Istanbul bound?

Well, last night I officially heard from my manager that they are relocating R&D for Serbia (with our HUGE team of manager + me) to Istanbul.  I had heard rumors about this for a few weeks.  What it means for me is that for the duration of this short assignment, I will stay in Belgrade.  If, by chance, the assignment is extended, then they might want me to relocate to Istanbul. 

Hmm.  I just got settled here, but I guess you could say that I'm not that settled.  But for now, the thought of more apartment hunting, finding another new bank, etc. makes me feel so tired.  I'm just barely set up here.  So hopefully I can stay in Belgrade for a while.

The upside is that I will get to travel to Istanbul frequently to get acquainted with the Turkish R&D team (my new team).  I was in Istanbul for 9 days in Aug/Sept, and it is an amazing city.  There are about 18 million people in Istanbul (vs. 2 million in Belgrade and 5 million in DFW).   The city has an energy.  And it is much more exotic than Belgrade.  Istanbul is not clouded from recent wars and economic sanctions. either.  And Istanbul is where East meets West (literally the city is in Europe and Asia).

Here is a picture that I took in Istanbul of the Hagia Sofia.  It is a beautiful city.

So the million dollar question; would I move to Istanbul?  I think I would. Of course, that isn't the intent of this assignment/rotation. But as many people advised me I will keep an open mind.  If the opportunity arises, I think I would have to take it!  Luckily, even if I don't move there, I will have lots of travel to and from Istanbul and many opportunities to explore this city.

One more Istanbul picture for the road:

Here is a view of the Galata Bridge from the Tower.  The water way is called the Golden Horn, and it empties into the Bosporus which separates Europe from Asia.  Amazing!

 

My Belgrade

I have been here for 3 1/2 weeks, and this is my 4th weekend.  I spent this afternoon, in typical fashion, walking around Belgrade.  I'm finally starting to have a good mental picture of the city.  Every time I go on one of my long walks, when I get home I look at my Belgrade city map to see where I've been.  After 4 weekends, I think I'm starting to understand and even though I still get "lost", I generally know which area of the city I'm in.  Now, some of you might be thinking "what's so hard about finding your way in Belgrade?"  Well, the problem is that the map is written in Latin and the street signs (if you can even find them) are written in Cyrillic.

For those of you that know Cyrillic, what does this say?  The best I can translate is this:

ulicha

NIKODIMA

MILASHA

This was translated with the help of a book.  I can't exactly be dragging my book out at every intersection to figure out what street I'm on.  To me, Belgrade is a man wearing dark glasses.  It is an enigma.  There are secret sights, cafe's, and views hidden everywhere.

Here are some more pictures of my explorations.

So many of the buildings are gray here, but this one was painted green. 

Here is some "decoration" on someone's terrace.  I guess they were going for a jungle/tropical theme.

Here was a monument in a park near the New Cemetery.  I think it is a WWII memorial, because there was the year 1944 on it.  But I couldn't read the Cyrillic.  I thought it was a nice fall scene.

Same park, different view.  Fall is my favorite time of year.

Finally, I saw these roses and I like how they are juxtaposed with the rusted fence.  This is very symbolic to me and it epitomizes the Belgrade that I have experienced thus far.

I only walked about 2 1/2 hours today.  I capped it off by trying out a different coffee shop near my apartment.  They have really good sweets.  I love the cafe culture here.  I just wish I knew more people to experience it with here.

I also wanted to thank everyone for reading my blog.  I like all the comments, even if I haven't figured out how to respond to them.  Keep reading and I'll keep posting.

Fog, Fashion, and Fascinating Facades

Last night it was foggy.  Not just a little foggy, but can't see more than 20 feet in front of you foggy.  It was still foggy this morning, but not as bad.  Here is a picture from my apartment.  You can see how the fog hangs in the valley.

But of course, I won't let a little fog get me down!  The weather is actually amazingly warm.  I went out this afternoon wearing a sweater over a t-shirt and my winter coat.  After about 20 minutes of walking, I took off my coat because it was so warm.  I was walking with a small daypack, my coat draped through it, an oversized sweater, and my bright, white running shoes (they are new!).  I was completely a fish out of water.  The Serbs are very fashionable.  Most young (under 50) Serbian women have their hair cut very fashionably, are wearing boot over skinny jeans, and some kind of form fitting sweater.  They all have cute jackets.  I am not fashionable in the US, and I am definitely not fashionable here.  Also, much to my dismay, Serbian women are mostly tall, thin, and beautiful.  The young men all dress like you would see in most US cities.  The puffy vest is very popular as is the spiky hair.  Anyway, needless to say, it was obvious that I am NOT FROM HERE!  I didn't even have to open my mouth for that to be clear.

I decided to walk around a different part of the city.  And I came across a few interesting buildings and sites:

I think this is a gym.  For some reason, it reminded me of this gym in Hudson that is on the floor above where we had some family gatherings.  Don't ask me why!

I'm not sure what this is and if it is in the process of being build, being destroyed, or just neglected.  But I thought it was interetesting, nonetheless.

Here was this secret woods that I found in the middle of the city.  There was a wooden bridge and some stone steps.  It was a bit spooky.

And finally, for those of you that are dissatisfied with our school system, here is a school in Belgrade.  There were a bunch of kids playing right on the other side.

All in all, it was a good Saturday.  Now I'm relaxing in my great new apartment equipped with my new pots and pans making a pot of soup.  Perhaps not the most exciting Saturday night, but it suits me.

Status update

You may recall a post from a few weeks ago about how I was frustrated by the lack of progress on my move.  Well, I'm pleased to report that progress is being made!  Here is the previous list:

Wednesday, November 4, 2009


Things that I have to do in Serbia:

1. Register with the Police for Work Permit - Attempted but not completed - BUT I don't think I will need this anymore.

2. Register with the Police for Residency Permit - In process, but not completed -  BUT should be completed by next week

3. Find apartment - CHECK!

4. Get car - CHECK!

5. Get local mobile phone - CHECK!

Of course, now there is a whole new list such as:
6. Get the rest of my belongings here - they were packed at my house in the US on 28 Oct.  I don't know where they are, but hopefully they arrive soon.

7. Make sure the landlords fix/buy everything they are supposed to so that my apartment is fully functional - there is something wrong with the shower and the water temperature can't be adjusted.  So it is either scalding or freezing.  There is no warm.  The water is the temperature that it is at the boiler (which I have to turn on and off).  Also, I don't have any pots and pans.  I bought groceries last night, but I can't cook some of the things!

8. Get a local bank so I don't have to pay outrageous fees on my stupid credit card.

9. Really figure out how to get to and from work without getting lost:)

But I think that there is definitely progress being made. 

Getting Settled

I have been very post-y this weekend, but a lot is happening here. As I mentioned yesterday, I (finally) am in my new apartment! I moved in yesterday. Today, per Serbian law, I had to go get registered with the Police. In Serbia, if you are visiting from another country, you must register with the police. If you stay in a hotel, the hotel does this for you. If you are staying at a private resident, you have to go with the owner of the property with your passport and register. It is actually a simple process, but still....


Much like everything I've experienced here so far, it was not as simple as it should have been. First of all, I tried to call the apartment owner. I had not met him before, but the landlord gave me his number. So I tried calling, and it didn't work. The error message is in Serbian, so I wasn't sure what the problem was. But I finally was able to get in touch with him. He said that he would pick me up around 1pm. He shows up (in a very fancy leather seats, automatic(!!)) VW something. He is very young, probably younger than me, with a beautiful girlfriend in the front seat. We drive to the main police station, which is about a 10-15 drive from my apartment. We go in, and apparently it is the wrong police station. So we get back in the very nice car, and drive to the correct police station, which is only about 100m from my apartment. We go in, and there is a problem because I came into the country a couple of weeks ago and I don't have a white card. I explain that I was in a hotel during this time, and they didn't give me any documentation that they registered me, but I do have the hotel bill. So the police (in Serbian) ask me to go get the bill to prove that I was in a hotel. I walk the 100m to my flat, find the bill, and walk back to the police station. 10 minutes later, I have my white card. Whew!

I walked around a bit today to explore my new neighborhood and saw this funny sign:

There is no distance; I wonder how far to the moon?

I still don't have any pots or pans, but I managed to make some cheese bread with some Serbian cheese, ajvar (red pepper sauce), and some red pepper flakes that I brought with me. It was delicious.

Wish me luck tomorrow in finding my way to the office. I have been studying the map, and I think I know how to get there, but there are a lot of one-way streets, and I'm a bit nervous. I still have the GPS, so hopefully I will be ok.

Which Apartment?

I know that several of you are curious about which apartment I chose.  Due to the fact that this is the World Wide Web, I don't want to post too many details on my exact whereabouts:). 

But seriously, the one I chose is near city center, with great views on three sides and a beautiful bathroom.  I can't wait to use the huge shower!  The kitchen is open to the living area, and it has remote controlled window blinds in the dining room for the ceiling. 

I'm ready for guests, so if any of you are trying to figure out where you want to vacation this winter/spring, Belgrade is a beautiful and interesting city and is worth a few days of your European vacation.  And you have a free place to stay! 

Road Trip and Moving Day

My first road trip was relatively successful.  I did get lost, but the polite British woman on the GPS I borrowed got me found with no trouble.  It is interesting to drive when so many things are different.  I had a little trouble getting gas (such as the fact that I couldn't pay because the Logistics team that supplied the car and gas card didn't supply the PIN and they didn't take other credit cards and the clerk didn't speak a word of English).  But, in the end, everything worked out.

I stayed at a hotel in Novi Sad (near the plant) that is called Hotel Park.  I stayed in Room 227.  Ma--ry!  I don't know if any of you watched 227 back in the 80's, but that was the first thing I thought of when I was give room 227. 

My big news is that I moved into my apartment today!  I am so happy to be in my own place.  In true form, there was some drama associated with moving.  My key got stuck in the lock and it couldn't be removed.  So the relo guy and I waited for 2 hours for a locksmith to come.  He had to remove the entire lock and replace one of the plates.  But it seems to be working now.  After the relocation guy and locksmith left, I walked down to a little market to get some supplies.  Unfortunately, the apartment does not have any pots and pans, so I can't cook yet.  But they are supposed to supply some soon.

So which apartment did I choose?  I chose the one that is awesome!  No, seriously here is a picture.

Here is the view out of the living room.  It's hard to see in this picture, but you can see most of Belgrade, including some hills in the distance.

And finally, while it might seem like it would be great to live in a hotel because you don't have to cook or clean, it feels great to be settled.  What is the first thing I did after unpacking?  Laundry.  I did send my laundry out a few times at the hotel, but I still had a load ready to wash.  The washing machine is very sophisticated.  Unfortunately I don't have a dryer, but here is the high tech washer.

That's it for now.  Now I'm going to cut up some cheese, eat some bread with ajvar (red pepper sauce), and relax with a book in my own apartment!

Driving and Moving...

I got a car!  I'm pretty sure it is temporary, but nonetheless, I have a car.  It is pretty sweet.

Ok, so it is a little bit embarrassing driving a branded car, but who cares? I don't know anyone is Serbia anyway. The reason I need a car is because tomorrow (Thursday) I am getting up super early to drive to the plant to run my first test here in Serbia. I will be at the plant on Thursday and Friday. Which means I have to move out of the hotel. I have spent 14 nights in this great hotel. I really hoped I would be in my apartment by now, but everything takes a long time.

I just finished packing up my 100lbs of luggage (yes, literally 100 lbs) so I can go to Novi Sad to another hotel for one night before coming back to this hotel again. But my apartment contract came in last night. Now approximately 709232349873 people have to approve it and then sign and then I can move out of the hotel. God bless bureaucracy.

I did choose an apartment, but you will have to wait until I actually move in before I tell you which one I chose.  Part of me doesn't actually believe that I will get to move into an apartment.

I drove for the first time here and it wasn't too bad. The HR and Logistics team asked me several times if I could drive a standard and I said I could. But when you haven't driven a standard in a long time (probably 2 years), the beginning is always a little rocky. So I stalled it in the underground garage trying to get up the very steep slope. But I made it and didn't stall any more. It was dark and raining, so I was trying to navigate, drive in a new country with strange signs and signals, find wipers, find lights, keep the windows from fogging, and drive a stick for the first time in 2 years. But I made it to the hotel in one piece. Luckily, I'm leaving very early tomorrow so there shouldn’t be any traffic. My manager loaned me his GPS which speaks English, and hopefully I won't get lost.

I'm excited about my first plant test, but also nervous. It is amazing how similar the Operations/R&D relationship is in the US and in Serbia. Ops never trusts us and thinks we are a bunch of nerds with our heads in the clouds that are trying to mess up their plant. And we don't understand why they can't be more flexible. But after a couple of tests, you learn to trust each other. Wish me luck tomorrow for driving, not getting lost, and having a successful test run.

Sore feet and other hazards of globe trotting

I had a pretty good weekend here in БЕОГРАД (Belgrade written in Cyrillic).  I walked a ton yesterday, pleasantly getting lost and exploring the city.  I figured out how to walk from Novi Belgrade to City Center via one of the 3 bridges that crosses the Sava River.  I went into a nice little church (temple) that was quite beautiful.  There were even roses growing outside even though we had snow earlier in the week. 

I also took a few pictures of the grittier side of Belgrade.  It is a major city with relatively little crime, but it is still very poor from the wars of the 1990's. 

The first photo was taken near the bridge from New Belgrade to Old Belgrade on the NB side.  The second photo is just over the bridge in OB.  There is a lot of good graffiti throughout the city.

This is a small Roma (Gypsy) settlement.  The Romas are prevalent all over SE Europe and Turkey.  They are well tolerated in Belgrade, though there is still some discrimination.  Another time, I will share photos of the settlement that is near my office.  They live in poverty in shacks made from recycled materials.  Romas also are the city's recyclers.  They pick through the trash for cardboard, metal, and plastic, and this is how they make their living.

These two pictures show the growth and poverty in Belgrade.  There are some very rundown buildings all over that are abandoned or boarded up.  But then brand new luxury apartment buildings are going up right next to them.

Here is a typical middle income apartment building.  Even though this is in Old Belgrade near the City Center, it looks like it is a post war (WWII) Communist style building.  Style is an ironic term to use.

Here was  a lot that was covered in a kudzu type plant.  I'm sure that someone will clean it out and put up something here within the next few years.

And finally, I walked to a cemetery.  It was very busy, with Serbs showing their respect with flowers and prayer candles.  It was a cloudy and foggy day and it was near sunset when I stumbled across this cemetery.  Many of the stones are large and made from black polished stone.  The names are all written in Cyrillic, and many of them have small pictures of the deceased.  In addition to this, there were several trees that are losing their leaves or have lost their leaves and there were several flocks of large black birds.  You know how I LOVE birds.  Anyway, the whole effect was very spooky.

You can see the birds in the tops of the trees!

I ended up walking over to my potential new neighborhood too.  You are probably wondering which apartment I chose.  You will have to wait until I have it confirmed! 

All in all, I walked for about 10 hours.  I probably took 45 min for a coffee, 2 hours for dinner, 15 min at a small shop, so that is 7 hours of walking.  If I averaged 2mph, that is 14 miles and if I averaged 3 mph that is 21 miles.  My feet were very sore when I made it back in the fog and rain to the hotel.

On Sunday (today), I got up early and went for a run along the Sava and Danube Rivers.  Yesterday, I noticed a nice path running along the rivers, so I thought I would check it out.  I didn't take any photos because it was raining pretty hard and I didn't want to take my camera on the run.  But it was very nice.  I ended up running to a small town called Zemun.  Zemun is older than Belgrade, and was part of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire.  The Danube marks the border of the AH Empire and the Ottoman Empire.  So Zemun has different architecture and a different feel than Belgrade.  I ended up stopping and going to a big street market.  I bought some water, wandered around, and then ran back to the hotel.  I have been running for about 7 years, and I have never gotten so many strange looks as I did today.  Everyone was bundled up with winter coats and hats and umbrellas and I had on shorts, my NCSU technical short sleeve running shirt with a Walt Disney Marathon long sleeve technical shirt on top.  Lots of strange looks and I felt very foreign.  Running doesn't seem to be very popular here.  I only saw 2 other people running, and I was along a very nice running path.  The path goes from Croatia to Bulgaria along the Danube.  You can follow it for about 700km!  That would be a great bike ride/camping trip.  I only went about 4 miles down and back + 2 miles to and from the path to the hotel. 

Back to the title of the post...my feet (and legs and back from carrying my pack yesterday) are sore!  I went anywhere from 24-31 miles on foot this weekend.  Let the Serbian diet begin.

Choices...

Since you all know me, you know how I need to have lots of choices, especially for things that I consider "big" decisions like buying a house or car. It took me over a year to decide which new car to purchase. I am not an impulsive person.

So, after last week, I had decided which apartment I wanted. But then yesterday, they took me out and showed me 10 more apartments. That was a mistake! Now I have narrowed it down to 4. And I really want to make a decision because I'm going stir crazy in the hotel. These apartments are all amazing - thank you PepsiCo!  So for those of you that have preconceived notions of what living in Serbia is like, you are wrong.  At least if you are given a generous corporate sponsorship.

So, dear blog readers, here are my options:

1. See posting from last week. It is brand new, has a parking spot in the attached garage, has a great view of St. Sava temple from the guest room/study. It has 3 terraces (balconies). And the vacuum cleaner is in the walls and all you have to do is plug in a hose (who knew?).  But the kitchen isn't open and the building is empty now except for the owner since it is brand new.

Kitchen and terrace #1 through the kitchen

Living Area and view of Terrace #2

View of St. Sava from Terrace #3.  I'm in love with this view.

2. This is in the same neighborhood as #1. It is a penthouse apartment with curved ceilings and great views from every room. It also has a natural rain shower head. It only has one terrace and it is in the bedroom. But the big downside is that this apartment doesn't come with parking. Otherwise it would be nearly perfect.  This means I would have to rent a space separately and wouldn't have parking in the building where I live.  But take a look at these photos!

This is the entrance and the study/loft.

Here is the living room.  It comes fully furnished.

This is the dining room.  It has amazing views.

Fully equipped kitchen open to the living area.

Beautiful Master Bath

View from the Master Bedroom Terrace

3. This is in the same neighborhood as #1 and #2.  This is a smaller apartment and is very open with a big terrace connected to the open living/dining area and study/guest bedroom.  It has parking, and the building is very nice.  However, I don't remember if it has a shower or just a bath.

The very nice and big kitchen.

The bright and sunny living area looking back towards the kitchen.

4. This is a very modern apartment that has views of a park, which is very nice.  It is closer to the freeway, so it will have easier access to work, but is farther from the city center.

Nice and modern bathroom.  And now you all know what a Serbian toilet looks like!

Newly updated kitchen (still in the process of being updated).

Great park view.  Apt is on the 1st floor (which is equivalent to US 2nd floor).

So blog readers, which would you choose?  I know that I'm going to talk myself into a 100 different decisions over the weekend.

Things that I have to do in Serbia:
1. Register with the Police for Work Permit - Attempted but not completed
2. Register with the Police for Residency Permit - In process, but not completed
3. Find apartment - One good option, but not completed
4. Get car - Not completed
5. Get local mobile phone - Pre-paid SIM card purchased but not installed so not completed

So I guess I haven't gotten a lot accomplished yet!

Here is my list of things that I have gotten done:
1. Get electric cord for computer - Check!
2. Get office phone - Check!
3. Get a badge so I can get in the building at work - Check!
4. Figure out how to get to work - Check! I had to tell the cabbie where to go on the way to work today
5. Book weekend trip to some place cool in Europe - Check!! (but you'll have to wait to see where!)

Today I went to the Serbian police station to get my work permit. The bureaucratical Gods determined that I do not need a work permit since I'm still being paid from the US. However, I am receiving some local stipend, so I'm betting 1000RSD (about 15 bucks) that I will be back at the police station soon.

Yesterday I had a wintery surprise. It was supposed to be low of 37 and high of 39 with rain. Well, it was very cold, and felt like snow in the morning. However, due to living in the south for the last 9 winters, I thought maybe my snow barometer was off. But nope, once a Midwesterner, always a Midwesterner! Sure enough, before lunch, it was snowing. We ended up getting about 1/2". I went up to Novi Sad, where our plant is, 100km northwest of Belgrade. The drive back was a bit scary; thank goodness I wasn't driving. Today the sun came out and it is supposed to be close to 60 by the end of the week. The weather truly is like Indiana here.

Tomorrow (Thursday), I'm going apartment hunting again and am going to get my new SIM card installed in my cell phone so that I will finally have a local cell number. Hopefully by the end of next week, all of the things that I don't have accomplished will be accomplished!

Wish me luck!

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Pumpkiny delights

My first weekend in Belgrade is quickly ending and it is almost time to start working! I'm excited about this new assignment. Tomorrow afternoon I will also be apartment shopping, so that should be fun.

I'm sure that you are all dying to know about my weekend, right? Well, Friday night I had dinner at the hotel. They had this pumpkin menu and it was really good. I had the pumpkin risotto, a free pumpkin drink (pureed pumpkin + juice), chicken with mushrooms and pumpkin sauce, and a pumpkin pie with walnuts. It was all very good, and I took some pictures. The pumpkin pie wasn't what I expected, but I still thought it was good.

Saturday I walked all around Belgrade. It is a very nice city. I walked for about 5-6 hours, and I just kept seeing new things. Here is a tree growing around a fence.

Here are some pictures taken from Kalemegdan (the fortress) during sunset (4:15pm). It was really foggy and I think that it made the city look mysterious.

I also walked through the two neighborhoods that I'm thinking about living in. I didn't get any pictures in Dorcol, but here is the entrance of the apartment that I really liked on Friday. Fancy - right?



You can see St. Sava's Temple in the background. After I took this shot, I walked over to the temple and walked inside. It isn't' finished on the inside, but it is very beautiful. There were lots of families walking around the area. Here is a shot of St. Sava's temple and the full moon. This was about 7:30pm.

All in all I probably walked 12-15 miles on Saturday. I had dinner at a place called O.U.R.B.A.R. The food was good and I got to meet the owner. He lived in the US for 6 years, and knows a few Americans in Belgrade and offered to introduce me to them. Hopefully we can connect.

Today, I just rested and watched some American TV shows. I also talked to some friends and family on Skype and just generally relaxed after so much walking and sight seeing yesterday.

Usually I have a bad feeling on Sunday night, dreading the start of the work week. But I'm excited to go to work tomorrow and start my new assignment. Wish me luck!