Welcome back to the blog…. vacation season is ending and the city is returning to life. Like the rest of Europe, the heat and humidity were unrelenting, and we are finally starting to cool down! The Promoja had the last laugh and I spent most of August sick with a flu that morphed into a bacterial infection. After three weeks of decidedly nasty bugs, antibiotics (including eye and ear drops) and lots of rest, I am finally on the mend. It was so bad my eyes turned blood red, I lost my voice and hearing in my right ear.
New Family Member…
Finally, finally we have a car, and it is the nicest vehicle we have ever owned. After famously stating that we wanted a smaller car that wasn’t too flashy, what do we do? We purchase a beautiful SUV with all the “Bells and Whistles.” Meet our new VW Tiguan Diesel in Dolphin Grey – we love the color. We decided on a larger vehicle for the long distance driving ease and to comfortably accommodate four passengers with luggage (come and visit!).
A very funny story while buying the car. We were prepared to electronically transfer the Euros from the US to the dealer. Nope! When paying for the car, it must be done in Serbian Dinars. This is so the Serbian Ministry of Finance is aware of the transaction — the Tax Man always gets his due. Unfortunately, we don’t have a Serbian Dinar account [now corrected] so we had to pay in cash. There I was outside the bank with a backpack filled with millions in Dinars waiting for a taxi to take me to pay the dealer. First and hopefully the final time I have this experience.
Car buying in Serbia is also different:
- The dealer quotes a price, offers some incentives, and that is about it. The “hand to hand combat” we experience in the US just doesn’t exist.
- You need Spring / Summer and Fall / Winter tires. “All season tires” are not used.
- When you register the car, you automatically pay for the other driver’s collusion insurance.
- Our sales leader personally handled the registration, obtained four insurance quotes and completed all of the paperwork. Never would happen in the US
- Standard equipment varies greatly. Things like Garmin map updates and “On Star” are free for life. However, options like Alarms, automatic seats, etc. are extra
We are really enjoying the car but drivers are aggressive and the roads are narrow so we are driving like grandmothers for now. Around the City Centre it is still easier to walk so that is what we will do. I purchased a bicycle for short trips; note the spiffy basket for easy grocery hauling, the shock absorbing seat / front forks for a smooth ride. Lots of bike trails in Novi Sad so it will be fun to bike again.
Our Furniture Arrived!
Last week was crazy. We brought the Tiguan home on Wednesday, and on Thursday our furniture arrived. Just as we anticipated, after waiting for months, we received less then 72 hours notice. To add insult to injury, Serbian Customs charged us for two weeks, out of the three, for storage. Why, may you ask, did we get charged two weeks of storage? Great question! Apparently, Serbian Customs Officers were on holiday, and couldn’t be bothered to quickly inspect and clear our shipment; so we payed for their delay. In the grand scheme of things, paying a bit more is no big deal but kind of sucks to pay for others’ inefficiencies.
The move itself went flawlessly, and a lot of the credit goes to Eunjae and Dusan. In five frenzied days we completely unpacked, hung the art and arranged the furniture! We shipped way too much furniture and “stuff” to fit in the new apartment so we sent the excess to storage for now. This is an important life lesson for anyone in their 50s thinking of downsizing. Ruthlessly triage your furniture and possessions by half and you still have too much! In the future we will either purchase a larger home or host a giant yard sale. Either way the apartment is amazing, and it feels great to be home in Serbia. We look forward to hosting many cocktail parties and dinners in the future.
Restaurant of the Week – Le Klok Bistro
Last week we tried Le Klok Bistro to sample local french fare. Three friends opened the restaurant after Covid and we really enjoyed our meal. We started with the Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflé that went perfectly with the crusty baguettes provided. Pretending to be healthy, we tried the baby spinach salad that featured more goat cheese and beetroot. Surprisingly good and the beetroot offset the bitter spinach nicely. I, of course, went with the Pork Neck in a demi-glaze sauce that was slow cooked for 8 hours. Eunjae ordered the Rainbow Trout and also thought the dish was a winner. Dessert was a carrot cake that was more like pumpkin and would be perfect for Thanksgiving. Each dish was accompanied by a Serbian wine pairing. We will return in the fall when the menu changes to reflect the season.
Final Thoughts
Despite the illness and moving chaos, we are at peace and eagerly anticipate the holidays and travel to Slovenia next month. The zoom sessions help us stay connected and we are truly enjoying making new friends. We wish everyone a Happy Labor Day in America and will talk with you soon.
P.S. Speaking of feeling at home, Igor and Jelena were visiting Jelena’s parents farm and surprised us with farm fresh eggs, herbs, peppers, veggies and syrup.
We made a tofu stir fry with the fresh vegetables seasoned with a spicy mapo tofu sauce our friend Tian Mei Zhu shared with us when we lived in Beijing. Thanks Nancy!
