Looking for a place to rent

Yes it's time again to look for a place to stay. Just the two of us. I thought it would be a breeze since I had seen more than 20 places in London. But I was wrong. Given a really tight budget. The only flat we could afford starts at 200 euros a month. You couldn't find anything cheaper than this really. And after two weeks of fruitless attempts, we settled on one. We were so happy to find one till we spent a night at that place that dashed our hopes.

I've included some photos of this piece of crap that the stinky houseowner rented to us for 200 euros (bills exclusive). Next time, we will (1) go for a smaller place, (2) something that costs a little more, (3) watch out for any mouldy flats, (4) avoid sleazy looking houseowners who couldn't be bothered to tidy their backyard (or junkyard).
Enough of complaints. We are moving out after a month and hope the next good one will come soon.

Entrance and kitchen of smelly mouldy flat
2 Wardrobes that couldn't close and a broken bed.
Humongous radiator that doesn't even heat up a one metre radius.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Sretan Božić i Nova Godina!

This is a piece to wish everyone a good christmas. As usual, Eat well, rest well and be merry! Here's our little Christmas tree in the flat.
The little basket on the left is for our cat. *Mau*

Veliki Petak (Great Friday)

It is Veliki Petak today. It is the last Friday before Christmas. I was totally confused . I didn't hear of Veliki Petak before especially not in Singapore. Mum told me on this day, they have to abstain from meat. However we are having Tuna today. I'm going to cook Tuna! YAY!! :D
So I sat down in front of my computer and did a search. I typed Veliki Petak in the google search box and all I got were in Croatian. Well.. that will take me an entire day to translate or even finding the article that explains the origin of the festival. So next thing I tried was on wikipedia. No luck for Big Friday. Frustrated I looked up the online dictionary which gave me the phrase "Good Friday". Well isn't that supposed to be on Easter??? We have Good Friday public holiday in Singapore. I knew a thing or two about the festival being associated to Jesus' suffering and resurrection... that's how much I know. So I wiki-ed the term Good Friday. And there it was the answer! Apparently in this part of the world (Roman Catholics) celebrate Great Friday as it is associated with too much suffering and sadness if celebrated at Easter (Or as the article stated). I will include the Wiki link below for you to read more about it!
So this is the day to remember Jesus' suffering on behalf of all humans. In certain countries, they fast the whole day. Thank goodness.. they only abstain from meat (but not fish) today. Have I bored you enough with my tiny adventure? So here's the Wikipedia link.

Saint Nick was here!

Saint Nick dropped by last night and gave me lots of sweets!
It was my first time celebrating the Saint Nicholas Day in Croatia. As you may know, there is really a Saint Nicholas though that was how the Santa Claus came about. I was told to clean my boot and put it near the window last night. If I was a good girl, I will get candies. If not, I will get a twig (to spank me with). Hahah... I got a really confused St Nick. He gave me both! See picture enclosed.
Did a little background search on this festival and how it is celebrated in Croatia. Sveti Nikola as he is known here will drop by your house on Saint Nicholas Day (Nikolinje), 6th December. Good children get gifts. Bad children get a visit from Krampus who leaves a rod (which resembles a broom) for their parents to spank them. I have included a link about the Legend of Saint Nicholas.
Waiting for Christmas has never been so fun in Singapore. It has become a time when we spend lots of money to give presents to children even if you do not celebrate the festival. Most of our families will have christmas trees just to join in the celebration. I don't even understand the meaning of all these anymore. In Singapore, we celebrate all kinds of festival to promote racial harmony. That's what we are. Festivals are a time to be merry. Don't bother too much about the reason for the celebration. Merchants are just too happy to have another opportunity to earn big bucks.
I'm happy the way it is now. Thank you St Nicholas!

Football

I'm not a big fan of Football but I love to watch the big games. Well.. last night it was England v Croatia. Football is a popular sport in Croatia. Even Mum knows every single player in the team and where they come from. When I commented that I was very impressed with her knowledge, she gave me a reply that she is Croatian! Wow!
Over in Singapore, where football is enjoyed but we can't really make it into any major games. Most of my mates are major fans of England. A mate of mine was even gloating when England scored. Most of us will watch football for the love of the game or the players. Unlike in Croatia, it's a matter of country honour. Totally different mentality I would say.
Anyway, it's back to more football and political programs on TV!

Rethinking the concept of caffe

It's been quite a while since I'm here. It became a habit for us to go for coffee once a day or sometimes a couple of times. Mates will ring us up and we will meet them at blah blah caffe bar. I always felt strange stepping into a caffe. Not that it is something new to me as we have plenty in Singapore. It just occurred to me the reason for the weird feeling while sitting in one earlier . We met up with a mate who lives across the street and went to our usual caffe bar. I thought the concept of not serving any food at a caffe bar is a little unusual for european caffes but what really intrigued me are the customers. In Singapore, you wouldn't find big burly men (not that we don't have fat men) sitting around a table in a caffe. Caffe is a rather western idea to us. If 3 men wanted to meet for a chat, they would head for a coffee shop in Singapore. Caffes are reserved for couples or students. Well..guess we have to change our attitudes and do what the Romans do. Besides, I love the the coffee here!

Croatian Election

It's been two months since I was here. Still no sign of my papers from Berlin. We had to carry on waiting as the major elections are coming. Couple of weeks ago, my fiance received a letter that he has to vote for the coming elections which is held on 25th November. It's quite interesting to see all the campaigns on TV, posters and free concerts.
We went to a free concert last night organised by one of the political party. Can't remember which one. I only knew their campaign is "Ljudi su snaga" which means People is Power. The concert started at 1800h. There were a few bands playing but the last band was our favourite, Let 3. Well, it was not really crowded as most people were quite put off by the political intent behind this concert. A couple of elderly men joined the party later on. They stayed on to listen to the speeches while the young which formed 70% of the party dispersed. It was quite an eye opener for me as being born a Singaporean, I didn't have to worry about which political party to choose. Or which ones are less corrupted. But I missed out on shows put up by different politicians. To have a good one party government or watch the colourful political campaigns? I choose the former.

Medenica - Honey Brandy

Let me introduce you to my new friend, Medenica. Found this lonely little bottle standing on the table at the Med booth. It said: I'm only 35 kunas. Bring me home! We couldn't resist not bringing it home after sampling. Medenica is pretty similar to Medica. Both translate as Honey Brandy. I personally wouldn't associate brandy with this sweet alcohol. You have to try this Croatian treat!

Cin cin!

Nature Park drive

Sunny and fairly warm day

This is the road we drove through when we are travelling to Ucka. Ucka is a nature park and it has the highest point in Istria. It is a small park beautiful with untainted nature. Trees of different sorts line the long and narrow road leading all the way up to the peak. The trees look awesome in autumn colours. This is a scenary that I would never be able to see in Singapore. All our trees are evergreen as we do not have four seasons. Even the monsoon season does not make too much a difference to us. Weather is either Rain or Shine. Temperature doesn't vary much. Guess we appreciate this consistent weather in Singapore as most of us feel really cold when we get out of our sunny land. And we always know what clothes to pack for a trip to Singapore. Well.. it's time to take out the winter clothing over here!

Plums - cute little šljiva

Many will be able to identify this fruit as the modest Plums (Prunes are the dried equivalent). They are called šljiva in Croatia. It is a very common fruit in Croatia and they are used in a variety of sweet treats. Pita od šljiva is a delicious pie with Prune pureé and a hint of cinnamon. Using Cinnamon to flavour pastries is a usual practice here. Most of the time, they get cooked into jams.
Enjoy your daily prune fresh!

Sweets of Croatia - Dunja

The fruit on the right is known as DUNJA (Doo-Nee-Yah). Let me introduce you to its English counterpart, Quince. Now you know what fruit it is? Here is the Wikipedia link.

The very delicious looking candy on the left is the sweet made from Dunja. It has a jelly-like texture. Not too sweet. It tastes sour at the same time. There are bits of walnuts hidden in the confectionery too. Very delicious!

Hopefully I get to learn how make it soon.

Heil to sweet tooth!

Where it all begins...

How did I get acquainted with Croatia? Well.. to make the long story short.. it all started from LOVE.

I was working and studying in London at that time. It was a mate's birthday that day. 19th March 2005. After a nice round of drinks at the pub, I took a London bus to another mate's place in the centre of London. That evening, my favourite DJ Sven Vath was spinning at Fabric. My or our favourite club. After chatting with my mates for a while, I took another bus to where the club is located. I couldn't remember the time, guess it was about midnight. I got into the club after some queueing in the middle of another chilly London night. Found the tightly packed room where Sven Vath was and settled myself there. Dancing like a crazy woman as usual, suddenly I felt someone poked me. I turned around intending to give the "poker" a piece of my mind and I saw him. He smiled and we got acquainted. It was really dark in the club. Despite the loud blaring Techno music and the sweaty crowd, our love blossomed.

After that night, he left London for home. He was on a tour at that time. We met again on the second chilly London night after my work when he waited two hours at freezing Kew Gardens. Our kiss sealed our fate to be bounded forever no matter how hard the next two years would be for us.

In April, I decided to visit Croatia! My first trip! Not knowing what lay ahead for me and us. I embarked on my flight from Stansted to Trieste. If you checked the map, Trieste is on the northeastern tip of Italy. It takes only one and a half hours to drive from Rijeka (his town) to Trieste.

I shall omit the rest of the torturous process of sticking together.

That's the story of me and Croatia.

Cheers to True Love!

Let's start from here.

Cold but sunny day

Good day to you! Or Dobar Dan as we say it in Croatia. This is the view from the balcony of our parents' flat. On the right, is the way to the Adriatic Sea (Jadransko more). The flat is located in Pehlin on the western side of Rijeka. Most of the residents live in flats. Little old houses dotted various parts of the town.

My first impression of Croatia was I love the nature! There's so much nature here that I could never be able to see in Singapore. I always love travelling to other countries to admire the vast spaces and plentiful beauty of nature. And now that I'm living here. I feel like it's a dream.

Not forgetting those people who I came into contact with. They are lovely once they drop their defences and mumbled the few English words that they know. I want to tell those that I've met: Don't be afraid to talk to me! I'm learning Croatian too!

Life is beautiful.

Dobro došli!

This is my attempt at documenting my daily life in Croatia. I have decided to move to Croatia to join my fiance. Now we are getting all the documents required to get married. I've been here for over a month and still waiting.
Hope this blog helps those who are like me, alone in a foreign land. A different culture and language. Please do leave a comment or line if you are in the same position as me.