Sunny day in Zagreb

Today I had to run some errands--buying train tickets to Venice, picking up a translation of my criminal record check (necessary so I can get temporary residency). So we took advantage of the bright sunshine and somewhat warmer weather, and made a touristy walk of it.

This is at the base of the funicular.

And this is riding the funicular. it costs 4kuna and takes less than a minute.

The view from the promenade at the top.

More view.

Not far from the top of the funicular is this beauty, St. Marks church.

And this is the Stone Gate. It dates to the 13th century and was one of the entrances to the upper city. There's a chapel inside now, but it's still used as a passage between the upper and lower cities.

And here's the upper part of Dolac, the market.

Saturday

It's a gray Saturday, but maybe a few degrees warmer than it's been. No snow, in any case. It was warm enough for the locals to be sitting at sidewalk cafes, but I get the feeling Croatians would sit at sidewalk cafes in the Arctic, so that may not be saying much.

First thing today I mastered something new--mailing a package abroad (I've already mastered retrieving packages). Someone had very helpfully informed me ahead of time that you're not supposed to seal the packages--the post office employees want to look inside. That was a good thing to know! Just yesterday I discovered a shop with a good envelope selection, so I had a nice padded one to use today.

The picture below is from Ban Jelacic Square, where a group of people was dressed in medieval clothing. There was a band and a cannon they shot periodically, plus this guy being spun in a circle. I'm not exactly sure why but it was fun.

This is the interior of a mall right off the square. If you not a fan of Neoboroque architecture nto begin with, Zagreb might cure you of that.

 This is at Dubrovnik Kavana (coffeehouse), right on the main square. Surely one of the world's best people-watching spots (at least when it's too cold to be outside). For 29kn (less than $6) we got hot chocolate and espresso, and could have sat there all day.

The view from the kavana, where watching people dodge trams is lots of fun.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but Zagreb is a fantastic walking city, even when the weather's uncooperative. Everything's pretty compact, the lower town is nice and flat, and there's plenty to see. And when the weather warms, all those cafes plus some nice parks. Over near Zrinjevac park today, there was arrayed on the sidewalk a succession of pairs of colorful boots, all filled with water. Again, I have no idea why. We end up walking towards the city center almost every day, and even Allison doesn;t complain--although that may be because of the bakeries we inevitably visit along the way. In any case, a pleasant stroll with a cafe visit is something I don't do in California, and I'm really enjoying it here.

Wednesday

More cold and a fair amount of snow today, although only a little stuck. We went for a walk up Tkalciceva, the pedestrian street in the old part of town. This is the upper part of Dolac, the big market. They were already taking things down when we arrived this afternoon.

This is just a cool old house in the old part of town. A very modern shopping mall is directly across the street.

Tonight as we were cleaning up after dinner, we heard a lot of noise outside. Turns out a march of some kind was going on. It was hard to see the signs from our angle, but the ones I could read were protesting Croatia's planned entry into the EU. I understand there were some protests here the other day against the current government, but we missed those. This was an orderly group and they looked mostly pretty young. I've never been able to watch a protest march from my living room before!

<

Food and transportation

I met my students today for the first time. A very small group, all female, and very pleasant. They come from all over the country, which is nice. We negotiated a meeting day and time that works for us all. My teaching load is going to be considerably lighter than I'm used to, so I hope various people I'm meeting take advantage of my standing offer to come lecture.

All the people I've met have been so gracious and welcoming. Today one of the professors was celebrating her promotion (a more complicated process than in the US) and they were having a little office party, to which I was invited. Wine and juice and pita, a Bosnian specialty which consists of phyllo-type dough wrapped around various sweet or savory fillings. Delicious.

Croatians seem (rightfully) proud of their cuisine, which varies from region to region. As the country's geography suggests, there are many influences on the food, including Mediterranean, central European, eastern European, and even southern European.  (none of them particularly light cuisines, I should add). People are very willing to suggest delicious dishes I must try or places I must go to sample them. Food tends to be relatively inexpensive and quite fresh--and we haven't even made it yet to Dolac, the big farmer's market near the main square, or the the much smaller farmer's market a couple blocks to our east. It's a good thing I'm walking a lot and climbing 80 stairs to our apartment! When I get back to California I'm going to crave Croatian food, which cannot be found anywhere near us.

Croatians eat lunch later than Americans--about 2pm--and dinner later, too. On Saturdays, especially, lunch with family is the main meal of the day. However, at least here in the center of the city I see people walking while munching on sandwiches or pizza slices almost any time of day. I'm told an afternoon siesta is common on weekends during the warmer months. Many shops close very early on Saturdays.

I'm going to change the subject from food to trams. Zagreb has a very extensive tram system. They run very often except in the wee hours. They can be crowded and the older trams are cold in the winter, but they're clean and efficient and the routes seem very well planned. Several trams stop directly in front of building, making the entire building shake. We've become used to it and it's definitely worth it for the convenience. The tram I take to work stops literally in front of my building's door. There are also busses; the only one I've had to take so far is the one that brings me from my tram stop to my office. They are also comfortable. And you can pay your fare on Zagreb's mass transit system by sending a text message. 90 minutes of transport costs 10 kuna--about $1.85--if you text for your ticket. I wouldn't want to drive in the center of the city. There's not much parking, people drive a little crazy (although less so than in Barcelona), street names are confusing, and street signs are hard to see. Trams are definitely the way to go!

Friday

I haven't updated in a few days, mostly because it's been a pretty slow week. It's been very cold out, too cold for much in the way of excursions, so we've been holed up in our warm apartment or watching movies at the theater across the street. True Grit and Harry Potter. A wonderful thing about Croatia is that only movies for young kids are dubbed; the rest are shown in the original language with subtitles.

We did go to the Archeological Museum this week. There's an exhibit there right now on medieval torture devices, which of course I thought was pretty cool. But the permanent exhibits there are interesting, too (and with great English signage). They have stuff from the Neolithic period all the way through the Roman era, some of it dug up very close to Zagreb. A reminder of how very long humans have lived in this part of the world. There's also some Egyptian stuff and an Etruscan mummy.

We've continued our research into the Desserts of Zagreb. Here's what the cheescake looks like at the restaurant at the Sheraton across the street:

It tasted as good as it looked. Desserts here are not only plentiful and delicious, but cheap. Ice cream runs about $1 a cone--and it's really good ice cream, Allison informs me. The restaurant at the Sheraton is on the expensive side, but the cheescake cost only about $3.25 a slice. Man, it's so lucky I'm doing all that walking and stair-climbing!

I've come to the conclusion that some things are just naturally more confusing here than in the US--for the natives as well. There was this strange complication yesterday when we went to see Harry Potter, for example. But people seem to be generally good-natured about confusion--or maybe they just expect it--and things tend to work out well in the end.

One thing I really prefer here is restaurant service. Whether at a kavana (coffeehouse) or full restaurant, someone generally comes and takes your order pretty quickly. And the food comes along eventually too. And then you can sit there forever and nobody will bug you or make you feel hurried. If you want to nurse your $2 espresso and glass of tap water all day, nobody will care. And you just wave when you finally want to pay and leave.

And again, I'm impressed with the patience with which Croatians handle my lack of language skills. People who speak English (and many do, especially younger people) very politely switch to English right away. And those who don't resort to gestures (or, now and then, make an attempt in other languages like German). Nobody TALKS REALLY LOUDLY in Croatian, as if that might help me magically understand. And with the exception of a single person, nobody has been snotty at all to me about it.

I am slowly picking up a word here and there. My Croatian vocabulary so far is...eclectic. A lot of it is food-oriented. Sometimes I dredge up my rusty Russian and that helps, too (like yesterday, when I had to figure out which bathroom at the theater was the women's *g*). Still, it's a little relief when I get to talk with native English speakers now and then!



Thoughts

Remember all that lovely blue sky yesterday? This is the view I woke to today. It snowed lightly all day. Not much of it actually stuck, but the little flakes blew into my face and hair. I learned that it is socially acceptable in Zagreb to use an umbrella when it snows. Nebraskans look askance at such a thing, even though snow will get you wet. As in Nebraska, however, silly hats are also completely acceptable. I saw a man in a tall furry one today.

So now that we've been here 3 weeks (well, counting our Spanish excursion) I have learned some things.

• Living in a new place where you don't speak the language is exhausting. Learning to do even the simple things you do at home takes a lot of effort. Things like paying bills and grocery shopping. I've sort of figured out the post office, for example--I know where to pick up packages and where to buy stamps. But today when I tried to mail one letter and buy additional stamps I couldn't make myself understood, so I ended up just mailing the letter and giving up on the extra stamps. Then there are all the conversions: currency, metric, etc.
• I've also really come to appreciate the value of social cues. Despite my language impediment, I've learned to do things like ride trams and buy groceries and go to theatres and cinemas, all without major embarrassments. I learn a lot by following what others do. And in shops and so forth, I've been able to communicate pretty well with pointing, various hand gestures, and a few shared words.
• I've also learned that if I do look like an idiot for not being able to follow basic directions (like understanding a cashier or knowing when a door says push instead of pull) I won't die from it. People have been forgiving.
• And also, sometimes when I am confused it has nothing to do with being a stranger. Many people seem to wander around the post office in confusion (the postal employees are very pleasant) because there are lots of places to go for various purposes. At the theatre the other day, I found our seats right away, while others didn't. And when an old lady came and insisted (in English) that my seat was hers, another lady sitting nearby informed her in Croatian that the old lady was mistaken, and let me know that I was in the right place (she was a very nice lady).
• Sometimes I have moments when I can't believe I'm here. Had one today while waiting for the tram near campus. I thought, What a strange chain of decisions had led to me standing in the snow by tram tracks in Zagreb! It seems so unlikely when you think about it, and yet here I am!
• I'm very pleased with myself for managing as well as I have.
• I worry a lot about things that turn out to be no big deal. Like for some reason I was stressed about paying my gas and electric bills at the local grocery, Konzum. Turns out you hand the cashier your bill and your money and she gives you back your change and receipt. Couldn't be simpler. I tell myself to stop worrying so much but I rarely listen.
• Allison worries that I will get us lost. I don't know why. I'm actually a pretty good navigator and I have yet to get lost.
• Allison is a supremely adaptable kid. I'm so proud of how well she's doing with all her major life changes!
• I've never lived right in the center of a big city before and I like it. It's so convenient and I haven't missed driving at all. It takes roughly 30 minutes for me to get to work by tram and bus, depending on how long I have to wait for each. I find it to be good thinking time. I catch the tram directly in front of my door. On the way back, it lets me off across the street--right in front of a drugstore, which was perfect when I needed to buy toilet paper today. And my afternoon errands--post office, ATM, buying an alarm clock, paying bills, buying groceries--all happened within 2 blocks of here. That said, when the weather's nice I've also been enjoying walking a lot. It's a diverting way to get more exercise. I expected more noise, but aside from the trams (which are close enough to actually shake the building; I've got used to it) there's very little noise. Our building is a quiet one.
• I can live without TV, a dishwasher, garbage disposal, or microwave, or a clothes dryer. But I still need my Internet. And boy, Skype is a wonderful thing!

A nice Sunday in the city

Finally Blogger is letting me add some pictures! This morning Allison and I went to a boroque chamber music concert at the Croatian National Theatre. Spike accompanied us.

The picture below was taken in front of the theatre. Spike's generally a lot easier to pose than Allison.

After the concert we had lunch. I had a couple of typical Croatian dishes: Zagorski strukli and blitva. Allison had turkey cordon bleu, which came with tartar sauce on the side, plus vegetable garnishes to arrange artistically.

The restaurant was on Tkalciceva, which is a long pedestrian street lined with cafes and things. It's in the upper, or oldest, part of town.

The Zagreb cathedral is not far away. That round tower to the left dates to the 15th century. Kept the Turks out.

And this is the funicular. We didn't ride it today but we will eventually. It's too fun not to! Every day at noon they shoot a cannon from the top of that tower just to the right of the top of the funicular. And then every dog in Zagreb barks.