When Carla and I decided to move to Croatia, we were a bit concerned if Croatia would have good selection and variety of products in their stores. Well, there is nothing to be concerned about. They've got everything and more!
So far, we have been primarily focusing on visiting Croatian grocery stores. We have visited Konzum, Billa, Mercator, Interspar, Lidl and Getro. All of these stores sold a wide variety of grocery items, were beautifuly equipped and decorated, and most of the stores also carried large sections of other types of goods (housewares, electronics, small appliances, dishware, etc.) The prices vary considerably between the stores so we are still trying to figure out which store will be our favourite for our weekly grocery trip.
There is a small Konzum store near our apartment (half a block away), where we load up on any items that we run out before it is time for our weekly grocery trip. We love living downtown!
We had a chance to check out a few Croatian malls and we are very impressed. Most of the modern malls here were built in the last few years (and another big mall is just starting to be built). So far we've been to Avenue Mall, Importanne Centar, City Centre One and Kaptol Centar. All of these malls were really nice and super modern. There are a couple more malls that we would like to visit (King Cross and Mandi). As you've noticed, most of these malls have English names. It's a cool thing to do here (to give your mall an English name).
Pretty soon we will be going to an office products store to buy a work chair for a computer desk. That should be fun as we have yet to see what their office stores look like.
In the past, Croatians travelled to Austria or Hungary to buy products that were not available in Croatia. Now you can find absolutely everything in Croatia. The times have definitely changed!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Ouch, that hurt!
Question: How do you make a grown (Croatian) man cry?
Answer: You make him watch Croatia lose to Turkey in the 2008 Eurocup quarter-finals.
Croatia played Turkey in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Eurocup last night. The game was tied at the end of regular play (after 90 minutes). Two additional 15-minute periods were played where Croatia scored in the last minute of the second extension period. Then, right at the end of the added time (it's a soccer thing, they always add a few minutes due to stoppage in the game) Turkey scored an equalizing goal.
So it was up to penalty kicks. The first and second Croatian kickers missed the goal, while the Turks scored two goals. Then, the Turkish goalie made a save on the third Croatian penalty kick, and the third Turkish penalty kicker scored easily.
What hurts is that:
1. Croatia was a better team with more chances throughout the game,
2. Croatia scored right before the end and everyone thought we were safe,
3. I have to put away my checkered Croatian jersey for two years (until the WorldCup in 2010). :-(
The whole country was in mourning today. Absolutely everyone was depressed and feeling like a great opportunity was wasted. I can't even watch the rest of Eurocup as I feel so sad about this loss, especially as Croatia played well in the first few games.
I think that soccer is a very good representation of life. Soccer (life) is:
1. Not fair (no instant replays in soccer or life),
2. Best player (person) does not always win the game,
3. There is only one 2008 Eurocup (life).
I just watched Netherlands lose to Russia, and I can definitely relate to the sad look on the faces of the Dutch fans. It sucks when your your team loses! Especially when the Netherlands played so well in their first three games.
There is one lesson from all this that can be applied to life. While you may experience (what may feel like) crushing defeat, there is always another game to be played in the near future. Success and failure are temporary phenomena. It is our mind that makes them permanent.
Answer: You make him watch Croatia lose to Turkey in the 2008 Eurocup quarter-finals.
Croatia played Turkey in the quarter-finals of the 2008 Eurocup last night. The game was tied at the end of regular play (after 90 minutes). Two additional 15-minute periods were played where Croatia scored in the last minute of the second extension period. Then, right at the end of the added time (it's a soccer thing, they always add a few minutes due to stoppage in the game) Turkey scored an equalizing goal.
So it was up to penalty kicks. The first and second Croatian kickers missed the goal, while the Turks scored two goals. Then, the Turkish goalie made a save on the third Croatian penalty kick, and the third Turkish penalty kicker scored easily.
What hurts is that:
1. Croatia was a better team with more chances throughout the game,
2. Croatia scored right before the end and everyone thought we were safe,
3. I have to put away my checkered Croatian jersey for two years (until the WorldCup in 2010). :-(
The whole country was in mourning today. Absolutely everyone was depressed and feeling like a great opportunity was wasted. I can't even watch the rest of Eurocup as I feel so sad about this loss, especially as Croatia played well in the first few games.
I think that soccer is a very good representation of life. Soccer (life) is:
1. Not fair (no instant replays in soccer or life),
2. Best player (person) does not always win the game,
3. There is only one 2008 Eurocup (life).
I just watched Netherlands lose to Russia, and I can definitely relate to the sad look on the faces of the Dutch fans. It sucks when your your team loses! Especially when the Netherlands played so well in their first three games.
There is one lesson from all this that can be applied to life. While you may experience (what may feel like) crushing defeat, there is always another game to be played in the near future. Success and failure are temporary phenomena. It is our mind that makes them permanent.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Let your body do the thinking
I was just looking at my To Do list and thought that it is not getting shorter but longer every day. It can be overwhelming knowing that every day you have more and more to do. Calling/visiting family, emailing friends, posting pictures, furnishing the apartment, keeping up with the news in Canada and Croatia are just a few of the things on my list. Not to mention: get a bank account, deal with a bank in Ottawa for an overpayment of mortgage, deal with a lawyer in Ottawa, get health insurance, request visa for Carla, etc. etc. On top of that I would like to think that daily things like eat well, sleep enough hours a day, workout, enjoy life, love my wife, and keep the place clean would have a prominent place on this list.
Being a recovering perfectionist (still trying to kick the habit), I have decided to stop using a To Do list. From now on, I will have a Daily List (things that I want to do every day/week) and a Whenever List.
My Daily List will be short but sweet: sleep well, eat well, love your wife (and show her that you love her), work out (not quite every day), enjoy every day (very important!), and be happy (happiness needs not be delayed to some time in the future). There, a very simple but a very powerful list. I know that if I only do the things on my Daily List, I will feel good.
On those days when I have extra time and energy, I will tackle my Whenever list. My Whenever list will have tasks listed in order of priority, but that order is just a suggestion, not a must. The whole point is to do the things that you have energy and interest in. Sure, at the beginning you may not feel like doing the right things, but that is ok. After a while, your body knows what needs to be done and when. I have stopped using shoulds and coulds when it comes to things that I need to do. I will either do something now or I won't. I will not do it because I should or because someone else thinks that I should. I will also not be pressured by guilt into doing something. The body knows what it does and does not need to do now.
I have been using my head to decide what I should do in life, but now I am trying to use my body (feeling, gut, intuition, or however else you want to call it) to guide me in what I need to do. Our body is constantly giving us clues on what is good or bad for us. We are tired when we need rest, we are sad when we need support and encouragement, we are hungry when we need nourishment, and we feel pain when something is wrong with our body or our soul. It is not pain that we need to stop, it is whatever is causing the pain that needs to be fixed. Sure, take a Tylenol to stop the pain, but then try and figure out what is causing the pain, or the pain will come again.
When I started my MBA, I was in the mode of using only my head to make decisions, but I quickly realized that the world is not black and white and using your head only will not get you the best results in life. I am getting better at using my intuition/body to make decisions that are good for me. It is still work in progress, but I am happy that I've started on this path. I still use my mind to come up with options, but the body has the final say. :-)
As far as my Whenever List, I'll get to it when my body can handle it. Let me know your thoughts on this topic. I would love to hear your views!
Being a recovering perfectionist (still trying to kick the habit), I have decided to stop using a To Do list. From now on, I will have a Daily List (things that I want to do every day/week) and a Whenever List.
My Daily List will be short but sweet: sleep well, eat well, love your wife (and show her that you love her), work out (not quite every day), enjoy every day (very important!), and be happy (happiness needs not be delayed to some time in the future). There, a very simple but a very powerful list. I know that if I only do the things on my Daily List, I will feel good.
On those days when I have extra time and energy, I will tackle my Whenever list. My Whenever list will have tasks listed in order of priority, but that order is just a suggestion, not a must. The whole point is to do the things that you have energy and interest in. Sure, at the beginning you may not feel like doing the right things, but that is ok. After a while, your body knows what needs to be done and when. I have stopped using shoulds and coulds when it comes to things that I need to do. I will either do something now or I won't. I will not do it because I should or because someone else thinks that I should. I will also not be pressured by guilt into doing something. The body knows what it does and does not need to do now.
I have been using my head to decide what I should do in life, but now I am trying to use my body (feeling, gut, intuition, or however else you want to call it) to guide me in what I need to do. Our body is constantly giving us clues on what is good or bad for us. We are tired when we need rest, we are sad when we need support and encouragement, we are hungry when we need nourishment, and we feel pain when something is wrong with our body or our soul. It is not pain that we need to stop, it is whatever is causing the pain that needs to be fixed. Sure, take a Tylenol to stop the pain, but then try and figure out what is causing the pain, or the pain will come again.
When I started my MBA, I was in the mode of using only my head to make decisions, but I quickly realized that the world is not black and white and using your head only will not get you the best results in life. I am getting better at using my intuition/body to make decisions that are good for me. It is still work in progress, but I am happy that I've started on this path. I still use my mind to come up with options, but the body has the final say. :-)
As far as my Whenever List, I'll get to it when my body can handle it. Let me know your thoughts on this topic. I would love to hear your views!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Back from the trip
We returned from our travels last night. I was too tired to write a coherent post, so I figured I better do it on Monday. Today filled up with calling a plumber because we had no hot water (the landlord had a plumber in last week to fix something, but they ended up messing up something else) so poor Carla showered with ice-cold water. I decided to wait until the whole hot/cold water thing cleared up. :-) It was all fixed by the afternoon, so life is good again.
Our stay in the tiny town of Bol on the island Brac was great. The weather varied from sunny to rainy, but we enjoyed every day there. The busy season had not yet started so there were not too many tourists around. Perfect! Bol is absolutely beautiful. I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to organize them.
I am in the middle of watching Croatia beat Poland in the first round of Eurocup matches. As Croatia has already qualified for the quarter-finals, the Croatian coach put a team of second-stringers to battle Poland. Croatia is still playing great, however. Friday night, Croatia will be playing Turkey in the quarter-finals so guess what's for supper that evening: "A stuffed t(T)urkey!" :-)
On the way back from Bol, we drove through Bosnia to visit my family in Banja Luka (Bosnian city where I grew up). It was really nice seeing everyone and reconnecting. I plan to go back every couple of months, to make up for all the lost time. Bosnia has not recovered from the war nearly as much as Croatia. They still have a ways to go, but I did notice considerable improvement from two years ago.
Driving through Bosnia was crazy, as I had to drive on a windy road with a canyon to my right and a mountain to my left. It started to rain and I got stuck behind a truck (as it was hard to pass it on a narrow, windy, slick road). It took us 5 hours to cover 250 kms! After we crossed the border into Croatia, we got on a beautiful, new highway, where the speed limit was 130 km/h. All was well after that. :-)
Our stay in the tiny town of Bol on the island Brac was great. The weather varied from sunny to rainy, but we enjoyed every day there. The busy season had not yet started so there were not too many tourists around. Perfect! Bol is absolutely beautiful. I will post pictures as soon as I get a chance to organize them.
I am in the middle of watching Croatia beat Poland in the first round of Eurocup matches. As Croatia has already qualified for the quarter-finals, the Croatian coach put a team of second-stringers to battle Poland. Croatia is still playing great, however. Friday night, Croatia will be playing Turkey in the quarter-finals so guess what's for supper that evening: "A stuffed t(T)urkey!" :-)
On the way back from Bol, we drove through Bosnia to visit my family in Banja Luka (Bosnian city where I grew up). It was really nice seeing everyone and reconnecting. I plan to go back every couple of months, to make up for all the lost time. Bosnia has not recovered from the war nearly as much as Croatia. They still have a ways to go, but I did notice considerable improvement from two years ago.
Driving through Bosnia was crazy, as I had to drive on a windy road with a canyon to my right and a mountain to my left. It started to rain and I got stuck behind a truck (as it was hard to pass it on a narrow, windy, slick road). It took us 5 hours to cover 250 kms! After we crossed the border into Croatia, we got on a beautiful, new highway, where the speed limit was 130 km/h. All was well after that. :-)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
I'm still alive!
I just wanted to check in and let you know that all is well in case that you were getting worried. Plus, I wanted to let you know that I am writing this from the nicest beach in Croatia (google bol zlatni rat, and you will see what I am talking about). Morning temperature here is 20 C and a high is usually around 29 C. I took lots of pictures, so I wil be posting them when I return home.
We are enjoying the beautiful weather here and watching every Eurocup game. Good soccer. Go Croatia!
Well, Carla is just putting sunscreen lotion on my back :-) so I should be going. Next check-in will be this Sunday.
Friday, June 6, 2008
The Impossible
I did the impossible yesterday - coordinated several different activities, all including government workers here, and managed to buy/register/insure a car in one day!
It was not without a few hick ups, like telling me that I cannot register the car without paying the 5% tax. I don't mind paying the tax but I had asked the dealership guy what are the steps I need to follow on Thursday to register the car and he had not mentioned paying tax at all. Therefore, I had to make an additional trip to the bank. Remember, I am taking the tram and bus all over the city to get everything done as I don't have a car, so things are taking a while. In addition, I don't know the city so I take a wrong detour from time to time.
Now that I have my fancy phone, I will not get lost ever again. The phone has built-in GPS, and I installed a really good GPS program (NavNGo iGo 8) which has been a life saver. As I had to make an additional trip to the bank, I was kind of in trouble as I had to be at another appointment in half an hour. So I used my trusty GPS program to tell me where the closest branch of my bank is and - voila. It told me where I could find a branch on my way to the next destination. Amazing!!! Saved me a lot of time.
Anyways, by 6pm, I had the car, the plates, registration papers and the registration sticker. After that we went driving around, found an AWESOME (super huge with everything in it) grocery store and loaded up with some goodies (Coke Zero for Carla). :-)
This morning at 5:30am I woke up thinking "I do not recall putting the registration sticker on the windshield, or anywhere else." Oops! So I went out to the car and could not find the sticker anywhere. I called the registration office this morning at 7am and they said that I can get a replacement at any registration office. Phew! When you do so many things in a day, it's a good thing that this was the only thing that went wrong. Easily fixable, so no problem at all.
This morning, I will go get a parking sticker so that I can park on the street beside our apartment. I also need to open a bank account as a Croatian resident, as that way I can get a bank card and all other banking privileges. Right now I have to personally go into a branch to take out money.
Then, around 10am we head out for the coast!!! We will be staying a few steps from the famous Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn) beach. We will be spending a week there and then spend the weekend in Banja Luka, Bosnia, visiting a few relatives. Talk to you after I come back from the trip!
It was not without a few hick ups, like telling me that I cannot register the car without paying the 5% tax. I don't mind paying the tax but I had asked the dealership guy what are the steps I need to follow on Thursday to register the car and he had not mentioned paying tax at all. Therefore, I had to make an additional trip to the bank. Remember, I am taking the tram and bus all over the city to get everything done as I don't have a car, so things are taking a while. In addition, I don't know the city so I take a wrong detour from time to time.
Now that I have my fancy phone, I will not get lost ever again. The phone has built-in GPS, and I installed a really good GPS program (NavNGo iGo 8) which has been a life saver. As I had to make an additional trip to the bank, I was kind of in trouble as I had to be at another appointment in half an hour. So I used my trusty GPS program to tell me where the closest branch of my bank is and - voila. It told me where I could find a branch on my way to the next destination. Amazing!!! Saved me a lot of time.
Anyways, by 6pm, I had the car, the plates, registration papers and the registration sticker. After that we went driving around, found an AWESOME (super huge with everything in it) grocery store and loaded up with some goodies (Coke Zero for Carla). :-)
This morning at 5:30am I woke up thinking "I do not recall putting the registration sticker on the windshield, or anywhere else." Oops! So I went out to the car and could not find the sticker anywhere. I called the registration office this morning at 7am and they said that I can get a replacement at any registration office. Phew! When you do so many things in a day, it's a good thing that this was the only thing that went wrong. Easily fixable, so no problem at all.
This morning, I will go get a parking sticker so that I can park on the street beside our apartment. I also need to open a bank account as a Croatian resident, as that way I can get a bank card and all other banking privileges. Right now I have to personally go into a branch to take out money.
Then, around 10am we head out for the coast!!! We will be staying a few steps from the famous Zlatni Rat (Golden Horn) beach. We will be spending a week there and then spend the weekend in Banja Luka, Bosnia, visiting a few relatives. Talk to you after I come back from the trip!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Things are turning for the better
I had a feeling this Sunday that things will start turning for the better, but now I have tangible proof:
Carla enjoyed Dolac (the farmer's market). She was craving peanut butter, which is not a common product over here, but by some fluke we found it very quickly. Then we had some nice Croatian chocolate (yummy......) and walked around town.
Last night we went out for supper to an East Indian restaurant (the only one in town) and the food was pretty good. I think they will be seeing us on a regular basis. :-)
This morning we had to report Carla's temporary residence as she is a tourist. I don't know if other European countries do this, but if you are a tourist in Croatia you need to report to a police station. If you are staying in a hotel, the hotel will do it for you, but if you are going to stay at our place, we will have to go with you to report in with the police station. The foreigner needs to report in within 48 hours of coming into the country. They never tell you this when you come into the country so I don't know how the authorities expect you to know this rule. Out of the many unnecessary rules that I have been subjected to, this one should be the first to go.
Speaking of unnecessary rules, as of this morning, I still did not receive my residence papers, which would enable me to buy a car, open a bank account, and do other vital things that modern life demands (get a cell phone number). So, after I registered Carla in with the police, I went and pestered the people responsible for holding up my residence papers. This time they actually called around to see if the process can be sped up (he actually told the other guy on the phone "I can't look at him (me) anymore!" I don't care, just give me my PAPERS!!!!
The approval was faxed over and I was told to wait until several other bureaucrats touched the paper that was to symbolize my existence in the Croatian society. Sixty minutes later (it does not sound long, but after you have already spent 2 hours waiting and sweating in the hot building, it WAS long) I got my papers. Then, I had to request my personal ID, which luckily could be done in the same building, and for which, luckily again, I was super-prepared for. Half an hour later I had my temporary personal ID! Woohoo!!!!!
I called the car dealership and it looks like I might be able to pick up my car some time on Friday. Which is perfect timing since we are driving to island Brac for a week-long vacation. The car dealership did not give me proper information so I spent two hours to and from the dealership just for them to photocopy my temporary personal ID. Grrrrrr! Instead, they should have sent me to the proper place to pay for the car. So, I lose a day and have to run like a chicken with a head cut off tomorrow to make everything happen for Friday. It will be close, but I will make it happen.
I also loaded navigation software on my new phone/PDA and this software ROCKS!!! My phone has built-in GPS so now I can use it for directions when I drive. Excellent! The roads are a bit confusing so a GPS device will be a life saver.
I'm off to bed at a decent hour as I have to start my day pretty early tomorrow. I will try and post something before I leave for the coast. If you are really interested, this is where we are staying on island Brac.
- Carla arrived safely
- My HTC TyTn II arrived (will do a review in a few weeks when things settle down, but it's a really nice phone)
- I got my residence papers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (This means I exist in the great Republic of Croatia. Which means I can buy a car!!!!!)
Carla enjoyed Dolac (the farmer's market). She was craving peanut butter, which is not a common product over here, but by some fluke we found it very quickly. Then we had some nice Croatian chocolate (yummy......) and walked around town.
Last night we went out for supper to an East Indian restaurant (the only one in town) and the food was pretty good. I think they will be seeing us on a regular basis. :-)
This morning we had to report Carla's temporary residence as she is a tourist. I don't know if other European countries do this, but if you are a tourist in Croatia you need to report to a police station. If you are staying in a hotel, the hotel will do it for you, but if you are going to stay at our place, we will have to go with you to report in with the police station. The foreigner needs to report in within 48 hours of coming into the country. They never tell you this when you come into the country so I don't know how the authorities expect you to know this rule. Out of the many unnecessary rules that I have been subjected to, this one should be the first to go.
Speaking of unnecessary rules, as of this morning, I still did not receive my residence papers, which would enable me to buy a car, open a bank account, and do other vital things that modern life demands (get a cell phone number). So, after I registered Carla in with the police, I went and pestered the people responsible for holding up my residence papers. This time they actually called around to see if the process can be sped up (he actually told the other guy on the phone "I can't look at him (me) anymore!" I don't care, just give me my PAPERS!!!!
The approval was faxed over and I was told to wait until several other bureaucrats touched the paper that was to symbolize my existence in the Croatian society. Sixty minutes later (it does not sound long, but after you have already spent 2 hours waiting and sweating in the hot building, it WAS long) I got my papers. Then, I had to request my personal ID, which luckily could be done in the same building, and for which, luckily again, I was super-prepared for. Half an hour later I had my temporary personal ID! Woohoo!!!!!
I called the car dealership and it looks like I might be able to pick up my car some time on Friday. Which is perfect timing since we are driving to island Brac for a week-long vacation. The car dealership did not give me proper information so I spent two hours to and from the dealership just for them to photocopy my temporary personal ID. Grrrrrr! Instead, they should have sent me to the proper place to pay for the car. So, I lose a day and have to run like a chicken with a head cut off tomorrow to make everything happen for Friday. It will be close, but I will make it happen.
I also loaded navigation software on my new phone/PDA and this software ROCKS!!! My phone has built-in GPS so now I can use it for directions when I drive. Excellent! The roads are a bit confusing so a GPS device will be a life saver.
I'm off to bed at a decent hour as I have to start my day pretty early tomorrow. I will try and post something before I leave for the coast. If you are really interested, this is where we are staying on island Brac.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
What a great husband I am!
I am so excited!!! Carla arrives at the train station in Zagreb in about 5 hours. The train station is about a five minute walk from our apartment so it's a perfect place for her to arrive in Zagreb. Carla flew from Montreal to Vienna ($600 for the ticket) and then is taking a train from Vienna to Zagreb. Can't wait to see her!
The reason that this post is titled the way it is is because I really got everything ready for her arrival. I am cooking burek (Croatian meat pie) which she loves. I stocked up on her favourite chocolates and bought flowers AND a vase! Impressive or what! :-)
I have to start making burek and there are still a few things to clean up around the house so I'll have to end the post quickly. In case that I don't post over the next few days, don't worry. Carla is here and I won't be spending that much time on the computer. ;-]
The reason that this post is titled the way it is is because I really got everything ready for her arrival. I am cooking burek (Croatian meat pie) which she loves. I stocked up on her favourite chocolates and bought flowers AND a vase! Impressive or what! :-)
I have to start making burek and there are still a few things to clean up around the house so I'll have to end the post quickly. In case that I don't post over the next few days, don't worry. Carla is here and I won't be spending that much time on the computer. ;-]
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