One thing that I have been appreciating about Sofia so far
is the vibrant cultural life. Sofia
really has an impressive arts scene, and we’ve been trying to take advantage of
it when we’re able. Hopefully this will
provide us with some good distractions once winter really sets in.
So far, I’ve only been to two to Sofia’s many museums - the Museum
of National History and the National Art Gallery. Both were impressive, and I’m looking forward
to seeing more of the major museums. The
National Gallery of Foreign Art has a temporary exhibit that I’m excited to
check out, and we’re looking forward to taking our daughter to the Museum of
Natural History which has a number of animals on display. I also just discovered a newly opened museum
that sounds interesting – the Museum of Socialist Art. From what I’ve read, the museum houses a
collection of statues, murals, and other items displaced after the fall of
communism in 1989.
 |
| National Opera Theater. |
There are also a lot of good theaters in Sofia that we’re
hoping to take advantage of. Sara saw a
production of Hamlet in Bulgarian at
the National Theater Ivan Vazov. She
reported that it was great, despite her inability to understand pretty much all
of the dialogue. Sofia also supports an
opera and ballet theater that hosts several productions each week. Last weekend we took our daughter to a
children’s production of Pinocchio at
the National Ballet. We were somewhat
doubtful that she’d manage to sit through fifteen minutes, so we were amazed
that she gave it her absolute attention for the entire hour and forty
minutes. I have to say, as an aside,
that it was quite a special moment to sit in a European opera house with a
completely enthralled two-year old sitting on my lap. There are several other theaters that do
children’s productions exclusively, and we are excited to give them a try.
I understand that there is a good music scene as well,
although I’ve not had a chance to explore this much yet. I’m told that jazz is particularly big in
Sofia, and I think it would be interesting to experience this. There was also a major film festival last
week, as well as a recent contemporary art series.
Perhaps none of this should be surprising – we are, after
all, living in a European capital. But I
am nonetheless impressed by the extent and vibrancy of cultural life here,
particularly given the fact that Sofia was a minor city until it became
Bulgaria’s capital in the late 19th Century, and that it is still working through the transition from communism.
While I appreciate the cultural opportunities available to us at home,
it is really quite exciting to be living in a place where we can take advantage
of multiple options on any night of the week.
Now to find a babysitter…
No comments:
Post a Comment