It was a long flight–9 hours to Munich, a three-hour layover, and then two hours to Sofia. But I’m here, and so far things are looking good. My hosts, who are lovely people, picked me up at the airport and took me to my hotel, and then to a delicious Italian meal (I had gnocchi with goat cheese, pine nuts, olives, and spinach, washed down with a Bulgarian beer). Tomorrow we’re going to a traditional Bulgarian restaurant, so be prepared for pictures of the local noms.
My talk, on mimicry, is part of a three-talk science-and-skepticism afternoon held twice a year in Sofia. That will be on Thursday, for tomorrow I’m seeing the sights and recovering from jet lag.
Oh, and Lufthansa has dreadful airline food; I thought the Germans would put on a better show. Not a sausage to be seen!
I also saw my first Bulgarian cat (in the street), but, curiously, it looked very similar to an American cat. Sadly, it wouldn’t let me get close to it for fusses, so I couldn’t enact the scene shown in the cartoon below (h/t to reader John).
I can’t keep my eyes open, and so to bed. I see I have many emails from readers, and will respond when I get the time.
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Jealous! It’s an off the path destination but I’ve always wanted to visit.
Jerry, Cats vs. Dogs update. Of course, you will disagree…
http://www.vox.com/2014/10/16/6982177/the-case-against-owning-cats
It is an acceptable reason in our house for asking for people to do things for you, that “I have the cat”.
No doubt your hosts will have already thought of it but I do recommend a visit to a restaurant on Vitosha mountain called “The Water Mill”. Or such is the English translation of the name anyways. I do not recall the name in Bulgarian. Great view of the city at night and the food is quite good. Or used to be as I have not visited for a number of years. They also have traditional Bulgarian dance and some walking on hot coals (not for the dinner guests of course) as entertainment. But go easy on the rakia…
If it’s walking on hot embers as Skeptics do it, it’s quite safe for guests. The pit must be no longer than two metres. You can have up to 1 second on each foot, so two 1/2-second steps each. The embers can be from an impressive blazing fire at dusk, but raked down very flat in the pit. The walk must be held after dark (or the sunlight would wash out the red glow). Unless an ember catches between your toes, the low heat capacity and heat condutivity of wood will protect your feet. (No need for water-films, sweat or anything else.)
If anyone says it’s because of their mental powers or any such mumbo-jumbo, ask them to do it using red-hot railway iron.
I didn’t check that length. Other sources say 14 feet and four metres. Not too long for two steps of each foot, anyway.
Munich is lovely, I’m jealous:)
Ha! That cartoon is hilarious. 🙂
Ugh 11 hours flight time. That’s no fun at all, especially w/o benefit of sausages.
That IS a funny cartoon, “so soft”, HAHAHA!
FWIW, Pittsburgh has a Bulgarian and Macedonian social club that is apparently the largest such organization in the US (on the other side of Homestead from Stay Tuned Distillery). To add to its eclecticity, there’s Cajun dancing there once a month.
Oh, altho I haven’t flown Lufthansa in years, I always used to enjoy it because they always had Baltic herring (herring in cream sauce) with the lunches. I always managed to get at least one more helping from whoever was sitting beside because invariably at least one didn’t like it.
The meals on Lufthansa flights from the US are prepared in the US. That explains the lousy food. Let us know how the return flight food is.