Kahlil J

My wife (originally from Bulgaria) and I want to loudly and enthusiastically applaud the Free Sofia Tour group, and especially, our guide Niketsa (Niki) for the excellent, interesting and caring job he did on June 19, 2014 on the 11 a.m. tour!!!

We are based in Los Angeles, and I have been to Bulgaria thrice thanks to my wife. We visited Sofia every time we came, but never got such a thorough ‘introduction’ to this city until we met Niki.

From the start, Niki was friendly, professional and organized, along with a wonderful combination of being knowledgeable, humorous and balanced. Regarding his humor, he was able to successfully tell us much of Bulgaria’s darker history with a lighter touch; he still conveyed the gravity of the history without making it too emotionally heavy or light. Regarding his balanced narrative, he was able to consistently present the pros and cons of political history and the current situation without favoring one side. (In our opinion, Dessie from Plovdiv’s tour group, could borrow one of Niki’s techniques to add to her interesting tour). From Niki’s face, voice, and demeanor, we felt that he truly wanted to be there with us, that he was not waiting to ‘finish a job and go home’, and that while he acknowledged flaws within a country/city, he still ensured that us visitors got to experience the beauty and excitement of this wonderful country and city!

We were truly moved and impressed by the fact that Niki does this as a volunteer! Even though he reminded everyone that this is a free tour, we absolutely wanted to give him a donation for his excellent work! We have paid money for far less impressive tours elsewhere, and as a result, we are doubly in awe of Niki’s skill, dedication and love for this passion of his! We URGE all of you out there: if you are visiting Sofia, PLEASE start your visit with a tour through this wonderful group of people. It will be a treat to get you started!

THANK YOU, Niki (Niketsa), all the way from Los Angeles, California!

16.07.2014