VISITING SOFIA (BULGARIA) WITH BABIES & TODDLERS
Sofia, the main city of Bulgaria is going through a lot of changes. It just came out of comunism, and the country is still trying to adjust to the consumism. The entire city is under construction. New buildings continuesly show up everywhere. As of January 2007, Sofia will be part of the European Common Market, but a lot of years will need to go by before the Bulgarian citizens enjoy the same quality of life that the rest of Europeans have.
Sofia reminds me a lot of the Latin countries, including, but not only because of their habit of smoking everywhere and the big holes in the middle of the street. Also because of the way they drive that turns into a dangerous adventure the simple attempt of crossing the street with a pushchair. The sidewalks are in a very bad shape and they are commonly used as parking spots for cars, forcing pedestrians to walk on the street. There is almost none ramps and the bathrooms with changing stations for babies are more difficult to find that a golden coin in the middle of the street.
Despiste all mentioned above, the love that the Bulgarians show towards babies make us forget about these small inconveniences turning them into something to talk about when coming back home, allowing us to enjoy at maximum our visit to Sofia.
The city has plenty of playgrounds and is sorrounded by green areas. If when enjoying one of these parks you need to change your baby, don't even bother looking for a public bathroom, as more likely you will not find one. Just use any bench in the park. Even when this might shock you, it is common practice in Bulgaria, so noone will be offended.
I found very easy to enjoy the city with my baby girl, as it is possible to combine the places that I prefer with the ones she likes. Nearby each museum there is a green area, almost always with games. So it is possible to have a "mix day", in which we visit a museum meanwhile she enjoys a nap and when she awakes we go to play for a while in a park. Now, if you like museums, you better be in shape. From all the ones I visited (and I've been to almost all of them), only one has a lift (elevator). On most of them you need to go up and down stairs, carring the baby, the pushchair and all the bags that we parents carry when travelling with babies. Do not expect to find a changing station in the museum's bathrooms. So go ahead, and close the cover of the WC, sit on it and change your baby as grandmas used to do it, changing the nappies on your lap.
Do not allow yourself to be put off by my comments, because even when they might seem pesimistic, Sofia is very interesting and very enjoyable with kids. Our only intention is to warn you, so that you can be prepared to enjoy Sofia at it most with your sons and daughters. From now on we will go over the places that are the best suitted, although not the only ones, for the smallest of the family. According to my experience, toddlers are welcome everywhere in Bulgaria. It is up to the parents to judge where they can take them, knowing the behaivour of each kid. To give you an idea on how good they welcome babies, my little daughter was cordially invited to assist to a concert of classical music in the National Gallery, and they allow her to enter, and even make her skip the line as babies goes first, to the exhibition of the original books of Leonardo Da Vinci in the Public National Library.
Eventough with some good management of their habits and timetables you can take them everywhere, there are some places that are their preferred ones. As follows we give you a lits of places tha are speacially suitted/interested for kids.
For you to enjoy:
Tour No. 1: The amusement park, Sofia Land
Tour No. 2: The classic that always work, The Zoo
Tour No. 3: Something different, a day at the Vitosha Mountains
Tour No. 4: A cultural trip, Boyana
Tour No. 5: Shopping, free time and rest, Mall of Sofia
Tour No. 6: Traditional but attractive, Sofia Centrum
As you can see, Sofia has a lot to offer when traveling with the babies, toddlers and/or kids. I hope that this webpage will help you to get the best out of your trip to this beautiful city.
Note:
If you have a GSM phone, take it along. Almost in all the places of main interest there will be a big sign explaining which number to dial in order to get a very good explanation of the site. It is far easier than carrying around a guide book! This will allow you to have more space in your back pack for your kids items.
To return to the webpage "How to travel with a baby" click here.
