Last night we went bowling. I can't remember the last time I bowled, as evidenced by my terrible scores. The bowling alley across the square from our apartment is nightclub style with couches instead of plastic seats and vodka for sale by the bottle instead of fountain soda in plastic cups.
A few floors below the bowling alley is an Irish pub called O'Neills. We heard about this place from the American woman who runs the English/Russian bookstore in town. So we headed on down to check it out. There was a band playing Sweet Home Alabama with thick Bulgarian accents as we entered. It wasn't very busy, maybe 15 people in the whole bar including the staff. We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of drinks, enjoying all of the American music being played. I loved the atmosphere, and the menu included all the traditional Bulgarian foods in addition to Irish meals.
One by one, nearly everyone in the bar including the owner, the band, and the bartenders came over to ask where we were from and wanted to know how in the world we came to be living in Varna. They don't get very many Americans in this part of the world, apparently. I had to admit that even a couple of months ago I had never heard of this place, so coming here was kind of like throwing the proverbial dart on the map.
They started showing a replay of the San Jose vs. Colorado playoff game from the night before, so even though we knew the outcome, we got to see the game on the big screen. The bartender, Nikola, was very into hockey and was knowledgeable about the NHL. He told us he worked in this bar because it is the only one in town that shows NHL games. (Now we know where we'll be watching the Stanley Cup Finals!) Nikola is a Red Wings fan, and since the Coyotes are playing the Red Wings in round 1, we have a friendly rivalry going.
At one point one of the band members came over to point out to us that "He made score during the power time!!" He wanted to be sure we noticed that Colorado had scored.
Nikola told us about the local football (soccer) team and said that while they're not very good, he'd like to take us to a game sometime. He also wants to introduce us to some of his friends who may be able to help us out with getting jobs here. After being here just a week, we're already hoping to find jobs to be able to stay awhile.
As people left the bar, they all came by to say goodbye to us, even the ones we had not really talked to. Everyone was so friendly and warm.
We were the last ones to leave the bar as we were still chatting with Nikola. He brought us our bill, 11 leva, roughly 8 dollars, for 3 tall local beers (Zagorka) and a plate of fried potatoes with cheese. I still can't get over how much we get for our money in this country.
We were encouraged to come back again the next night; the same band is on again. We'll be there. And since it's about 75 steps from our apartment, we'll probably be spending a lot of time there over these next few months. Nikola told us that while Bulgaria may not be the greatest country in the world, at least we chose the best city in Bulgaria to live in. Couldn't agree more.
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