I technically left Istanbul they day before (Day 96) but it was an overnight bus that left at 8:30pm, and all the noteworthy stuff happened past midnight. Crossing the border from Turkey to Bulgaria was a first for me in a few ways. It was the first time I've crossed a border in a bus, and the first time I've crossed a serious border (Canada/US doesn't count) by land. In total it took about 2.5 hours to get across the border (12:30am until 3am) as we had to stop, all get out of the bus and give our passports to the Turkish border people so they could stamp them and make sure we hadn't overstayed in Turkey, get back on the bus, drive another 50m, get off so people could visit duty free, drive some more, get off so the Bulgarian side could check our passports, and then again so people could go through the bus and check it for any contraband being smuggled in.
I got to Sofia around 7am, and at least managed to find my hostel with relative ease. I couldn't check in for awhile, but I stored my bags and explored Sofia. Mostly I just explored parks, shops and little markets around the city center, but I also checked out the Alexander Nevski Cathedral and walked by a few other interesting buildings like the courthouse and some other churches.
Also, not important, but if there is a more appropriate old guy feeding pigeons somewhere in the world, I have yet to encounter him.
The hostel itself is pretty amazing, and possibly my favourite so far. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful, the place is comfortable and has a cool design, and it comes with free breakfast and a surprisingly good spicy spaghetti and beer dinner, all for about $12 a night.
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