The sunny and warm city of Sofia was a very nice change of atmosphere, it felt much less like the other Balkan countries we visited both from the architecture and the food. I found it to be some sort of mid-way between the Crotian/Bosnian/Serbian dishes and the Greek/Turkish ones.
Even its history is quite peculiar as Bulgaria, according to our guide, tried to stay out of World War II (even being occupied by the Germans, they succeeded in saving Bulgarian Jews from being sent to Nazi concentration camps) and was not part of Yugoslavia.
In Sofia, we were hosted by a friendly family who brought us to a restaurant to try Bulgarian specialties and getting to know the local customs (e.g. drinking a shot of rakia before the salad, required at every meal).
We got to know many people while being at the park, as it is a common meeting place for people of all ages in the evening.
It wasn’t a long stay but I personally loved my stay there, as the capital is very lively but not too chaotic.
Next: Istanbul!