Moving In-Katie's Post

August 6, 2012

We drive up to our apartment, in a beautiful neighborhood with lots of trees and nice houses.  But our building is a little lacking in love, with some graffiti and some grass that could use some water and a little fertilizer.  We park in front which requires us to pay for parking.  Sam goes over to pay while I wait in the car.  He comes back and asks for 10 Kuna which should cover us for the time being.  He walks back to pay, comes back and says the machine won’t print us a parking receipt.  So we furiously unload our car and take it up the front steps.  I wait with the luggage while Sam finds a spot behind our apartment.  He comes back and we load our things into the elevator (which smells like it could use a little Lysol and Febreze.)  Up we go to the sixth floor of our new building.  We turn the lock and open up to our new home.  It looks like an Ikea store, with lots of built in shelves and simple, modern furniture.

Since Sam complimented our landlords on their taste in art, they’ve left us some lovely paintings of horses (those come down almost immediately.)  We survey the place, the view, the space that we’ll be filling with memories.  And immediately start unpacking.  Things start coming out of suitcases.  Why did I pack so many coats?  I only brought 1 nightshirt??  Where is Lucy’s furminator and nail clippers?  I really wish I would have packed my memory foam mattress topper.

The next four hours are spent unloading and finding new homes for the oddities that were packed.  Based on a recommendation from an expat that moved to Zagreb, I’ve filled an entire suitcase with shampoo, conditioner, face wash, contact solution and makeup.  Apparently that sort of thing is cheaper in the states and contact solution proved to be an impossible thing to find.  I begin setting up my own personal drug store in one of my Ikea cabinets.  We survey the kitchen.  They’ve left silverware, plates, cups and pots and pans.  But no small appliances; coffee maker, toaster, etc.  The shopping list begins. 

The thing about shopping in Europe is that everyone only buys what they need for the day.  So when we come in and fill 2 grocery carts with hangers, soap dishes, bowls, and laundry baskets, we get a few of those Croatian stares.   Apparently they aren’t starting from scratch like we are. 

We spend the next several days settling in.  We sleep in.  Make coffee.  Eat breakfast on our balcony.  Take a walk to Maksimir Park or the café down the street.  We get our bearings and figure out where things are.  Also, we watch some American television to help us feel not so far from home.  

After 4 days of settling in, we finally start exploring our new city.  We decide to try taking the tram.  This is initially a source of anxiety to me as I always feel anxious when trying something new.  We head down towards the tram line, not knowing how to buy a ticket.  Eventually we find someone who speaks English, and we buy our tickets for the tram.  We take route 12 to downtown.  The tram takes us to Ban Jelačić Square (the main square in Zagreb.)  The next several hours are spent wandering the street, going nowhere in particular.  It’s so wonderful to be in a new place, with no time constraints, allowed to just wander with no end point in mind.  We stumble upon the Zagreb Cathedral, Dolac Market, and St. Mark’s square.  We go to the Croatian Museum of Naïve Art.  We have some delicious pasta with zucchini and truffle oil at the Dubrovnik Café.  On the way home, we buy a loaf of bread from the Pekarna (bakery).  

It feels so foreign and yet exactly what I have anticipated over the last several months.  I feel so very lucky to be having this experience.  Though I miss my home and my family and friends, I know that this is only a chapter of my life.  One that I will look back on and cherish as an amazing experience.  I hope I’m able to soak it all in.