I had a great time last night at three different museums in Sofia celebrating, <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/05/13/a-night-of-museums-in-sofia/" target="_blank">A Night at the Museum</a>.Over the course of one evening I went to the National Art Gallery, the Ethnographic Museum and the National History Museum in Boyana.

Admittedly, going to both the National Art Gallery and the Ethnographic Museums isn't so hard seeing as they are both housed in the same building. But getting to Boyana took a little more effort. Luckily we had a car for that part of the adventure.

Now I've been to all of these museums a few times which was probably good because when I go to a gallery or a museum for the first time I really like to look at things. I like to read descriptions. I like to think about things. Basically, I like to take my time. Last night was not necessarily a take your time kind of night.

There were so many people in the museums, in front of the museums and walking around. It was really incredible. Young people, parents, twenty and thirty-somethings as well as the grandmother-baba set--basically every demographic was covered. People were really enjoying themselves too. There was lots of talking, plenty of photos being taken and a fair amount of pausing to peer at paintings or to gawk at gold artifacts.

The atmosphere and energy in the Palace was party-like but it made the sad state of the actual building that much more apparent. The parquet flooring is in horrible disrepair and every step was squeaky and creaky and this noise was amplified by all of the visitors making the building louder than I ever remember it being. It's really a shame because the building is beautiful and it seems to be falling down around the art collection.

I was reminded that I love the collection in the National Gallery but that the collection in the Ethnographic Museum isn't really worth checking out. The collection in the Ethnographic museum is haphazard.  It doesn't tell a single unifying story, it doesn't have any wow pieces nor is the layout-curation of the museum innovative or engaging. It's too bad really because I think that the museum has an opportunity to do something interesting with Bulgaria as a crossroads--the influence of the West and the East on clothing, food, farming and what not and the way Bulgarians took and adapted both cultures and traditions to fit their needs.

From the city center we ventured out to the National History Museum and it was equally packed. We got there about 10 or 10:30 and it felt less like a party and more like a crowded museum in Western Europe like the Louvre in Paris or the Prado in Madrid. It was exciting.

I was struck by how many people were there and how much people were enjoying the artifacts. I've been to the National History Museum two other times and both times the museum was basically empty. The time I took my mom and aunt we basically had the museum to ourselves.  It's really lovely to have a museum to yourself but it's also a little creepy and vaguely sad that no one else is there experiencing and appreciating these things.

But last night there was no trace of this.  It was really wonderful to watch Bulgarians tramp through Todor Zhivkov's old residence (which now houses the National History Museum) and to observe these Bulgarians looking at, talking about and pointing out difference pieces of the collection to each other. It's not so often I see Bulgarians excited about their country and history in such an authentic way.