On the train to Sofia

I have not travelled on a train to Bulgaria in a few years so it was with interest that I accepted a friends idea to go on the train (Vlak) to Sofia.

We duly arrived at Varna railway station and purchased out tickets for the 10.56 train.We settled in a bar which had internet access and the station was clean and well laid out.We had decided to so first class as it was Easter Monday and I anticipated that the train would be crowded with people returning home after the holidays.The first class fare was 33 leva the second class 22 leva.The carriages were a little better in first class and next to the buffet car.

We set off on time and the journey was pleasant.The scenery was nice to behold and you could move around quite easily and there was access to toilet facilities (on the buses the toilet is usually locked if they have one).

By the time we got as far as Levski and Pleven the train was VERY crowded, people were standing in the corridor in dozens.The buffet car started to run out of things, especially beer !.

We arrived at Sofia railway station at 6.48pm, total journey time 7 hours 49 minutes.In comparison an express coach stopping only at Veliko Turnovo takes  6 hours 30 minutes.

As a footnote, during the journey we passed through the picturesque Iskar Gorge, and I noticed one village was called 'Thompson'.I remembered that I knew the story behind this very english surname.

Major William Thompson was parachuted into the Balkans in 1944 to assess the impact that Bulgarian partisans were having in the fight against the Bulgarian pro-German regime.Unfortunately the group of three OAS agents discovered they had a broken radio and lost contact with the British authorities.Thompson was a committed Marxist (he was the younger brother of the historian EP Thompson) and joined the partisans in fighting with the goverment.In one engagement he was wounded, captured and, after a show trial, he was executed..he was only 24 years old !.