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=== North towards [[Bucharest]], [[Veliko Tarnovo]] and [[Varna]] ===
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'''Sofia''' ([[Bulgaria]]n: ''София'') is the capital and largest city of [[Bulgaria]], lying in the west of the country.
== Hitchhiking Hitching out ==
=== East towards [[Plovdiv]], [[Edirne]] and [[Istanbul]] ===
However, it took Jass 4 hours just to get to the border, and he had long, long waiting times all the way to [[Belgrade]], despite how incredible hitchhiking is in the rest of the country. Try not to accept rides to places in the middle of nowhere. As always, it helps if you have a [[map]] to know what to expect.
=== South West Southwest towards [[Skopje]], [[Tirana]] ===
Take tram number 19 in the direction ''Knyazhevo '' all the way to the last stop. You will recognize the last stop because it turns off the road to make a tight loop and doubles back on it's its route. As you hop off the tram, to the left of the spring water fountains in front of you is a short stair case staircase that leads into a small park. 50 meters m from the stairs , directly through the park , you will find a bus station where you can catch bus number 59 that will take you all the way out of the city to nice spots to hitch from along the road that goes towards Pernik.
For the first nice spot along this direction heed the following: after about 8 minutes on the bus be on the look out for a gas station on the left side of the road. Get off as soon as you see this gas station as there is a nice place about 400 meters up the road where cars and lorries can safely pull off for you.
It is possible to ride on a bit farther if you miss this stop. The bus pulls off the main road about 3km later and goes into rural a neighborhood where you must get off less you wish to be lost in the countryside. If you find yourself here walk in the same direction as you are destined on a small road that runs parallel with the highway until you cross under it. On the left just after the bridge is a small foot path that will lead you up onto the bridge, over the railway, and onto the highway where right here you can find another space for cars to pull off the road safely for you. === North towards [[Veliko Tarnovo]], [[Bucharest]], [[Varna]] ===
Take tram 22 in direction east, get off at the last stop. The road parallel to the tramline runs directly out of the city, its possible to hitch anywhere from here but I would suggest a better place after the ring road which isolates only the traffic running to the A2 motorway. 7 km up the road is a Shell petrol station, the last stop for gas before the motorway, you can either walk the 7 km straight up the road or if you look to the left you will see a carpark in front of a car dealership. This is the bus station, take either the 117, 90 or 12, all will run directly up the road and stop more or less in front of the Shell petrol station. You can choose either the petrol station or just up the road is also ideal for hitching. An even better option is to take the 90 and persist with it until you reach the end of a road village called Gorni Bogrov (Bulgarian: Горни Богров), where you can hitch-hike from the bus station directly with great success since it has a lot of room for stopping and cars drive slow.
=== South towards [[Blagoevgrad]] and , [[Thessaloniki]] ===
Take tram 5 to the last stop - the tram originates behind the court building (Съдебна палата) in the center of Sofia. Walk another 5-10 minutes in the same direction of the tram until it is clear you are out of that neighborhood where all the traffic is heading out of the city. A good place to stop is at or just after the last stop light so the drivers are already stopped and have time to see you. Or don't mess with the walking, take the bus #58 and go till it leaves the road for the village of Vladaya/Владая. If you are lucky a trucker will pick you up going all the way to [[Thessaloniki]] and on to [[Italy]], otherwise the first 20 km are tricky (lot or cars going short distances) but after you pass [[Pernik]] you'll get a ride all the way to [[Blagoevgrad]] in no time.
