Clocks go forward in European region today!

For those of you in the European region, don't forget that your clocks need to be set one hour ahead from 1am today (30.3.08).
And for my dear Singaporeans back in Singapore who have no idea of what Daylight Saving Time (DST) as you all live at the equator, here is a rough explanation of it.
Generally speaking, due to the difference in the length of days in Summer and Winter (which varies more as you move towards the North or South Pole). Days grow longer when we are closer to Summer and shorter when we are approaching winter. For different regions on the earth, the days when the clock move forward (backward) differ too and it varies from year to year. Clocks move forward sometime in March and backward in October.
If you wish to read more and want to find out the rationale behind this confusing clock shifting habits, read this link.

Sunshine!! All smiles!

Beautiful weather here! Hope everyone is feeling great like I do!

Hello? Is anyone out there?

It's been slightly over 6 months. I can't help but feel really out of place most of the time being not able to speak the language in complete sentences (just 4 words maximum). I tried. I did but it's really hard to pick up this language, Hrvatska.
After months of leaving my name and location in every overseas singaporean venue that I came across online, I thought there is absolutely no Singaporean living in Croatia. Am I the only one? It couldn't be. Finally two days ago, a very kind lady informed me that there is indeed another lady living in the island of Hvar. I couldn't contain my excitement of contacting another Singaporean. I can't wait to see her or talk to her in person to get rid of this feeling of loneliness.
It's really not easy to leave one's homeland and live in another. I've tried London and that was much easier as there were not too many cultural differences between Singapore and UK. But for Croatia, it seems to me like another part of the world. Tucked away from everyone else and not bothering to keep up with the lifestyle of the modernised Western world.
I hope if there's more Singaporean in Croatia, please leave me a comment. Missing home can be so much easier if another familiar voice is close.

Croatia's fishes

Do you know that Croatia is a major exporter of Bluefin tuna to Japan? Bluefin Tuna is one of the most highly priced fish in Japan. This ends up at Sashimi on many Japanese restaurants worldwide.
I didn't have a chance to taste this famous fish. But I did have a chance to taste its cousins, Palamida (Atlantic Bonito) a couple of times. The raw meat is a pretty pale pink in colour. And while cooking, it does not turn your kitchen into a fishy hell. Its meat is so sweet but has slight resemblance to Tuna.
Recently Croatia's protected fishing zone (ZERP) has been abandoned to gain acceptance into EU. ZERP was initially introduced to protect overfishing in Croatia's Adriatic Sea. Now it's gone. I wonder how long I can enjoy even Palamida.

Sretan Uskrs!

Happy Easter to all of you reading this! Enjoy your nice roast lamb.

Spring is near!

Not weather again!! Well.. thought I should report some good news to those who hate cold like I do. Spring is here in Croatia. Although it doesn't mean the weather is not as cold, at least for one more week of chilly Bura. The flowers in Rijeka couldn't wait!

Cravat and Croatia

Ever wondered who invented the neckties? The Croatians did. The Croatian Military Boreder were caught fashioning a long strip of cloth or scarves around their necks. One of the most fashion-conscious kings of the 17th Century, Louis XIV took a special liking for this beautiful and more practical than the french laced collar. He started wearing it and soon the fashion caught on. The french word Croatie (Croatia) is actually a corruption of the Croatian word Cravat (where the fashion originated). To read more about this interesting history, you can check out this wikipedia link.

A little about the Croatian alphabets

I thought it will be interesting for you to know about the Croatian language as much as it is for me now. Here's a really short post about the alphabets in Croatian (Hrvatska) for you my readers.

• There are no w, q, x, y.
• The whole list consists of 30 alphabets.
• Croatian alphabets not found in English are: č ć š đ ž nj lj dž
• C sounds like Hanyu Pinyin in Chinese instead of English.
• č and ć are variations of "CH" in English.
• đ, ž and dž are variations of "J" in English.
• š is "SH" in English.

Hope you like this short introduction to Croatian language. Do come back again!

Croatians love meat.

And I'm not kidding. Their diet seem to consist of nothing else than beef, pork and lamb (or occasional chicken for the soups). You may have read somewhere that there are plenty of Riblji Restoran (Fish Restaurant) but in fact meat makes up 90% of a typical Croatian meal. Although I have to emphasize that each region have their own diets and the amount of meat on the table may be less than what I see in this region.
Besides the cheaper source of food being meat as compared to fish and also more widely available, hams and sausages can be found everywhere in every supermarkets. The wide variety of hams and sausages (local or imported) never fail to amaze me each time I step into a hypermart.
Why do I conclude that Croatians love their meat so much? Let me ask you, how much ham does an average family need to eat to make the choice of purchasing a meat slicer for their home? If you are in a store in Croatia that sells electrical appliances such as washing machines and television sets, you will definitely find an entire shelf or even an aisle dedicated to the display of Meat Slicers. As you can see in the picture above and for those who do not know what it is, the Meat Slicer makes the slicing of hams quicker and easier. Most restaurants and supermarkets are equipped with one of course. But to have one at home? That is truly absurd. What do you think?

The Sun, the Snow, the Wind and the Rain

It is totally unbelievable! Remember my post last week about the temperature in Croatia hitting the 20s? And yesterday, it actually snowed?! For the next few days, we expect to see lots of wind (Bura) and Rain. Somebody out there is still denying the effects of Global Warming?
As a matter of fact, Croatia gets lots of wind. Somewhere in the papers today stated that the government is adding another 55 more wind turbines in Knin. That will generate lots of electricity I'm sure (can't recall the exact amount). Given that wind is free, I applause this move of the Croatian government to harness this green energy.
For now, I will just have to sit here and complain about the chilly wind! Brrrr...

Lazy Days..

The weather is foggy and wet... Arghs.. time for some rest. I think our cat agrees with me. Have a good weekend! Zzzzz