Despite the fact that almost 30 years have passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of socialism in Eastern Europe, memories are still alive. Today those born after 1989 listen with interest to the stories of their relatives on that period, but those often sound surreal to them. This is actually the target group of three entrepreneurs who have decided to show Sofia back in the days and through the eyes of the average citizen. That is done with the assistance of the legendary Trabant German vehicle. One of the trio - Yordan Petkov, explains the benefits of such tours:

‘People coming from all over the world show interest towards different things in Sofia. They ask how it looked like through the era of socialism and it was obvious to us that some tour of that kind was necessary. However, we wanted to do something slightly different and we came up with the idea that if we used some object typical for that time, such as the Trabant car, it would be an attraction to foreigners and interesting to ourselves. Despite being ridiculed a lot both then and now, Trabant was one of the cheapest vehicles of socialism, which makes it suitable for restoration.’

‘We wanted to try GAZ Chaika and Volga as well,’ Yordan admits, but those are too expensive and their maintenance is a challenge. Furthermore, the idea of the tour is tourists to feel the maximum in terms of the average citizen’s everyday life. Both limousines fit there in no way, as during the socialism they were preserved for top-communist rulers and their families. At the same time Trabant was the typical vehicle, used by millions across the Eastern Bloc.’ The initial model was manufactured in the East German city of Zwickau in November 1957. Up until Germany’s 1990 unification there were over 3 mln. units produced and more than 34,000 of those are still wandering around Germany. More on the car’s history and the subtleties of its driving might be learnt in case you decide to join the two-hour-long tour of Sofia each Saturday and Sunday at 10 am. The starting point is right next to that piece of the Berlin Wall, gifted by Berlin citizens on 16 May 2006 – it is situated outside the National Palace of Culture downtown Sofia. After having heard this story you will learn more on the secrets of the NPC – a place carrying the spirits of the past and interweaving it with the pulsation of modern times. One of the ‘secrets’ – there used to be an old railroad station and the barracks of the 1^st and 6^thinfantry regiments on the spot. You will hear a story on the building and demolishing of the mausoleum of communist leader Georgi Dimitrov and also one for the deed and fate of great Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov – the author of In Absentia Reports about Bulgaria. Often a passer-by may add his or her personal story to what you’ve heard during the tour. Do not send such a person away, but listen to this different point of view on that time, even if you disagree. Let’s not forget that in the end of socialism we won back one of the fundamental human rights, which had been the privilege of few before that – the freedom to voice to the public our opinion on anything that concerns us.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev