The Rivers of Sofia Festival

This weekend in Sofia, there was a festival called “The Rivers of Sofia.” The festival is organised every year to bring life and gatherings around the river. Because it seemed like a nice festival and a good opportunity to spend some time in the city, I planned to go there for the day and stay until the evening. I later realised that I wasn’t the only one who wanted to go.

Four of us, along with Nash and the kids, went there and spent the day together. We took the train together, had lunch in a restaurant, and then went to the festival. We found a great spot by the river and spent most of our time there.

Eventually, we also wandered around the festival. There were a lot of food trucks, concert stages, and a market where people were selling their handmade products.

As the evening went on, the place started to get more and more crowded. I think that, like me, people were more attracted to the festival at night because of the lights. But at some point, it got too crowded around us, probably because we were right in the heart of the festival, with the river being the main attraction.

As we started moving around and looking for a better, more peaceful place, clouds started to gather and a storm seemed to be approaching. So, we decided that it was time to go back.

We stayed for the night in a kindergarten, thanks to the kind hospitality of a couple of former volunteers from Vegetarium. This was a really unique experience, and I think I will remember more about this night in the kindergarten than the festival itself.

We all slept together like a big sleepover, in children’s beds with blankets. We also ate together and shared our food like a big picnic. It was really surprising how such a simple moment could turn into such an amazing time.

Zoé