Bought a car - well, kind of

I spent couple of days looking for a car to buy (used Opel Corsa, several years old). I checked out online ads but by the time I phoned to ask about the car, the car was already sold.

Then, I decided to take a tram to the part of town that has a lot of dealerships. I looked and looked and once again, everywhere I went, they were sold out of the car I was looking for. This was late in the day and I was hot and tired, but I decided to walk to the last dealership on the strip. It was a Peugeot dealership (French car) so I did not expect to find an Opel here, but you never know. They told me that the only Corsa they had was reserved. As I started to leave, I heard someone say that they thought that another Corsa came in but was not preped. I begged them to let me see it and after a longer begging session (I am getting good at this, unfortunately) they let me see the car.

Yup, it definitely was not preped but I had to see through the dust and dirt and realized that this was the car that I have been looking for. 5-door, 2005, 36,000km, manual transmission, AC, power locks/windows, mp3 player - all for CAD$12,000. And that is a deal here! For some reason, cars are really expensive here. I will post pictures of the car once I pick it up, but here is a picture of a car similar to ours. I put down a deposit on the car yesterday, but I cannot get the plates for it yet as I still don't have papers confirming my residence!$#@ I keep going back and forth between police and the Ministry of Interior (MUP) asking what is holding up the process. Each side is blaming the other side (how original). In the end, MUP said, "Well, it takes a month and we cannot do anything about it."

At least the people at the dealership are trying to help. They will try two different approaches to see if they can help me register the car by Thursday. I hope they succeed!

I just looked up Opel Corsa on Wikipedia and found that it is known in Australia as Holden Barina. Opel brand is owned by GM, but used to be a German brand and people still think that Opel is German. I looked to buy this brand as I think it is going to be much easier to sell if/when we move than Fiat or Renault cars. People here still think German made cars are good, and they poopoo the French and Italian made machinery.

I guess it's good to know this information before you buy. I could looked to buy a Volkswagen Golf or Polo, but they are the most stolen cars around and therefore have higher insurance premiums on them.

Dolac - the fresh food market

I have already talked about Dolac and what a great place it is to buy fresh produce. Couple of days ago, I was told that there are a lot more stores below the open market!?

I went there today and was surprised to see so many stands selling meat, pastries and fresh cheeses. Reminded me a lot of our experience with farmers' markets in Adelaide and Sydney.

As you know, I have been having problems finding lean ground beef. Well, I found a solution! Dolac has a lot of butcher shops, so I just picked out a nice red piece of beef (leg part - I was never good with sirloin/toploin/whateverloin names) and they ground it on the spot. Now I have a nice lean chunk of ground beef to make cevapi!!! Price comparison (1kg of nice lean leg of beef = CAD 13).

I also found a fresh fish market. Lots of cool types of fish. I was tempted to buy a weird looking fish to take a picture of it, but realized that I really don't like the smell of fish. It is way too strong for me.

I used my brand new 'Foreman' grill and it was a success! Chicken was little overcooked, but as this was my first time using this grill, I would rather have my chicken overcooked than undercooked. :-) Next time it is going to be perfect. The grill is super easy to use and clean, much easier than using the oven.

I am off to look for a car. No luck so far finding what I am looking for (used Opel Corsa).

It's really hot here today and I love it!

Yesterday was a scorcher of a day, and today is supposed to be even hotter (33 C). It's a humid hot, so you really feel it. Luckily, the way our apartment was built (over 100 years ago), it takes months until it starts to feel hot inside. That means that in the summer, the apartment is cold and in the winter it is warm. Works for me! :-)

The next seven days are supposed to stay in the high twenties, and all I can say is: "Bring it on!" This is one major reason why I moved here. I need to make up for 16 years of freezing weather and windchills of -40 C and below. :-)

I spent the last few days looking for shopping centres and grocery stores. Google and the Internet are life savers. I was able to find quite a few shopping centres (7 near downtown) and at least a dozen big grocery stores. The problem is that they are all to far to get to by bus or tram, so I will have to wait to get a car before I can go visit them.


I was able to buy a 'Foreman' grill as that is our main cooking appliance these days. For those of you looking for price comparisons, the grill cost me about CAD 80 and it is a bit smaller than what you get when you buy these grills in Canada.

The next item to purchase is a microwave, but I am stalling as I would like to go to one of the big box stores as they have a better selection and better prices. I find microwaves to be on small side here, but then, everything is. Except for prices of gym memberships. :-(

Eurovision

I cannot talk about living in Europe and not mention Eurovision, which took place this Saturday.

Eurovision (already in its 53rd year) is a competition where performers from all European countries got together to be judged and chosen as the best song in Europe.

Each country sends a band to represent the country. As the number of European countries participating in this event has risen to 43, two semi-finals are held to narrow down the number of bands that will be competing in the Eurovision to 25.

It is a really enjoyable experience watching bands from all over Europe perform. Some performers sing in their native language while others sing in English. You hear all kinds of music, from pop, rock, and heavy metal (Finland), to balads and folk music. The judging is the funniest as you see blocks of countries giving points to friendly countries (Nordic countries , old USSR statesr, ex-Yugoslav republics). It is amazing, that despite all this passing of points between friends, good songs do rise to the top (well, maybe not all the way to the top but pretty close).

Last year, a Serbian singer won Eurovision 2007 (a pretty good song!) so Eurovision 2008 was hosted in Belgrade. This year's winner was Russia, while Ukraine and Greece placed second and third. I was personally hoping that Greece or Ukraine would win as both songs were really good, but they don't let me vote. ;-(

Picture above shows the final standings after all 43 countries have voted. If you would like to see more videos from the Eurovision, go to eurovision.tv.

Visit by the police

I have been in the country for only two weeks and I already had police come to my place. It is not as bad as it sounds. The police is required to come to my place to confirm that I live here so that I can get my "certification of residency", which is needed for all other documents.

I am actually surprised that they came this quickly. Maybe it had something to do with me going to the police station yesterday and begging them to come soon?!!! :-) I really did not expect them to come when they did. They came around 7pm today. In Croatia, today was a holiday so they really took me by surprise when they rang the doorbell. Actually, it rang the intercom phone so it sounded like a phone ringing. I almost did not answer their ring because I was watching a movie and trying to take it easy for the evening.

When I heard them say "Police", I jumped and quickly let them in. An older man and a younger lady. The older man would have been a formidable poker player. The younger lady kept smirking when I talked as she could tell I was using wrong words. People here tell me I sound American. Oh well, at least they can understand me.

Anyways, the police took the information they needed, then they went next door and talked to my neighbour! They also told me that they have to talk to the owner of the apartment, who lives in Split. I really do think they get paid by the hour. :-) It's good work if you can get it.

Well folks, I will be going dark (no internet) over the next few days. That means no blogging until next week. Hope you all have a great weekend, I know I will!

Moving money between countries

With all the improvements in communications (cell phones, the Internet, Skype) it is very easy to communicate, regardless of where you are in the world. But it is still very difficult, and costly, to move money between countries.

As I mentioned few posts ago, I bought an HTC TyTn II on Ebay. The seller wanted me to use Western Union instead of Paypal (PayPal is super easy to use to pay for items on Ebay or elsewhere). The thing with Western Union (WU) is that you can find a location with a WU branch pretty much anywhere in the world. The problem with WU is the fees they charge. For me to pay for the phone that I bought, I was charged over 10% in transfer fees!!! Suddenly, an auction that looked like a good deal became expensive. Arghhh!

Then, I needed Carla to move some money to Zagreb so that I can cover rent and other expense for the next few months. Well, I was not going to use Western Union for this! I found a service called an IBAN transfer which can be used to transfer money from your bank to another bank anywhere in the world. The fees turned out to be less than 0.5% (still a bit, but better than WU).

The only trick with the IBAN transfer is to have the correct banking information as you are moving thousands of dollars and want them to end up where you need them. I have noticed that bank tellers are always nervous with this kind of transaction, because they don't want to be responsible for sending your money to a wrong place. After Carla sent the money, I knew that we had provided correct information for the receiving account, but there was still anxiety about money getting to me. I checked the account the next morning and it was all there, minus $1.60 fee that they charged me on the Croatian side. You just can't avoid fees.

Oh, by the way, I had to open a bank account here as a foreigner since I cannot get my Croatian papers for another month. :-(

If anyone has a better, fee-less way of moving money, I would love to hear it.

Farmer's market

I decided to free myself of the tyranny of the local supermarket chain (good tyranny but tyranny nonetheless) and buy my produce at the local farmer's market called Dolac. Wow! What a selection!!!I realize that I don't have to go to a grocery store except to buy some meat and svjezi sir (translated: fresh cheese, kind of like cottage cheese but better. MUCH BETTER!). This market is only about a 10 minute walk so I can make it there couple of times a week. My challenge so far has been getting up early enough to make it there before the market closes. I am still half on Croatian time and half on Ottawa time, though I think I am switching over to Zagreb time pretty soon (as soon as Carla gets here!)

Everything is produced locally. Fruit, vegetables, cheeses, eggs, honey, jams. Yummy!!! Head lettuce costs less than $0.50 and it looked GOOD. I came across forest strawberries. For those of you that have never seen then before, they look like miniature strawberries. I smelled them before I saw them, they smell so good (and taste great). They were a bit pricey so I think I'll buy them when Carla is here .Fresh strawberries are $2.50 per kg. That is at least half-price from what we pay in Canada on a good day. Guess what I've been eating every day? :-p

Well, it's time for me to dig into my fresh fruit loot and have some strawberries. Bon appetit. :-)

Gym

I was cooped up in my apartment all day yesterday bidding on Ebay for an HTC TyTn II (really cool phone/pda/gps/anything-you-want-it-to-be device). I did win one of the auctions, so I'll let you know all about the phone once I get it.

Then I decided to go for a walk and see the sights. I thought to make it a productive walk, so I decided to go looking for a gym. I was (mis)informed that there was a gym on Petrinjska street (few blocks away). Well, I walked up and down the street and found no gyms. :-(

Petrinjska Street led me to Ban Jelacic Square

As it was getting late I decided to walk home, and on my way home stumbled on a gym beside the local Sheraton Hotel. The gym was smaller, part of a wellness/spa centre. They quoted me the monthly membership price of HRK 480, and only when I left the gym and was walking home did it dawn on me how expensive the membership is. It is OVER $100!!! Well, let me tell you, this was definitely not a $100/month gym.

The quest for a decent/close/reasonably-priced gym continues....

Getting used to the place

It has been almost two weeks that I have been here, and I finally think that I am getting used to living here.

The first few days were really difficult.  I was missing Carla, my routine.  Everything felt different here.  It was odd having all these first experience:
-the first time getting up in the middle of the night and trying to find your way to the bathroom in the dark
-the first time you walk into your building's hallway at night and don't know how to turn on the lights
-getting used to the different ring tones of my new phones (I have my Ottawa phone, my Zagreb fixed line, and my Zagreb mobile)
-having a guest over and realizing that I can only offer them water (oops)
-having a cousin sleep over and realizing that I have only one set of towels (double oops)  :-)

All these new experience actually make me feel more alive.  I actually feel what is happening around me, as opposed to being in my usual mode of getting things done.  I see things in a new light, and I am able to accept them as they are. 

It is amazing how simple things like finding "Shout" (for cleaning stains) in a store can bring you joy.  I have been able to find most of the products over here that we usually use.  Now if I could only find extra lean ground beef!!!  All I can find is the extra greasy ground beef.  It is more white than red.  :-)  Oh well, some adjustments will need to be made.

I started this post by saying that I am finally getting used to living here.  First few days were difficult.  The next week was uncomfortable as you feel like you are out of your skin.  Today, I feel like I somewhat know the place and can get by.  I see my stay here as an extended stay vacation (even though I plan to find a job).  I will make sure to enjoy every day, as I know that in a few years I will be somewhere else, and I want to remember my stay in Croatia as a fun and rewarding experience.

Shopping

I found the greatest mall in Zagreb. It is called "Avenue Mall" and it is about a 20 minute bus ride from our apartment. Once we get a car, it will only be a 10-15 minute ride.


This mall has everything! Zara, Esprit, Mexx, and a lot of other clothing stores are there, along with sports shops, book shops and drugstores. I was worried that I would not find equivalent goods here as in Canada, but my worries were for naught. :-) The also have several cafes in the mall. It is a big thing here to sit in a cafe, drink coffee, smoke and watch people walk by.


Inside the mall, I found a huge grocery store, on par with the huge Loblaws stores. Well, I was able to find cutlery, pans, tupperware, a microwave and all other hard to find items. I found Heinz! As they say in Heinz commercials, "There's no other kinz!" :-)

The mall is open from 9 am to 10 pm mon-sat, and 10 am to 9 pm on sun. Pretty good hours! I can see myself coming here once a week to load up on groceries (and maybe spend a half an hour in a cafe). ;-)

Night Life

Friday night, I went out for supper with my cousin and was surprised to see the streets and cafes deserted around 7:30 pm. This is not what I expected from Croatians as I thought they partied a lot. My cousin then clued me in that people start going out around 10 pm and stay out until 3-4 am. Sure enough, when were were walking back around 10 pm, the streets were full with people. Everyone was out in cafes, smoking, drinking coffee and people-watching.

I've been told that Croatian women don't leave the house without prettying themselves up. Everyone looks like they just walked off a fashion runway. Those big glasses that make you look like an insect are popular here.

Croatian men go for a serious face/tough look. You won't find many metrosexuals here. :-)

There are a lot of young people downtown because of high concentration of high schools and universities. I keep thinking, "Where are all their middle-aged people?" They primarily leave in the suburbs or don't bother going out to popular places.

I am off to another festa (party) today, to see another cousin that I have not seen for over two years.

Cell phone (mobitel)

I apologize to you non-techies as this is a very techie post. I will make sure that my next post is a "human interest" story. :-)

First thing I had to do when I came here was get a cell phone, or a mobitel as they call it here. I walked into a cell phone store and was totally confused with the available options.

You pay one rate if you call a fixed line, another rate if you call a cell phone from the same provider, and a third rate if you call a cell phone from a different provider. Rates also varied depending on the time of day and day of week you call. !$#@ I collected the rate information from several service providers and went home to figure out what provider would be the best.

An interesting thing about cell phone plans here is that you only pay when you call someone. When someone calls you on your cell phone, you don't pay. You also don't pay for receiving SMS messages. You may even run out of funds on your prepaid accounts and still be able to receive calls and SMS messages. COOL!!! Sending SMS messages to other countries costs the same as sending them to a local number. Expect to be SMSed by me in the near future. ;-)

After spending an hour trying to figure out which service provider offered the best rates, I had a great idea. Why not use what I learned in my MBA and setup a spreadsheet to evaluate different calling scenarios. That way, I would be able to determine which service provider will be the cheapest. Creating the spreadsheet and performing analysis on the data was way too much fun! I have to do this more often. :-)

Well, after all that analysis, I found a provider with a flat rate (same rate to all phones at all times). Simple works! The cool thing is that you can buy a phone and a card package for about HRK 200 (which is around CAD45). Or, if you have an unlocked GSM phone that will work here, you can buy a SIM card for HRK 25 and that same card will have HRK 25 credit on it. Which means, that the card was free!! In Canada, the card alone will cost you about CAD 15-20.

First post

So many different things have happened so far that I wanted to start a place where I can record my experiences as I go. It is becoming difficult to keep all my friends updated with what is happening in my(our) life, so reading this blog will provide them with my latest goings on.

The bureaucratic paperwork is really slow here. They have rules and then they have rules. I am currently in a legal limbo here, meaning that I am not considered a foreigner nor a resident yet. Makes it hard to open a bank account or buy a car. :-) This will get sorted out within a month, so I just need to have patience and focus on other things (like watching Battlestar Galactica). Though I have not been able to watch Galactica much as I have been fighting with the Internet connection. It is really fast, when it WORKS!!! I am on the phone with the phone company (at least the phone works) every day about this. It looks like a tricky problem as they are able to fix it temporarily, but not for long.

Zageb is really pretty. Our apartment is downtown so I can walk to anywhere important in 10 minutes, and for farther places I can take a tram. The apartment is super modern, was renovated less than a year ago and furnished nicely. I am glad I paid a little bit more for the apartment to get something nice. People here are shocked to hear how much I pay in rent, but you get what you pay.

I have not had a chance to run off to the coast and enjoy the sea as my priority has been to first get all required papers. I am asking everyone I meet what are good destinations, as I figure that locals would know. They have been recommending to me that I go to an island (Vis, Mljet, Hvar). Drive to Europe is also not far so once we have a car we can cruise through Austria, Italy, Germany and other countries.

That's a good summary of what's been happening so far, more to follow!