protests

Day 286: Protests in Sofia

We’ve had some pretty interesting timing on this trip, to say the least. Most recently, we were in Istanbul right before protests got serious (and violent). We left Athens before protests and strikes began. But today, we seemed to arrive right smack in the middle of another country protesting their government. We actually missed them the day we arrived, as we were exhausted and didn’t stray too far from where we were sleeping, but we heard all about them the next morning over breakfast. I filmed the video above on the 18th. If you’re interested in this country’s battle with their government, you can read all about it here!

The reason we didn’t make it out to see the protests is because we were ‘up’ but not exactly ‘at ’em’ in Sofia before six in the morning. We had just gotten off our overnight bus, but were warned not to take a taxi in Sofia, unless we wanted to get ripped off. So, we walked. It was a couple of kilometers. Enough to wake a girl up after an overnight bus from Greece. We were hoping, but not expecting to be able to check into our room sometime in the morning. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to until around noon. Fortunately, the hostel was equipped with a nice lounge area, wifi, and a buffet breakfast (with drip coffee!) so we were able to eat and relax (as much as we could) until our room was ready.

When our room was ready, showers became the priority, followed by sleep. Some sleep, but mostly just kinda laying.

Day 240: May Day!

Tear gas, again? It’s May Day in Istanbul! Protests abound! A closed metro system. Questioning in the streets. Juliet didn’t feel comfortable going in town. I didn’t feel comfortable putting anyone in danger. Myself, not a problem. But Andrew tends to worry… so we took the dogs for a walk down by the Bosphorus and then went to the mall to get a few new clothes instead. Along the way, we noticed a few posters like this one plastered up all over town.

I should be more specific about the shopping: I got new clothes. Andrew, not being able to find anything to fit his tall and skinny frame waited patiently while I lusted after unicorn shirts and sequined mini-skirts in H&M settling for more travel-friendly cotton clothes instead.

We called about our bags. We were told they would be delivered the next day. We weren’t told when, exactly, but we were hopeful Andrew would get to change his clothes by the end of the day.

Daniel brought an empty tear gas canister home after a failed attempt getting to work. He told me I could take it home as a souvenir, but we both figured airport security might not be as keen.