Bulgaria 2007: Sofia and Boris Park

I managed a walk to Sofia’s Boris Park both of the days I was in the city, and while the birding was only so-so, I did enjoy the chance to get a feel for the town.

Architecturally, much of it is about what one might expect for an eastern European capital; but there are jewels scattered about, like this nationalist revival church, one of several (including the cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky) in the center of town.

The finer residential quarters also date from the late nineteenth century.

I was surprised to find remnants of a Bulgarian art nouveau, too, making me think for a moment I was in Prague or Budapest or Cracow; shame about the pizza banner!

Boris Park, my birding destination, is a large, slightly unkempt public garden with playgrounds and cafes just 20 minutes’ walk from Vitosha Boulevard, the city’s finest shopping street. (After my first visit, I discovered that it was a two-and-a-half hour walk if you got lost on the way home….)

Birding there was a bit of a letdown after the glories of the ten days before, but anyone visiting Sofia should check it out for common garden birds such as Eurasian Nuthatch, Blue and Great Tits, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers (and Syrian at the soccer stadium), European Robin, and such. I especially enjoyed the Jays; busy with their fledglings, they forgot to be sneaky and inconspicuous.