Top 7 things to know before landing in Bulgaria

1. Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet.  Christina and I somehow managed to land in Sofia before realizing this, despite each of us having read an entire travel guide on the country.
2. A head shake back and forth = "yes".  A nod up and down = "no".  Knowing this will not, however, prevent you from questioning whether someone is actually telling you "yes" or "no" every single time you encounter it.
3. Bus stops do not need signs, announcements, or any indication whatsoever that they exist.  If you are bright enough to board a bus, you are bright enough to figure out where to get off without any help.
4. Train stations do not need arrival signs, arrival announcements, or any indication whatsoever to help you know where the hell you are.  Asking the Bulgarian sitting across from you if your train is arriving at the city of ___ will not help you figure this out (see #2).
5. Train stations may or may not have toilets.
6. The plumbing has been around for quite some time, so your TP really needs to be deposited in the garbage can next to the toilet.  But don't sweat this one too much - you will forget about this at least once a day.
7. "McDonald's" is spelled "Mak..." Oh, just look at the picture.  This never ceases to be funny.