Last Full Week in Sofia

We head back home on Thursday this week.  Everyone has had a great time and is looking forward to being back home with all f our own things again.  In the past have taken advantage of a few more entertainments here in Sofia.  Here are some highlights:

This is a video of the hamster balls.  Deborah posted this one on facebook, eliciting plenty of comments.

One one rainy day this week we went to see Ice Age 4 in 3D.  Movies are only slightly cheaper here than at home.  The movie was in Bulgarian, but kids movies are understandable in any language.  There were only a couple of times that I had to whisper what was going on to the others.

This was a giant slide in Yuzen Park (South Park in English) where the kids played for a few minutes.  This is Maddie sliding down the slide and off the edge.  All the larger parks have amusement park like attractions like this for the kids. 

This is Wyatt with his Baby Pancakes.  Last evening we went to the "Happy" restaurant a couple blocks from the house.  It is like a Bulgarian version of TGI Fridays.  Everyone gave it a thumb's up.

Maddie hanging upside-down on the swing in one of the nearby parks.  As mentioned previously, we have been going to the one park or another almost every day. 

Pictures of Rocks

So this week we hit a couple more museums, one of which actually earned a seal of approval from the kids as "the best museum ever!"  This was the Earth and Man museum, which is a geology museum here in Sofia.  Eliza took 446 pictures of various rocks during the hour we spent at the museum.  Her i-pod was definitely working overtime.  It was a pleasant week, although the kids think we are starting to fun out of "fun" things to do in Sofia.  Here are some shots from the week.

These were some of the giant geodes on display at the museum.  These ones were about 3-5 feet tall- the largest I had ever seen.  The picture didn't capture it very well, but these were a brilliant purple color. 

This is the monument to Bulgarian Culture, located in one of the parks downtown.  Not sure if all the graffiti is part of the design, or the addition of culturally minded youths.

This was a nice fountain in South Park.  Mt. Vitosha, which overlooks the city to the south, is visible in the background. 

This is Maddie and Eliza in the go-karts in South Park.  Maddie and Jonas were the chauffeurs,  and did a fairly good job driving - meaning the attendant only have to get them going the right direction about 3 times each.

This is the view of Sofia from Mt. Vitosha.  Saturday we took the ski lift up almost to the peak and hiked for about 3 hours along the ridge.  The views of the valley were wonderful, and although it was a little hazy, the mountains on the north side of the valley, some 50 or so miles away, were also visible. 

Maddie, Jonas, and Deborah on the ski life as we ascended the mountain.  The cars were enclosed and very fast.  The lift was about 4 miles long from top to bottom, but it only took us about 10-15 minutes to get to the top.