Saturday morning I sent an email out to some friends in Sofia. I was attempting to round them up so that we could check out the Night at the Museum initiative where museums in Sofia stay open late and are free to checkout. By late afternoon a plan was hatched: meet on the steps in of the Ivan Vasov National Theater, get some dinner, enjoy Take a Cake cupcakes and to check out a museum or two.
<a title="Night at the museums by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232261810/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/7232261810_ca10b3354f_z.jpg" alt="Night at the museums" width="640" height="480" /></a>
It was really the perfect plan. Saturday was sunny but not too sunny. There weren't too many people on the steps of the theater but those people who were there were having a really great time. We decided to go to Pizza Victoria so that we could sit outside. The food was good and the company was even better.

Two of our friends were meeting us at the restaurant and happened to run into one of our old students. He told us that he'd be rapping from the roof of the old national palace with is now the hope to two different museums--the National Art Gallery and the Ethnographic Museum at 8pm. So we ate dinner and went to see him rap.
<a title="me at the museum/ palace by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232250900/"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5076/7232250900_7541917507_z.jpg" alt="me at the museum/ palace" width="640" height="480" /></a>
<a title="P. and museums by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232256120/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7232/7232256120_623c31bc1b_z.jpg" alt="P. and museums" width="640" height="480" /></a>
It turned out that there was a jazz band playing on the balcony and our student rapped a song with them. It was great fun. What a clever use of space and a wonderful way to draw attention to the event!!
<a title="Cupcakes by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232259764/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7095/7232259764_f35a81a397_z.jpg" alt="Cupcakes" width="640" height="480" /></a>
We ate cupcakes across the street from the palace while listening to the live music and dancing. The cupcakes were to celebrate my birthday and I surprised my friends with them. For the record, my friends loved them <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/10/08/cupcakes-in-sofia/" target="_blank">as much as I do</a>. <em>Hip, hip, houray!</em> They also agreed that Take a Cake should work on a few more cupcake-y flavors like red velvet and that some of the cupcakes are muffins with frosting but delicious nevertheless.

The cupcakes got added to the mix because I realized that morning I hadn't eaten any cake to celebrate my 31st birthday but I didn't feel motivated to make my own birthday cake. And a girl's got to have a cake on her birthday, so I figured I'd buy myself cupcakes and support one of my favorite local businesses (check out <a href="http://take-a-cake-bakery.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">their super cute blog</a> or <a href="http://www.take-a-cake.eu/" target="_blank">their website</a>). Not a bad plan if I do say so myself.
<a title="in the national archaeologcal museum by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232242614/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7232242614_ee7c94cb6a_z.jpg" alt="in the national archaeologcal museum" width="640" height="480" /></a>
A little after 8pm we headed to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Archaeological_Museum_(Bulgaria)" target="_blank">National Archaeological Museum</a>. It's one of my favorite museums. It's in an old mosque so the space inside is lovely and the collection is excellent. I always tell people that if you don't have time for more than one museum while visiting this is the museum to check out. I've probably been more than five times and it never gets old.

Last night it was packed with people but that's because of the special event. Normally it's basically empty but on an everyday basis this is how Bulgarian museums are. Empty. So it's a little overwhelming to see them crawling with people. People who are touching things they shouldn't and setting off alarms. Still it's great fun because you get to see Bulgarians so excited and interested in their history.
<a title="Bronze statue by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232239984/"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5076/7232239984_c5a08710ae_z.jpg" alt="Bronze statue" width="640" height="480" /></a>
There were so many people there that we had to wait our turn to go upstairs to the second level where the gold treasure is. This collection is really the highlight of the museum.
<a title="Gold crown by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232233714/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7232233714_45ea30b527_z.jpg" alt="Gold crown" width="640" height="480" /></a>
If you've found yourself impressed with the statues, glass and bronze work on the first floor, then you probably won't be able to get enough of the intricate, finely worked gold pieces on the second floor. The gold leaf crown is really the piece to see. The craftsmanship, the detail and the incredibly thin gold leaves will amaze you. If this isn't enough, there's the fact that this piece was found in a Bulgarian's garden.  Can you imagine extracting this from the earth?!
<a title="Gold work at the museum by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232237984/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8163/7232237984_6380e2dd32_z.jpg" alt="Gold work at the museum" width="640" height="480" /></a>
We spent about 45 minutes in the museum and that was plenty even for my friends who had never been there before. They felt like they'd more or less seen the collection and while the event is fun and the energy levels in the museum were high, there were too many people to really enjoy yourself.
<a title="the archaeologcal museum by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7232231272/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7102/7232231272_2cd2e4ab10_z.jpg" alt="the archaeologcal museum" width="640" height="480" /></a>
That's probably the one thing I'd warn people about, if you don't like crowds or waiting in line this is not the event for you. Also if you'd rather have a more intimate experience with a museum this is still possible in Bulgaria just plan on visiting during a regular day. More often than not it will be you, the sound of your footsteps, the museum staff and the artifacts. Just be warned this will ruin you for any other museum in Western Europe.

We topped off the night with a drink in the bar on the backside of the National Archaeological Museum. It was the perfect way to end the day.