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!!

My 9-5 (sometimes way later) Life

All this talk about travel, and I haven’t even begun to explain my new job working for BMG! I mean my blog title does suggest I am doing some kind of business...

A typical day (even though this job is extremely atypical) consists of waking up and getting ready, and then meeting Pedro downstairs for breakfast in the hotel (yummy hot breakfast every morning is definitely a plus). We usually have 1-2 meetings per day, either in an office in Zagreb or in one of the surrounding smaller cities. While we are not traveling to/having a meeting, we are making phone calls to Croatian companies to schedule more meetings. We make our own company leads, and have the freedom to call whatever company we would like to meet with. Obviously we contact the largest companies first, but one thing I love about this job is the autonomy I have about how I want the project to run. For example, I noticed the brand of chocolates the hotel leaves on my bed every day, looked up the brand and company contact information on the internet, and am currently in contact with the CEO right now in trying to schedule a meeting with him. Or Pedro and I will be out at night, try a beer we like, and be in contact with the brewery the next day. However, making phone calls really just plain sucks. One time a secretary told me that her CEO “was on vacation for two years” and another one said “I am not interested in buying your sugar” when I told her that we had been working with Croatian Minister of Finance Ivan SUKER. You just have to laugh it off, or make a game out of it – whoever makes the first meeting of the day from a phone call buys the other a coffee, or something along those lines. Pedro and I have a good time, despite the absurdity of a reciting a sales script to 30 Croatian secretaries per day.

The actual meeting is the fun part. First off, why are we even meeting with the CEO’s of the largest companies in Croatia? Before I was sent here, Pedro was “opening” the project here. The opening, which usually takes a month from the start of the project, is when the consultant meets with as many government officials and economic decision-makers as possible within the country to gain their support for our publication. The Ambassador of Croatia in France invited The European Times (the publication I work with) to make a report on Croatia, and Pedro also met with the Minister of Finance, head of the Zagreb Stock Exchange, President of the Trade and Investment Agency, etc. I have done some opening meetings here as well; for example, I met with the President of the American Chamber of Commerce and the German Chamber of Commerce, as well as with the Mayor of Zagreb. We get as much information from them as possible about the Croatian economy, and also receive letters from them to promote The European Times Croatia. Showing companies that we have met with the government and that these officials want to produce this positive report about their country definitely sparks the various CEO’s interests. Now what exactly is this “report”? The European Times has about 6 editions per year on 6 different countries. The European Times Croatia report will feature an article on the Prime Minister who will talk about Croatia and its succession into the European Union, and then the various sectors of the economy will be highlighted – infrastructure, technology, pharmaceutical, energy, food & agriculture, construction, tourism, etc. The publication is then distributed to 410,000 readers throughout Western Europe - to all parliamentaries, embassies, international funders, and the CEO’s of the top 500 companies in Europe. So basically these reports are free for the super mega big dogs in the European world, and Croatia is an important country for them to learn more about because it is planning on being admitted to the EU in 2011.

So in addition to gathering all of this information about the country through our “opening” meetings that we then send to our production office, we have to find a way to sponsor this report! That’s where the “sales” part of my job comes in…

SO the meetings are essentially to introduce the report to the CEO, and to show him the value in not only gaining more exposure in Europe, but also in supporting the initiative of the Croatian government. There are four parts to the meeting, and my field training has essentially been learning each part, one at a time.

1. Introduction: The night before, we assemble a tailor-made PowerPoint that describes the report, its distribution, why Croatia needs exposure, and why we are meeting with that specific company in that specific sector.

2. Fact-finding: This is where one of us asks the CEO questions about his company: Who are his clients? What projects is the company working on? Is the company looking to expand into Europe? Who are his competitors and what is his market share? What kind of relations does he have with the government and international funding institutions? (I love this part; you learn SO much about the way a company works in an international setting)

3. Pitching: Sales pitches are stories, questions, and tactics used to build value for the product you are selling, so an example of a pitch to, say, an insurance company in our case would be: “You have shown us how your main project is to increase your sales force to attract investors. When we met with the leader of World Bank Croatia, she emphasized that she is looking to allocate funds to company projects that she feels will have a positive impact on the financial sector. How important is it to you to show how well your project is doing to our readers such as the President of World Bank Croatia, and why would you be the best partner for these international funders?”

These examples and questions allow the CEO’s to realize the value of exposure within our publication, and so the night before a meeting Pedro and I discuss what kind of angles we should use depending on the type of company we are meeting.

4. THE CLOSE woop woop: This is the most critical part of a meeting, where you “lay it all out on the table” and truly use the analytical aspect of sales. You summarize the meeting and the major points, and try to make a match between what the CEO’s objectives are and what exposure in our publication would provide him to achieve those objectives.

At first I was intimidated to do this part of the meeting, but it is actually pretty thrilling when you have good sales angles and you make a true connection with the CEO.

In order to move from a trainee to a consultant, you have to do the close and sell 30,000 euro, which could all be in one sale or in many small sales. Our turnover in Croatia for the past 3 months has been 15,000 euro, so I kind of figured I would become consultant during my next project. However, the second time I did the close I SOLD one page of sponsorship for 35,000 euro!!! It was an amazing meeting with a construction/infrastructure company called Zagorje Technobeton. The CEO didn’t speak English so we used a translator for the entire meeting, which honestly was good for me because I had more time to strategize how I would make the close. He loved the idea of sponsoring The European Times, especially because he has a lot of international partners in Western Europe. I offered 35,000 and when he said ok, I literally started shaking and could barely sign my name on the contract agreement. He signed it, and screamed, “WAIT” in Croatian, which petrified me because I thought he was going to back out as he ran into his office. He came running back with a huge stamp of the company logo, and hammered it down on the contract with an enormous smile on his face. I thought I would die of happiness and relief, and to top things off as we were leaving the CEO gave us each a big bag of goodies with wine, t-shirts, towels, etc. Pedro and I were in shock as we walked out of the office, and once it sank in that I HAD BECOME CONSULTANT and we had just sold double the amount we had made in 3 months, we started jumping up and down with joy, hugging and kissing each other, calling our coaches, and blasting “We are the Champions” the whole way home.

So now I am officially a sales consultant, and I am so happy that I accomplished this with Pedro in Croatia. This past week has been extremely slow as literally everyone in Europe is on holiday, which has been pretty nice! The CEO of Whirlpool took us out to a glamorous lunch on Tuesday, and other than that we have been trying to schedule more meetings for next week and managed to make 2 on the coast! Tomorrow we head to Split and are staying overnight there because we have another in Zadar on Tuesday, about an hour away from Split on the coast as well.

The Croatia project ends in a mere two weeks, and I do not know where I am going next! I have no idea what country I will be in (the office has suggested I might be in Austria, but we’ll see) and I don’t know who my next partner will be! (Pedro is headed to the states to study and apply for grad school) I am extremely anxious – I want to know so badly! I am also really going to miss Croatia – I love how safe it is, how nice the people are, how much I have learned about Eastern Europe, and I am really going to miss Pedro! I am hopeful I will be sent to another amazing country and make another great friend in my partner, but only time will tell! Much more to follow…

Sofia, Sandanski, & Thessaloniki

It’s Monday morning and I am wide awake as I sip a coffee in my lively hotel lobby. I’m waiting for Pedro to get here so we can start our work day (he went to Slovenia this weekend and is driving back this morning). This past weekend was a semi-long one in Croatia; there was a national holiday on Thursday, so Pedro gave me permission to fly to Bulgaria that day to visit two of my fellow trainees, Slavy and Mwongola! Needless to say my Thursday morning flight through Budapest was an unenjoyable one, as Pedro and I had been out CELEBRATING the night before because I made consultant! (much more to come on that later!)

Slavy – who is from Bulgaria – and Mwongola – from California – picked me up at the airport in Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria. I immediately felt a difference in the culture, atmosphere, and comfort level. Bulgaria has a long, suppressed history – the Bulgarians were basically the Turks’ slaves for 5 centuries, and after World War II became a communist state in the Eastern Bloc. Slavy was two years old when the communist regime fell, but felt the repression throughout her entire childhood as anarchy became the norm. Now the country is under a parliamentary democracy, but remains completely corrupt. The normalcy and functionality that we take for granted in the United States simply doesn’t exist in Bulgarians’ lifestyle. Street signs don’t make sense, nor do road lanes; radio stations don’t function most places and nicely-paved sidewalks and clean building facades are nonexistent. I was too excited to see my friends to have any time to feel unsafe or culture-shocked, but Mwongola said it took him a good 3 weeks to not get pissed at every Bulgarian who shook their head yes and nodded their head no (Bulgaria is the only country where this occurs).

After a trip to the American and German embassy (it was still their work day and they had to pick up some documents for their project), we headed back to their chic hotel downtown and immediately set out on foot for dinner. A five-minute walk brought us to an amazing outdoor restaurant that is “sooo typical Bulgarian”. The waiter greeted us with huge loaves of bread and spices – “we always greet our guests with a batch of warm bread and traditional Bulgarian spice; now who wants rakia?” Rakia is the typical alcohol in the Balkan region (very popular in Croatia as well), which tastes like licorice vodka. I try to like it and always pretend I do, hoping eventually I will acquire a taste for it, but honestly it is 100% disgusting. We ordered some anyway, as well as a “traditional Bulgarian salad” and our various meals. They all had hilarious names, and under each order a badly-translated description of exactly how the chef prepares the meal attempts to lure you to order it. For example, one meal was “Rabbit with Expired Game License” and Slavy ordered “Mrs. Foxey’s Female Chicken dish”. I opted for stuffed paprika, and after some rakia and house beers enjoyed a wonderful meal. Full and tired, we called it a night after one more trip to a local bar, as we had to wake up the next morning to work from our hotel.

The next day, we were trying to figure out how to spend our weekend together, and Slavy casually chirped in, “why don’t we visit Greece?” – WHAT? GREECE? It’s close to Bulgaria? And we have a car? Nothing could change my mind. After numerous work phone calls and emails from the hotel, we wrapped up the workday and hopped in the car to head south. We stopped in Slavy’s hometown, Sandanski, for dinner. Driving through the place where Slavy grew up was even more of an alarm – ramshackled apartment buildings, uprooted sidewalks, tons of barefoot children running around…meanwhile Slavy is in the front seat, as cheerful as she always is, proclaiming how much she loves her hometown. Her parents were waiting for us outside and her mother came running down the cement staircase of the non-insulated, fading building to greet us with warm hugs and kisses. She ushered us inside to meet Slavy’s father, grandmother, and younger sister, and immediately directed us to the kitchen table, where platters of food were waiting for our arrival. Slavy’s whole family sat and watched as we helped ourselves to meatball soup, Shapska salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and tons of feta cheese), and meat patties. All “very typical Bulgarian”. When I didn’t take a meat patty right away the grandmother became nervous I was a vegetarian, and the father kept commenting on how we weren’t eating enough, despite grabbing seconds and thirds of everything. Oh yea, and her family doesn’t speak a lick of English, so all the while I was trying to thank them and attempt pleasantries and they would just smile and shake their heads (meaning yes, yes) as Slavy attempted to translate 5 conversations at once. We were eager to head to Greece, and knew we would be staying in Sandanski the following night, so we said our lost-in-translation goodbye’s and hit the road. I was ecstatic to reach the Greek border – after passing it you could immediately notice a difference in the road quality, the radio station selection, the signage, and the preserved landscape – and Greece is the country that is supposed to be one of the “worst in Europe right now”, which just shows how the media solely cares to highlight European Union countries’ problems, rarely touching on the difficulties of less-developed countries in the region.

After somehow finding our hostel with no GPS and no map, we hit the town of Thessaloniki, the second largest city of Greece and the capital of Macedonia. Greeks don’t consider Macedonia a real country, so depending on whom you ask, we could have been in Greece or we could have been in Macedonia! We woke up the next morning to a nice breakfast on the back terrace of our hostel, where newly-born kittens roamed beneath our feet and Greek music filled the air. We then walked through town, where large, modern buildings juxtaposed thousand-year old Greek ruins. We took a short bus tour as well, and then drove even more south to check out the Greek coast. We definitely were not in the most pristine beaches of Greece because we were so far north, but the sandy beaches were exactly what we needed – we sunbathed the day away and enjoyed frappes (cold Greek coffee drinks) and people-watching. The amount of Greeks enjoying the beach, happily ordering numerous beers left me wondering just how hard the crisis has hit the Greeks – they should take a trip to Bulgaria or Bosnia and then talk about decrease in quality of life…

I was sad to leave, but eventually we headed back to Thessaloniki to grab a “truly Greek meal”, and luckily found some locals who led us to a hole-in-the-wall Greek restaurant, where we indulged in Greek salads, potatoes with yogurt sauce, stuffed peppers, and tzatziki spread. Full to the brim, we arrived to Slavy’s house ready to shower and rest, but her mother had spent all day cooking us another meal! Of course we had to eat it and enjoy it, as she had made Slavy’s favorite Bulgarian dish – we each received our own pot of vegetables, ham, spices, cheeses, and egg that takes hours to cook and is a true delicacy in Bulgaria. It was probably one of the best foods I have had abroad, and we made room to enjoy it, thanking her profusely for her time and effort in trying to make us feel at home in this outlandish country of Bulgaria. The family shares one bathroom in the entire apartment, and when I was given a towel to shower, I was confused on where to go because I had not seen a shower when I had gone to the bathroom before, but they led me there anyways, along with a pair of clunky shoes to wear “so I wouldn’t slip”. I realized that the bathroom WAS the shower, and I had difficulty in not getting the toilet, sink, mirror, toothbrushes, etc. completely soaked! The family did not seem to mind/notice, and gave me one of their few bedrooms for myself. Staying with Slavy’s family was a truly eye-opening cultural experience; her parents were some of the nicest people I have ever met, which I could immediately grasp despite not being able to communicate a word to them. We walked around Slavy’s downtown the next morning, and she pointed out her elementary school, the “dance club they would go to when they were 13”, and the numerous cafes/random shops she would visit when she and her friends felt like skipping school. Truly living a different culture, even if it was just for one night, was an amazing and unforgettable experience, and makes me grateful to have friends like Slavy!

We headed back to Sofia and did a little bit of last-minute sight-seeing in the city center (churches, government buildings, the normal) before I was dropped off at the airport. Another life-changing weekend down, who knows how many more to go...

Wonderful Weekends!

Long time, no update! The past couple of weeks have flown by – I’m not really sure where to begin this post, so I have lugged my computer to the center square of downtown Zagreb (oh yeah, we switched hotels, I made the deal myself, and now we’re right in the heart of downtown Zagreb!) – it is a beautiful night, the perfect temperature, and hundreds of Croats are passing me left and right (most are staring at my unusual outfit of Nike shorts and a UNC t-shirt, and at the fact that I am actually working on something…)

Nevertheless, I am content and really love the hustle-bustle of my new residence – millions of delicious restaurants, funky bars, street performers, souvenir shops, parks, and cafés are within a 500 meter radiance, and I truly feel as if I live in a thriving city.

Two weekends ago I was fortunate enough to visit the Evans in Germany! My 3 cousins and aunt and uncle have been planning a Europe trip for awhile, and who knew that southern Germany is super close to Zagreb? (well, I would say a one-hour plane ride and 2-hour train is close). It was an indescribable feeling seeing family at the train station that Friday night; I haven’t been with anyone I know for about 6 weeks now, and the relief and comfort I felt instantly lasted throughout the weekend. We headed straight to the biergarten in Garmisch (my kind of welcoming). Always the planner (my kind of aunt), Nan described everything the family had already done in Europe as well as the itinerary for our weekend over biers and a pretzel. The next morning we headed to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles for a full day of sightseeing. Supposedly I had been there before as a baby, but cried the whole time. The amazing structures, landscape, and company left me feeling quite the opposite, and we ended the afternoon with a wonderful German meal (of course I had to get the schnitzel!) Next we headed to Oberammergau, and despite the heavy downpour we did a little shopping/picture-snapping in the wonderful Bavarian town best known for its famous “Passion Play” that depicts the Passion of Jesus only once every ten years. Another wonderful meal with family and a few games of bananagrams later, we called it a night so we could wake up early the next morning to climb Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany! Although it was cloudy and we couldn’t see the peak, we rode the train an hour to the very top, playing games and chit-chatting the entire way up. Amidst the clouds, we all attempted to take pictures, but there was not much to see other than our hands in front of us, which made it that much more fun. We shared a small space in the pub at the top with others who had actually hiked the mountain, and warmed up over coffee and cakes. Once back in Garmisch, I packed up and we all headed downtown for one last goodbye-Germany meal. (Bratwurst, of course!) Realizing my train departure-time was approaching, Nan ran to get me “Spaghetti Ice”, delicious German ice cream that I HAD to try before I left! We all ran to the car, ice cream in hand, and I just made the train after numerous rushed hugs, kisses, thanks, and goodbyes. A whirlwind of the utmost happiness was followed by a quick transition to lonesomeness on the train, where I sat with a melted bowl of ice cream and a longing to return to the squished back seat of the Evans’ rented German car. I definitely skipped so many wonderful events of the weekend, but to summarize it was one of the best 48 hours I have probably ever had, and it simply confirms how one’s life may be adventurous and exciting and opportunistic, but there is truly nothing like the comfort of family!

Prost!

This past weekend my colleagues and I again took advantage of having a car in Eastern Europe and road-tripped throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina! Random? Yes. A little crazy? Yes. Amazing? Definitely. Our weekend trip in Bosnia was the definition of a culture shock, and it baffled me that crossing the border from Croatia to Bosnia I could immediately tell I was in another world. Graveyards lined the windy, undeveloped, sometimes unpaved roads, as well as bullet-struck buildings and war ruins. Bosnia’s war with Serbian nationalists was more like a genocide, and thousands of Bosnians lost their lives from 1992-1995 when Serbians invaded the country. Since then the country has slowly recovered, but much is still to be done in restructuring the government and establishing more stable institutions and infrastructure.

We arrived to Sarajevo and drove through Old Town for a while until we realized just how lost we were among the extremely narrow alleys of cute kids playing soccer. After reversing down steep hills, asking locals where our hotel was multiple times, and screaming at the stupid GPS lady that didn’t register any Bosnian street names, we finally found our “4 star hotel”. I was already feeling extremely outside of my comfort zone, and the 5-foot high ceilings of my bedroom and bathroom sure didn’t make me feel any more comfortable. Needless to say we got out of there as quickly as possible to check out old town Sarajevo. The streets were packed with tourists and locals because the Sarajevo Film Festival was taking place that weekend. We managed to find one of the local restaurants recommended to me, and flipped through the extensive menu with hundreds of pictures of meats, fish, kebabs, and unknown images. Surprisingly it ended up being the best meal I have had in Europe, and sitting outside on a Friday night in downtown Sarajevo, enjoying Sarajevsko beers and an amazing meal was just the way to start off our Bosnian weekend.

The next day felt like it lasted an eternity; I was so in awe of everything I saw and heard, and this feeling is the true joy of traveling. When you are in a completely new place, your curiosity is never satisfied, and you want to soak up everything around you at all times. We walked around all of Sarajevo and visited mosques, shopped, ate traditional cevapici, and checked out the film festival, all the while saving mental images of Sarajevo’s matchless culture and people. Tall catholic crosses, Islamic Minarets, and a mountainous landscape battle for Bosnia’s skyline, which we experienced not only in Sarajevo but also during our picturesque drive to the town of Mostar, in the southern part of Bosnia known as Herzegovina.

We didn’t have a hostel or hotel booked for Mostar, but I finally found availability in “an apartment owned by a hostel family”. Once in town I called the hostel, and an extremely nice man drove to meet us to show us to where his son was, a little red-headed boy reminiscent of Michael. The little Bosnian hopped in our car, didn’t say a word, but just started giving us hand signals about which directions we needed to drive. We were cracking up, but finally found the apartment we were staying in, an adorable place managed by a sweet old lady who also did not speak any English. We someone managed to figure everything out, and again dropped our stuff quickly so we could hit the town.

Mostar is probably one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. “The Bridge” is the obvious main attraction, connecting the inner city over the Neretva River. The middle of town is something of a fairy tale – cobble-stoned walkways wind through the center and lead you to numerous restaurants and bars acting as terraces overlooking the river. We took about a thousand pictures throughout the town right as the sun was setting, which was the perfect time to make an amazing first impression of our new destination. Seafood and house wine next to the river, under the bridge, left us feeling extremely fortunate and eager to explore the rest of the town during daylight.

Beautiful view of the Mostar Bridge

The next morning we only had a few hours to meander through the picturesque walkways of downtown, and along with a handful of other tourists we took advantage of the beautiful morning to snap pictures on the bridge overlooking the turquoise Neretva River. We cheers-ed to a truly unforgettable weekend on the rooftop –turned-bar of the tallest building in Mostar, and returned to our apartment to find our caretaker had washed our car out of the goodness of her heart. We realized that despite the unimaginable horror that Bosnia and its inhabitants had experienced during the Serbian genocide, both the country and its people are genuinely beautiful and humble.

The drive up the Croatian coast was long and tiring, especially after being stopped twice by Croatian police out to get tourists for speeding. Needless to say Pedro was the most angry I have ever seen him, and Teryn and I sat quietly for a good 5 hours letting him mumble every Spanish/Italian swear word he knows. A stop in the coastal town of Sibenik for lunch and gelato lifted his spirits, before finally making it back to Zagreb. I am still exhausted from our mega road trip, and tomorrow we’re back at it again! This week was long at work (more to come) and we’re heading to the coast tomorrow for some beach time finally! Pedro’s friend from London is flying in tonight, so him, Pedro, Teryn, our two friends from Slovenia, and I are planning on having some fun in the sun for the next couple of days. More escapade-writing to come!

The Colorado of Europe

This weekend I visited one of the most beautiful, pristine countries I have ever seen. “Slovenia” was the third-most googled word when America played them during the world cup because people had no earthly idea what the country was all about or where it was located. In my opinion, Slovenia should be at the top of every traveler’s destination list. As Pedro and I drove through the countryside to the capital city of Ljubljana where we were staying, I noticed that the forested hillside overshadowed by the luminous Alps strangely reminded me of one of my favorite states, Colorado. However, once we carted our luggage through the city-center of Ljubljana, I was brought back to Europe as the cobblestone streets and alleyways weaved overtop a majestic river flowing directly through downtown. We made our way to Hotel Antiq, which is just as its name suggests – a truly antique hotel with the cutest façade, quaintest furniture, and friendliest staff. My two colleagues in Slovenia, Teryn and Michael, live there, and had booked me a room overlooking the city from the front of the hotel – so beautiful! We enjoyed some Slovenian wine the two of them had received during a meeting with a vineyard, and relaxed on Teryn’s baller private rooftop deck before heading out for the night to distress from one of the longest and most tiring weeks of my life.

The next morning we all slept in and then I ventured out to explore a little of downtown Ljubljana. I walked through the terraces overlooking the river and made my way to the market much like Zagreb’s where I grabbed a lunch of “buckwheat bread covered with cottage cheese, sour cream, spices, and other cheese that is then baked in an open oven” (atleast that’s what the sign at the stand said) I figured I would try it and it was delicious! Again, don’t know exactly what it was but I’m thinking it was pretty Slovenian, and that’s all that culturally matters.

River Ljubljana running through downtown

After walking around a little more, I got dressed to go CANYONING with the group! Michael drove us to Bled, Slovenia, which is a gorgeous lake town about 30 minutes from Ljubljana. In the center of the town is Lake Bled; an enchanting castle sits high above the lake, as does another one that is situated on an island in the middle of the bright blue water. Bled is also known as “the extreme sports city” of Slovenia, so we figured we would do a little extreme-sporting ourselves. After meeting the other 4 members of the group going canyoning with us (2 extremely nice newlyweds from Ireland), we drove to a deserted part of the river, saddled on our wet suits, and started trudging toward the canyons! After a 20 minute walk we had a 15 minute STEEP hike (“Canyoning Bob”, our guide, said if we wanna jump down, we gotta walk up) and finally we reached the top, although we weren’t really sure what we were at the top of…

Getting in the zone in our wet suits

It is difficult for me to describe exactly how this canyoning business worked, but I will try. We first started by repelling down the canyon a little to reach the first “jump-off” point. We were given the option to repel down the rock or simply jump off of it into the small well of water below, and Teryn, Pedro and I decided to jump. The guide was even a little hesitant that we were doing it, but Teryn went first and I of course had to follow. I still have the image of looking WAY down (about 5 stories) into the water below, and only paying attention to the rocks jutting out of the canyon directly below me. “Make sure you jump OUT, so you don’t hit those rocks” Canyoning Bob warned me. Uhhh ok. After a couple more jumps I was mimicking Pedro’s battle cry and screaming “HIJO DE PUTA!” during the fall just as he did every time he jumped. The water was the coldest I have ever been in, which is why we wore wet suits; it literally took my breath away. The scariest to me was repelling sideways; sometimes I had to move laterally from one standing place to another, trusting only my harness connected to a horizontal rope as I leaned backwards to shuffle across a canyon boulder. Finally we reached our final jump, which was the highest, and then instead of walking back we were able to float downstream to our van, which was so relaxing after a seriously intense 2 hours of climbing, swimming, leaping, and praying.

We rewarded our brave selves with a few Union beers at a pub in town and watched Germany beat Uruguay, and then called it a night and headed back to Ljubljana. The next morning we woke up early enough to have breakfast in the hotel (cha-chinggg cappuccino and orange-juice machines galore), and then headed back to Lake Bled for some lake-side sunbathing and picnicking. After a peaceful afternoon beneath the brilliant Alps and beside the stunning lake, it was time to again face reality and get a little work done for the week back at the hotel.

Lake Bled, with both castles in the background!

This weekend was so much fun, and we all commented how activities such as canyoning truly take your mind off of work, stress, or any responsibility other than staying alive. We vowed our next weekend trips would exponentially get more extreme…sky-diving, anyone?

Learning to drive stick-shift in the Crazy, Curvy, Croatian Countryside

Sometimes I have to just stop and wonder how in the world my actions and decisions have gotten me here. On Monday, Pedro and I met with the CEO of Natura Agro, one of the biggest food companies in Croatia. A truly amazing company, they gave us a tour of their immense production facility in the middle-of-nowhere Croatia, letting us try fresh apples right off the sorting conveyer belt and treating us to personalized goody bags. On the way home, Pedro and I were enjoying the breathtaking Croatian countryside, which is astoundingly reminiscent of Tuscany, and he was making fun of how literally no American knows how to drive a manual car. Up for the challenge, I practiced as he led me through the motions of the gears: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis...

The whole way home I listened for the engine to prompt me to switch gears, and I can confidently say I know how to drive a manual - from the passenger's side..

However, I was forced to take the driver's seat last night when, on the way to my birthday dinner, Pedro exclaimed he really needed to get some gas. We jutted forward a few times on the highway and then came to a complete stop. Luckily another muscle-man was in the car, Adam (one of my coaches helping us out this week), and he and Pedro pushed the car as I worked with the clutch in neutral all the way to the next gas station!

Looney times like these make me realize how a sense of curiosity and humor will take you so far in life. Adam, who is from Budapest, Hungary and is awesome, was so excited when we ran out of gas.

"Oh my gosh, I was just thinking the other day how I have never run out of gas while driving, and I thought about how it would probably be super hilarious and exciting! And it is!"

Having this mindset about an unfortunate event while traveling is absolutely necessary, and only emphasizes the power of optimism in everyday life.

And so I leave you with that observation, and hope next time you are stranded on the side of the road in a foreign country you manage to smile a little, or even laugh..?