1936 On the Continent

being specially directed, several picturesque street markets where everything from vegetables to lengths of cotton cloth, and from a cartload of firewood to a colt or a heifer, are sold by picturesque people to the accompaniment of picturesque cries and exclamations which it is just as well for you not to understand.
Huge Vegetables
    The vegetables deserve a special paragraph. They are gigantic, colossal. Vegetables are considered to be prosaic things, particularly in England, but here the size of everything will stagger you. Those onions you see in a heap on the ground are really onions, not grape-fruits wrapped in a dozen onion skins. The pumpkins and water melons that a brass-lunged peasant is offering for sale at the top of his voice are really what they appear to be at a first glance and not huge air balloons painted green or yellow. And those cabbages! Some London boarding house proprietresses could undoubtedly eke out a single head for weeks.
    You will have gathered from this firstly that Bulgaria is a fertile country, and secondly that the Bulgarians are firstclass market gardeners.
    A third thing that I ought to have mentioned before—but didn’t because it seems so natural to me—is the fact that the climate in Bulgaria is simply magnificent. The best time to visit Bulgaria is, of course, the summer, fromMarch till about the end of October. During those months the air is clear and sweet as wine. The weather is hot, but never uncomfortably so, for the heat is dry and therefore never oppressive. Sofia, in particular, is surrounded by mountains, and the mountain breezes keep the air pleasantly cool even in the height of summer.
    But let us return once more to the Maria Louisa Avenue. Just off it you will see the first real old Turkish mosque in Europe outside Turkey itself. It is a picturesque old building and one of the many relics of the Turkish occupation that lasted several centuries.
    Of course, you must have a look at the Royal Palace, which stands in Alexander I Square.
    There are many lovely buildings, old and new, in Sofia, many beautiful boulevards and squares, but the visitor cannot fail to find them in such a small town, and I will not deprive him of the pleasure of discovery.
    Instead, I will talk about money, food, drink and amusements.
About Money
    The currency unit is the leva, which stands at about 400 to the pound. The cost of living, even to the foreign visitor, is extremely low. It is possible to live well—paying for hotel accommodation, full board, and reasonable amusements—on about twelve shillings per day. The better class hotels are as modern, well appointed and clean as in any other European city. The service is excellent. the cuisine is mainly French, but the national dishes are also obtainable. The principal characteristic of these dishes is that they are highly spiced with paprika and prepared with a liberal use of fats, eggs and cream. Chicken, duck and lamb are prepared with interesting sauces that are bound to tickle the palate of the English visitor—no foreign visitor has failed to praise these excellent dishes. Vegetables are prepared in hundreds of different ways, while cakes, pastries and dumplings are made in an endless and appetising variety.
    Yoghurt, or sour milk, which is generally eaten with black wholemeal bread, is a staple food, particularly in hot weather. Sour milk may be eaten at any hour of the day or night.
    Tea is too expensive for the average Bulgarian and is rarely drunk, though readily obtainable, with lemon, at any café. The more popular breakfast and afternoon drink is coffee, which is made after the Viennese manner, with boiled milk or cream.
    Among alcoholic drinks plum whisky and wine are more popular than beer. Both plum whisky and wine are “dirt cheap” according to English standards.
    As regards hospitality to foreigners Bulgarians are second to none, and English visitors are particularly favoured, for the reasons mentioned above. It is quite normal for an English visitor to become acquainted with a Bulgarian family at a café, while listening to the music. An invitation to dine is almost inevitable, and I consider it necessary to warn English visitors to my beloved country that acceptance of such an invitation inevitably involves the consumption of a gargantuan meal. The hostess will cook and bake all day in preparation for the event, and she will do so cheerfully, ungrudgingly, offering her guest the very best she is able to afford. An