waiting around in the airport. We left and walked along Vitosha Boulevard for the last time and entered the Metro at Serdika. When planning the trip, the metro line to the airport had not even been built and we had planned to take a taxi, which shows how rapidly the city is expanding. We boarded and enjoyed the 30 minute trip to the East of the city. On arrival at the new airport station we were impressed with the station with clouds on the roof, see pic. We checked in, made our way through customs and security, I was even made to take my glasses off! We had a quick bite to eat and spent the rest of our Bulgarian Lev on some traditional plates to use at home to remind us of how much we enjoyed the food here! Boarding time soon came and we were aboard the once daily British Airways flight to Heathrow. As the weather was so good, it was enjoyable to watch over Europe as we flew past. We flew over Venice and Slovenia and directly over Lake Zurich. It was strange to think we had travelled to all these places overland. As we reached France the weather clouded over and you could see nothing until we landed at Heathrow. There were huge queues to get through passport control and we then left to catch the Tube to Victoria. I had booked Outboundry day travelcards from Portsmouth routed southern only, little did I realise there were engineering works taking place meaning we would have to travel via Hove. Not only this we had just missed one meaning an hours wait at Victoria. Once on the 377 the time went fairly quickly and we arrived at Portsmouth Harbour in time for the last boat back to the Isle Of Wight at 2215. And so we had arrived home back where we started.

If you ever get a chance to travel Europe by rail then do it! And don’t be afraid to go into Eastern Europe as I think this was the most enjoyable and exciting part of the adventure. On Cost, as you have read we stayed in a mixture of hotels and hostels. Our total accomadation cost per person was £607.50 which averages out as £18.98 per night. If you are on a budget then you could have stayed in hostels the whole way and made it even cheaper. The passes themselves cost £368 for a months travel and we did not make any reservations apart from the two sleepers and the Bernina. The ducth flyer at the start cost £65 so that totals at £1000. The other expense was we loaded £500 each onto a currency card so making the total spend £1500 each, which isn’t bad for 33 days holiday! I hope that answers any questions but feel free to ask any more if you are planning something like this yourself. Hope you all enjoyed the read!

 

[Techniquest]

Wow! What an adventure, I am well jealous! Thoroughly enjoyed all of the read, and for the amount you did £1,500 each for such a long holiday is incredible value. The insight into European rail travel was most useful, and I would love to do such a trip myself. Having read your trip report, I would feel confident in doing so, although admittedly perhaps not on my own.

Thank you for sharing the tale!

 

[FQ]

Shame it all has to end now but it was a thoroughly enjoyable read! An absolute bargain as well!

 

[Blindtraveler]

This has been facinating and very enjoyable so ta for sharing

you sure did a lot and you did a sensible thing flying BA, alsways know what your getting with them.

Doubt Il eber do out like it meself but good to see others doing it

 

[D841 Roebuck]

A great read of a great trip.

Bulgaria was already on my "to do" list; your report further cements this intention!