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Free Sofia Tour's Blog

February 20, 2013

Fall Recruitment, Training And The Two Fresh Additions

Hello, dear Free Sofia Tour loyal fans! As time for our spring recruitment and training campaign approaches, we deem it high time we shared how the fall session went and put the two freshest additions to our team, Martin and Nikola, in the spotlight. However, the training wasn’t just for them, it was also for the people on the other side, Radi and Stefan, who did it for the first time as preparation for what is about to happen this spring (as now it’s all their responsibility). Of course, the training followed the same pattern that was already set up in the spring, for if something works, why change it? First of all, the applicants all met in person with a member of the recruitment team for an interview. Well, an interview is a rather misleading term in this case, because we’re talking about one of those occasions where the ‘interviewer’ talks a lot more than the ‘interviewee’ does, at least in most cases. Unfortunately, at this point our evil […]
February 19, 2013

Дарителски кръг ФРГИ подкрепя Сдружение Фрий София Тур

English summary below/ Сдружение „Free Sofia Tour“ е сред четирите избрани организации, които получават възможността да бъдат подкрепени от Дарителски кръг ФРГИ – “Развитие” на Фондация “Работилница за граждански инициативи”. Каузата, с която кандидатствахме, включва създаване на маршрути за деца за обиколки на забележителностите на София, Пловдив и Варна, ще създадем карти на разработените маршрути и ще ги публикуваме онлайн за свободно ползване. Маршрутите ще са адаптация на вече разработените от нас обиколки на трите най-големи града в България. По-долу може да прочетете повече за нашия проект. Искаме да представим специални благодарности на нашия застъпник Ани Филипова, Експерт Маркетинг и фондонабиране, Фондация„За Нашите Деца”. Срещата на Дарителския кръг от 18:30 на 25.02.2013 г. (понеделник) ще ни даде възможност да представим проекта и да наберем необходимите средства за реализирането на проекта. Нашата цел е 2500 лв. За да се включи някой в дарителската сесия, той трябва да се ангажира поне с 50 лв подкрепа за проект. След това на място може да избере кой от четирите проекта да подкрепи. Обявяването на даренията става с […]
February 14, 2013

Love or Wine? February 14th the Bulgarian Way

Love or Wine? Planning on spending February the 14th in Sofia? Here’s what to do. A lot of people have waited to celebrate today’s holiday, St. Valentine’s Day. At least a lot of women. Now, if you are a guy, you might not like this holiday particularly much. Guess what – in Bulgaria you have an alternative – you could also celebrate the Day of St. Tryphon, also known as the holiday of all winegrowers, wine producers and gardeners.   St Tryphon’s Day The Day of St. Tryphon, also known as Tryphon Zarezan, is a Christian Orthodox holiday. Therefore it is also celebrated in other Balkan countries such as Greece or Serbia. In Southern Europe, February marks the beginning of the long cycle of processing the vines. According to the tradition, on this day the women in Bulgaria get up early, knead and bake ritual bread, often decorated with vine colours. Men, on the other hand, set off to the vine fields, where they perform the main ritual – pruning of […]
February 13, 2013

World in logos (part II: The Balkans)

Recently, our small fatherland became preoccupied with the creation of the new brand and logo of Bulgarian tourism, that’s why our friend Andrey from Tourist Sites of Bulgaria & Andrey-andreev.com decided to take a quick peek into the world of logos. He started with our neighbors, continuing throughout the Balkans. Here’s the original post in Bulgarian. We publish the images, videos together with his commentary: “It’s Saturday morning, but throughout the time before noon I’ve been fighting the sticky feeling that it’s Sunday. My neighbour and his drill have been quite active since very early. I suppose you have neighbors as well, so you also enjoy this sort of early morning music. I’ve always thought this must be included in Bulgaria’s advertisement video: traditional home repairs on a Saturday morning. I have nothing better to do today than cleaning or traveling, but I have planned to stay home and travel in the virtual reality by studying the different logos of Balkan countries, as well as selecting some new destinations to visit, for when I find […]
February 10, 2013

My Destination Launches in Bulgaria!

My Destination launches in Bulgaria on 11.02.2013 as part of a global expansion covering over a hundred other destinations and spanning 44 countries! Thanks to the 18 million visitors My Destination draws in, My Destination Bulgaria and its local business partners will benefit from the international audience this global brand attracts. My Destination is a global travel resource powered by a diverse community of local experts on the ground, providing local knowledge and unique local deals. And what better addition to My Destination than Bulgaria: “Bulgaria packs an astonishing mixture of fun and excitement on a territory that, globally speaking, is comparable to a grain of sand. It can be labeled as a truly exotic destination lying at the very heart of the Old Continent where culture, history, architecture, nature and entertainment come together to create one perfect whole. And it is waiting for you to explore it” Milena Raikova, Manager of My Destination Bulgaria. My Destination Bulgaria: Locally informed, globally inspired. Established in 2006 by award-winning (and travel-mad) young entrepreneurs […]
February 1, 2013

World in logos (part I: The neighbours)

Recently, our small fatherland became preoccupied with the creation of the new brand and logo of Bulgarian tourism, that’s why our friend Andrey from Tourist Sites of Bulgaria & Andrey-andreev.com decided to take a quick peek into the world of logos. He started with our neighbors. Here’s the original post in Bulgarian. We publish the images, videos together with his commentary: Bulgaria: Discover & Share Click to see the rest of the photos Turkey: “Since I’m not actually a designer, I will only comment on what I know. The red thingy in the logo symbolizes Turkish tulips. The tulip is the national flower not only of the Dutch, but also of the Turks. After all, it is through Turkey that tulips arrived in Europe in the first place.  I suppose some nations find it hard to imagine a country named after a holiday meal, but at least we, Bulgarians, cannot mistake a bird for a state. The slogan of the Turkish logo is “WELCOMES YOU”, and my personal experience is that […]
January 29, 2013

Fire & shooting near our starting point

Sofia. A fire and a shooting have occurred close to the building of the Courts of Justice in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, FOCUS News Agency reports.   Cold weather and holidays can’t stop us. Do you think fire & bullets would do it? Think again! We’d still be waiting for you today. Starting point might be a bit messy so look for us around (maybe next to McDonalds). If you cannot find us, call +359 886 993 977 and we will help you!
January 23, 2013

Безплатна разходка из София за бежанците и търсещите закрила в столицата

Първата безплатна обиколка на София на арабски език за бежанци и търсещи закрила в столицата ще се проведе на 26 януари. Инициативата е на сдружение “Фрий София Тур” и сдружение “Мулти култи колектив” в сътрудничество с Държавната агенция за бежанците (ДАБ). Обиколката за бежанци ще води Красимир Янков – един от гидовете на “Фрий София Тур”. Той е арабист и ще предоставя своите услуги про боно веднъж месечно. Освен че е сертифициран екскурзовод, Янков работи като журналист и отразява въпросите на Близкия изток и Северна Африка. Той често посещава региона, включително размирни райони и бежански лагери. Наскоро негов материал от Ирак бе публикуван във Washington Times. Бежанците бягат от своите държави, защото са преследвани въз основа на тяхната раса,  религия, националност, принадлежност към определена социална група или политически убеждения и търсят закрила в други държави. В България закрила намират бежанци основно от Сирия, Ирак, Афганистан и Иран. За да спомогне за тяхната интеграция в България, Държавната агенция за бежанците изпълнява Интеграционна програма, която осигурява курсове по български език и професионална […]
January 18, 2013

Free Plovdiv Tour celebrates 6 months

In the past 6 months the Bohemian beauty and the historical treasures of Plovdiv were taken as memories to 57 countries. Over 700 people left their footsteps on the streets where once Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgarians and Ottomans proudly left theirs. 130 tour groups had the chance to get a true Plovdiv experience – to meet in front of the Post Office, to greet the chess-players in the City Garden, to sit on the Buttons, to whisper a wish in Miljo’s ear, to check the time on the Sun Clock, to wave to Alyosha and to see the sunset from Nebet Tepe. Ten guides aged 17-26 shared their city with many new friends from all over the world. The guests came mainly from Australia, USA, Germany, France and the UK but there were also visitors from Uruguay, Tasmania, Singapore, Tajikistan and South Korea and many other distant countries! There were several challenges, that the project and its team had to face within those 6 months. The first tours started the […]