Day 218 – EU – Bulgaria [Sofia to Dragoman]

27/09/20

42km

  From Sofia (Bulgaria) to Dragoman (Bulgaria)

Europe

Cold run under a bright blue sky, a cobblestone road and a day-trip back to Sofia

Putting an end to the past few days of rain and fog, this morning’s sky was clear, crisp and bright as I left this morning. I did not mind the cold (well below 10 Celsius) I was simply happy to enjoy my surroundings. Running away from Sofia via the Northern suburbs was a very different experience from my entry into the capital city two days ago from the West.

The Northern suburbs are leafy and wealthy in comparison to the poverty I had witnessed earlier. I headed north towards the small village of Dragoman, on a secondary road running parallel to the new highway connecting Bulgaria to Serbia. Since I am not authorised to run on it, I will spend the next few days running around in the countryside to enter Serbia via a small road. As I ran past Slivnitsa, I spotted a hill bearing an immense tribute to 1885, which marks the Serbia-Bulgarian war and subsequent unification of the country. Quite a tribute.

The run was very pleasant until about km30. Then I hit a beautiful cobblestone road. I would have appreciated it under other circumstances, but it was challenging with BoB the stroller. The repetitive vibrations and shocks was taxing for its structure – as well as tough for me as it transferred to my hands and arms. A tough job it was!

As soon as I finished the run, I rushed to shower and eat before getting to the bus station to take the 2pm bus to Sofia. The task was to collect my Covid19 signed and stamped test results which I will need to cross into Serbia on Tuesday. It being Sunday, there were not many buses. I got back to Dragoman late today. Not as rested as I would have liked but it is what it is – and I got the job done.

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: