BasBasBas.com

Tag: Sofia

  • Finally found a flat!

    So I finally found my flat for the time to come. I moved from Istanbul to Sofia, Bulgaria one and a half week ago and have been flathunting each day, but it took quite a while to find something.

    I lived here one and a half year ago and prices were quite low, but to find something decent near the center for a reasonable price is very difficult now, especially for a foreign student.

    What an awful process. Going from flat to flat, waiting for agents, replying to online ads for apartments that have been given out already, saying yes to a flat to find out that they’d rather have a Bulgarian living there and not a foreigner. Saying yes to a flat to hear the next day that they are only interested in people for a long-term stay. Seeing all corners of the city, resisting agents’ arguments on why some nasty remote suburb is a great place to live (which it is not).

    What a painstakingly exhausting process. Hence the pic, from Flickr by hiromy.

    Well, yesterday I found my apartment. I still have to sign the contract later today, but it looks like all is well, but you can follow my Twitter feed to get an update when everything is all done, or wait for the next blog post.

    The flat is quite close to my old apartment where I lived up until a year ago (how time flies), although my old apartment had a much better location. It has a separate living room and kitchen, although I prefer the two combined because I’m lazy, plus I like to listen to my DJ sets or other music while I’m cooking. A bedroom with a nice double bed; bigger bedroom than the last one, for those in the know. Since I’ll be spending a lot of time at home behind the computer, to write my final thesis, I wanted to make sure I’d be comfortable at least. Now I’m sure. A video soon!

    Below are two videos of my old flats, the first one is of the flat I previously lived in in Bulgaria, the second is the flat I shared with 3 other students in Istanbul.

    BasBasBas.com is about my life abroad. I regularly write about my adventures in Istanbul, Bulgaria and travels in the region. If you’d like to stay up to date, you can subscribe to my RSS feed or get email updates in your inbox. You can also follow me on Twitter.

  • My Old Neighbourhood in Istanbul

    Still looking for my new neighbourhood here in Sofia, which is taking up quite a bit of time. It’s not as easy as 1.5 year ago, since the city got remarkably more expensive. I’m not worried though, patience and perseverance are the key to the keys of a great flat, in a great neighbourhood. If you know something good however, not more than 10-15 minutes by public transportation from the center, you can email me at .

  • Bye Bye Istanbul!

    Packing is done… So is cleaning. I’m about to head to Bulgaria for half a year.

    Let’s hope Russia puts the gas back on, but it looks like it might be a week before normal gas supplies can be restored.

    Bye bye Istanbul!

  • A Curious Cat!

    The other day I got up before dawn because I wanted to take some shots of Istanbul as the sun came up. The set went alright, but the best picture has nothing to do with Istanbul by dawn… It’s this curious cat I came across (you can click the pic for a bigger version). I’ll be posting other pictures from the set regularly soon… The lower quality, unedited versions are already online for a sneak peek. Have a look in my Picasa.

    Before I left I took another picture of the cat…

    Istanbul has a lot of street cats, which I don’t mind. The dogs can be a nuisance, especially at night, but they are generally clean, healthy and well-behaved, unlike the ones in Sofia, Bulgaria. In my neighbourhood here in Istanbul, people put rests of food outside their window or put special food for cats on the pavement. Every now and then you’ll hear a cat outside your building meowing really loudly. One look out of the window and you’ll find out your upstairs neighbour is throwing food down at the cat – so be careful with sticking your head out of the window. 😉

    In Holland, I have not once seen a street dog and I doubt I’ve ever seen a street cat, but it’s hard to tell as most people just let their cats outside during the day.

    Do you have a lot of street animals in your country? I see a lot of reactions from different parts of the world, so I’m especially interested in what type of animals? How do they behave? How does the general public feel about them?

    BasBasBas.com is about my life as a Dutch student living in Istanbul. I regularly write about my adventures in Istanbul and travels in the region. If you’d like to stay up to date, you can subscribe to my RSS feed or get email updates in your inbox. You can also follow me on Twitter.

  • Tunnel


    click for more detailed version

    It’s amazing what you can do with a little Photoshoping. Upon returning from Borovets to Sofia, in Bulgaria last weekend, our busdriver dropped us off under a bridge (click here to see the original photo). I immediately envisioned the above picture and snapped a photo. I was anxious to see if my idea would actually work and it’s always exciting when they do. To quote The A-Team’s Hannibal, I love it when a plan comes together.

    So what do you think people? Post-apocalyptic enough?

    More travel photos soon; including some snowy shots of Bulgaria! If you’d like to get them straight to your feedreader, you can subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe by email using the form in the right sidebar.

  • Germany Shuts Down Wikipedia, Earthquake Hits Sofia, Brazilian Bloggers Take To Streets

    Thank God I didn’t wake up with a hangover today. Where to begin!

    Germany Shuts Down Wikipedia

    Censorship’s creeping up on us. Just 3 weeks ago I wrote about Turkey’s ban of Blogger/Blogspot, which I didn’t write about because I specifically care about Turkey’s internet, but because I care about the freedom of the internet. I’m sure a lot of visitors were able to stay detached from the situation and not care so much, maybe this time the news will have more impact because even Germany is guilty of web censorship now.

    Lutz Heilmann, a German parliament member, took legal action against Wikipedia, because of an article mentioning his alleged involvement in the Stasi, Eastern Germany’s secret police during communist time. Great job in proving you’ve not been a member or showing that you’ve changed by getting the web censored, it’s almost like if the police called for web censorship after being accused of Gestappo practices. Oh wait, that actually happened.

    What happened in Germany is that www.wikipedia.de no longer links to wikipedia.org, the main site of wikipedia. The German version of Wikipedia is still available through de.wikipedia.org.

    It looks like Heilmann realized what kind of shitstorm his legal procedures were starting to bring down on him and before accidentally flushing his future political career down the toilet and he issued a press release (in German) saying that Wikipedia can make Wikipedia.org accessible via Wikipedia.de again. He also adds that it wasn’t about censorship for him. Hey, guess what, this is exactly what China says too. Good job, Lutz.

    More at TechCrunch.

    Earthquake Hits Sofia, Bulgaria

    Last night after coming home from meeting with Hans, a Dutch expat and international communication specialist in Istanbul, I had an email in my inbox from my girlfriend telling me that there was an earthquake in Sofia. She’s fine, her family’s fine and I believe my friends are all safe, since I already spoke to those living closest to the epicenter. It was a 4.0-magnitude (Richter scale) earthquake lasting 2.3 seconds.

    This morning there was an aftershock, which was less heavy.

    More at Novinite.

    Brazilian Bloggers Take To Streets

    Coming back to the topic of internet freedom, Brazilian bloggers and internet junkies (in the good sense of the word) took to the streets in São Paolo to demonstrate against the Digital Crimes Bill, which defines cyber-crimes and stipulates penalties accordingly. Bloggers feel the bill, which was passed by the Brazilian Senate in July, is too loosely formulated and might lead to over-surveillance of the internet at the cost of freedom of speech and expression.

    More at Global Voices.

    What are some of the best initiatives you have seen regarding the freedom of speech on the internet? Or, completely unrelated, have you ever been in an earthquake?

    Stay updated. Follow my Twitter feed, or subscribe to this blog by RSS or email.

  • Expat Experience! Edition 1 – Blog Carnival

    Expat Experience Logo

    Welcome to the first edition of blog carnival Expat Experience!

    Expat Experience is a collection of the web’s best blog posts about life as an expat around the world. What is it like to move abroad? What are the joys and difficulties of emerging yourself in a different culture? What about food, culture shock, language problems, or making friends abroad? How about maintaining contact and relationships with people back home? But let’s not forget the adventures one experiences as an expat… travelling in ones new home country, the social life, going from outsider to insider in a new environment.

    Expat Experience is a reflection of all of this and more. We all have different homes and different destinations, but share one thing… We have made the move abroad. Whether you’re a long-term or short-term expat, serial expat or just someone that’s interested in the life of expats… Whether you’re interested in the lives of expats in your home country, an expat that wants to read about the experiences of fellow expats, or you just want to network with other expats and gain some attention for your own blog… Expat Experience offers a fascinating insight into the lives of expats globally.

    Enjoy the read, enjoy the adventure! Enjoy the Expat Experience!

    (more…)

  • Who Gives A Duck!?

    My girlfriend Tsvety and I proudly present the launch of our new blog Who Gives A Duck? with this rubber duckie video!

    Who Gives A Duck? We give a duck!

    First person to guess which city this video was shot in gets 200 Entrecard credits! (regular readers should have no problem with this)

  • My Holiday Flat in Sofia

    This is the apartment I’ve rented for a few days here in Sofia, Bulgaria for just 35 euros per night. It’s a normal price for a double room in some shabby hotel in the outskirts of most European capitals. Even in Sofia, most of the double rooms in hotels are around 20 euros per person. However, do a little searching and you’ll find yourself something way more awesome for a lot less money! 🙂

    Oh and it’s not in the outskirts, it’s right in the center, just between Popa and NDK for those of you who are familiar. 😉

    If you’re ever planning a trip to Sofia, I strongly advise you to find an apartment, as hotels are mostly overpriced. If you’re interested in the apartment in this video, you can call Ms. Georgieva on +359 888 502 981 (mobile number).

    Tonight I’m hopping in the bus back to Istanbul, so new Istanbul updates very soon!

  • New Picture Album of Sofia!

    Just uploaded another album to my Picasa with pictures of my stay in Sofia, Bulgaria this week. Click on a pic below to go check out the album!

    Or click here to see all of my albums, including older albums of Sofia, Istanbul, Brussels, Holland, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

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