Welcome back to the blog, another week and a lot to discuss. The weather continues to be…. well crap. Temperatures are ranging between 16c to 24c with daily rain. We get a bit of sun in the morning and by 15:00 it pours again. Everyone hates it and keeps saying this is unusual weather. Even when the forecast has no rain, it rains!
Yesterday, the Air Raid sirens sounded and it wasn’t for the weather. This hasn’t happened before so we contacted a friend to find out if this was a drill or a real emergency. Turns out it was a drill due to rising tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, so although people here don’t think anything will happen, the Government still wants to be prepared.
Dusan
So you are asking what is a Dusan? Finding anything in Serbia is all about who you know; it is almost a comedy sketch where someone says “I know a guy who knows a guy.” We found Dusan while visiting the Tourist Center, and since then our lives have become so much better! Anything we need, he finds within hours or days. Dusan’s role is even more important because things like Google Reviews, Yelp, etc. are not used much, so it really is all about personal relationships.
Medicine
You have two choices to see a Doctor in Serbia; go to the public clinics or see a private doctor. The Government runs all of the public clinics, so you have to be very patient, unless it is an emergency. The private clinics are very good, generally have a number of specialists in-house, and perform the lab and radiological work on premise (one-stop shop). Our new Doctor spent 45 minutes with Eunjae and I together, instead of separately (never would happen in the US), and the entire process was charmingly pleasant. She really wanted to know about us, our health history, why we moved to Novi Sad, and what if any issues we were having. We didn’t feel rushed nor had to deal with the normal bureaucracy. The clinic was comparable to a One Medical, and the total cost was $92 USD without insurance. Pharmacies (or Apoteka) are also similar and different; you don’t need a prescription for many of the drugs we would in the US. We refilled our prescriptions and were surprised by the drug prices. Medicine that cost us $10 ~ $20 USD after insurance were $4 USD without insurance here.
Training
You all know we love to workout. We had to adjust our workouts because of previous injuries, and SolidCore and CorePower Yoga are not available. Again, relying on the “I know a guy principle”, we found our trainer through a recommendation from a Nutrition Store employee. I am pleased to introduce everyone to Boban Labanac. Boban specializes in wholistic training that includes mind, body, breathing and nutrition. Here is a cool Functional Patters video he produced:
Our workouts with him continue to challenge us and talk about “Time under Tension” he makes me perform box squats with a six second up and six second down count. What I really find painful is he keeps telling me to “Enjoy it.” Clearly we have different ideas of what enjoyment entails. Eunjae is seeing vast improvements in her range of motion, especially where she broke her clavicle. @Nabiha, @Anna-Maria and @Kat – the worst part of the workouts are, you guessed it, the obliques. You all remember how much I enjoyed oblique work. Between the flash backs of Nabiha claiming the “Obliques will be short –always a lie“, Anna-Maria asking for “just one more set of pulses”, and Kat yelling at me to “twist my ass over”, I am having PTSD flashbacks.
New Restaurant
We had an unusual experience going to Jasmin a Maslina. In Novi Sad, taxi drivers know the city intimately, including every restaurant. So when our driver told us he didn’t know of the restaurant, we were intrigued. When we arrived, with no sight of the restaurant, we asked the driver to call and confirm the address. Even after confirmation, we still couldn’t find it so we asked people on the street with no luck. Fortunately, a pair of teenage girls came out of the next building and after some pleading on our part, they said they knew of a restaurant and escorted us; people are so damn nice here! Entering the building was something from a horror movie. Imagine a very dark and dilapidated stairwell with no signs of life. We climbed spooky stairs and found an unmarked door. Upon ringing the bell, the door creaked opened and we were standing in the Jasmin’s kitchen. I am not sure if this an underground restaurant or simply a club that serves food, but I can say it was an outstanding meal and we will return gladly next month
Jasmin is the delightful owner and only serves a prefix meal so everyone eats the same thing; menu changes weekly. This week’s menu theme was Tongue in Cheek and the meal lived up to its name. The first dish was a cauliflower puree with fresh asparagus. Not my favorite but still delicious due to the freshness; everything is locally grown. Next was homemade pasta filled with creamy sheep’s milk cheese. The pasta was outstanding and cooked perfectly. The third course was Ox Tongue and Mint bread. Eating tongue is a “Love it or Hate it” type of dish, and for me it is “love it” as it is the most tender and succulent meat you can devour. I enjoyed every bite and stole some of Eunjae’s portion. The main dish was beef cheeks that melted in your mouth. Eunjae was a good sport, but found that a little went a long way, so I sacrificed myself and ate the rest. Dessert was a chocolate mouse with fresh cherries in a brandied sauce. Cheries have just come into season and they are wonderful.
Final thoughts
We continue to really enjoy our new home, and the Serbian people are really hospitable to us. We have made new friends and we look forward to each day.