Take Me Down to the Paradise City

Dober dan! (Hello in Croatian)

Sunday morning, rain is falling here in Zagreb. The past two weekends here have been nothing but a constant downpour, which is ironic as these are the only two weekends I have actually stayed in my home city!

Of course there have been many changes since my last entry - I have a new partner, apartment, and actually have my ticket back to Belgium (aka my end date of the Croatia project).

My new partner is a spunky British girl named Abbie from right outside of London; she is energetic and enthusiastic and constantly using English words/phrases that I'm slowly picking up on:

"I'm feeling peckish for some chips or chokie" = "I'm hungry for french fries or chocolate"

"I hate our bloody Satnav." = "I hate our stupid GPS." (It actually is extremely infuriating)

"At Uni my mates and I mostly drank cider and spirits." = "In college my friends and I mostly drank beer and liquor."

Again, it is a huge transition from working with an Italian/Colombian fella; now instead of shooting espressos four times a day I'm drinking English Breakfast tea in the afternoon...

Needless to say there is never a dull moment between the two of us, and I can confidently say we have a hell of a lot of girl power - we have made 2 sales, traveled all throughout Croatia and Slovenia for meetings, and managed to find and move into a great new flat! We're now living in a 2-bedroom apartment that is part of "The Movie Hotel", a hotel in which all its rooms have a theme. For example, the suite is the "Arnold Schwarzenegger Suite" and Pedro when he was opening the project stayed in the "Brad Pitt Penthouse". We opted for the apartment so we can cook and have an actual living space, which has been so nice. It is in between the city center and business district right along the river Sava, which has an amazing running trail that I am ecstatic about. However, we are only here until October 3 (Next Sunday) when we fly back to Belgium for another regional training with the European teams. Then I will stay in Belgium for another couple of weeks to wrap up the Croatia project and begin to open my next one! I obviously don't know where it will be yet, but I have a feeling they are keeping me in Europe.

Slovenian Wine Country

The past few weekends have been somewhat uneventful in comparison to my crazy weekend travels during the summer, but I have really needed to use them to relax and sleep as traveling and work throughout the past 4 months has really caught up to me. Three weekends ago Abbie and I went to Slovenia (I helped Michael out with a high potential meeting there as Teryn is now gone) and we stayed in his flat for the weekend. We went to Slovenian wine country which is right on the Italian border, and it was truly magnificent. Slovenian wine is actually amazing, who knew? We also had to say goodbye to Michael as his next project is in the Caribbean, which was again sad - one of the most difficult things about this job is building strong relationships with people and then having to say goodbye for who knows how long. It has definitely made me stronger, but the ache is still there.

Abbie and I have stayed put in Zagreb for the past couple weekends, going out at night and relaxing throughout the days. On Friday we went to the Guns N Roses concert; I used my press card to get two free floor tickets to the show! (One of the perks of the job) We dressed in our rocker best and swayed with the mosh pit until the early hours of the morning. Axl Rose was a mere few feet from us, and the scene of Croatians on each others shoulders, shirts off, screaming the lyrics to Sweet Child O Mine was unforgettable.

Streamers coming down at the end of Guns N Roses

(They are now all over our apartment)

Abs and I are off to get a little work done for Monday. Hopefully this week is not at all like the last; we were working 16-hour work days nearly every day because we had so many high-potential meetings; it was probably the most stressful week since I've been here. We did meet some interesting people and companies though: the former Minister of Health and the director/surgeon of the largest hospital in Croatia, the CEO of the most important port on the Adriatic, the head of the Croatian telecommunication system. We're going to try and take it easy best we can this week and really enjoy our final week here in the Balkans! Until next time...

The Final Days of a Croatian Summer

Sometimes it is difficult for me to come up with a title for a post – SO many things are always on my mind that I wish I could express in just a few concise paragraphs – but that would be impossible!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Traveling, longest work hours of my life, SALES!, goodbye’s, hellos...

Two of the three past weekends have been spent in Slovenia with Pedro, Teryn, and Michael; Teryn and Michael are living in an amazing new apartment in downtown Ljubljana – it is an old aristocrat’s estate turned into lavish apartments, complete with a gym, hottub, dining room, terrace, fireplaces, etc – utterly amazing! They cook for Pedro and I every time we come as well, which is so nice as I am so used to eating out for every meal! I love their company, and our other two friends who live in Slovenia are usually around as well.

However, two weekends ago Teryn and I took a girls road trip to Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria! Completely random, but we’re trying to get in as many countries in the Balkan region as possible. Driving from Slovenia through Austria and finally into Slovakia was a dream. Austria’s countryside is so picturesque and girl chatting with Teryn the whole way was much-needed as I am now pretty much only with males (Pedro, my coach, Adam, and all the CEO’s haha). Although there really is not much to see in Bratislava, Teryn and I had a great time shopping in the crafts market, exploring the cobblestone streets with Slovak beers in hand, snapping pictures of the Austrian-influenced architecture, and night-clubbing with locals who ironically became the most excited when the “Y-M-C-A” came on!

After a night in one of the most hysterical “budget hotels” I have ever had the pleasure of sleeping in, Teryn and I set out for Vienna to sight-see for two hours and grab some Wiener Schnitzel for lunch! Vienna is just as beautiful as I remember – the buildings are unbelievable and the town has such a novelty about it. Everything is grandiose and the city paradoxically comes across as brand new while maintaining the majesty of ancient European style. We rushed through the main squares and had a wonderful Schnitzel at a decadent café overlooking one of the main cathedrals. Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia all in one Sunday?!

Other than exploring more of this truly captivating region, I have been majorly focused on finishing up this Croatia project with Pedro. Last week was his final week, and my coach came to help us out with some high-potential meetings. I love Adam, he is so interesting and so smart, but he puts you to WORK. 15-hour work days were the norm, but in the end it was all worth it – we made 2 HUGE sales last week! I closed Hrvatske Vode, the state-owned Croatian water company, on the spot in front of Adam for our biggest deal yet! Pedro and I were so ecstatic, especially that he was able to leave on a truly amazing note after having such a difficult time in this saturated Croatian market. The thrill of a sale is indescribable – a true rush and an amazing feeling of satisfaction after preparing so much. This week I am working on making more high-potential meetings and PR-ing (visiting large companies with information about The European Times) with Jason, another consultant they flew in from Jordan to help me out. I’m not going to lie, this week has been one of the more difficult ones, as I miss Pedro like crazy, I am now in charge of ALL tasks here in Croatia, and I am teaching Jason about the Croatian market as best I can. He’s been great company and I have loved getting to know him better, but after working with the same person for 3 months you get used to a certain work style; transitioning to partner with another person definitely takes time and endurance. However, I love the fact that this project is resting on my shoulders – a mere 3 months ago I had no idea where Zagreb, Croatia even was…

I am thinking I will be in Croatia for another week or so, and then the office will tell me my next placement – I am getting really excited! This weekend I am flying to Belgium for training with the rest of the European teams. Although I know they will put us to work, I am looking forward to seeing my friends from training and having everyone together again!

Love from the Adriatic!!