First day in Bulgaria

The plane flights were okay but long. We landed safely in both Frankfurt and Sofia. Four month old baby E is the best mascot! She's a happy baby and everyone wants to hold her. Tzvetanka and Ivan met us at the airport.

Sofia is part Soviet era old midrise apartments with baskets of flowers on each windowsill, peeling paint, plenty of graffiti and part new glass business towers. It reminds our three Jewish Dunavites of Israel in the 70's and early 80's. You have to press a button in the hall to turn on the lights. The pillows and mattresses are flat and lumpy. But each unit has wireless internet.

The people are warm and friendly. Tzv and Ivan prepared dinner for all of us: the freshest tomatoes in Shopska salad, two kinds of moussaka, fresh fruit and home made slivovitz for several toasts. I taught them to say L'chaim! We sang a few songs for sheer pleasure.

After dinner Hila and I walked to an ATM so I could get cash, then spelled the Cyrillic business names on the door fronts. Good practice !

The apartment holds all 10 of us. A bottle of insect repellent opened in my toiletry kit and soaked everything in it. I'm trying to air it out. Jody and I napped before dinner and slept all night.

It's about 7 AM and I hear sounds of activity in the kitchen. Time to get up!