On Saturday, we rented a car and went back (in Caroline's and my cases) to the Opatija Riviera. This time we went to Opatija itself, a town with grand hotels and homes on the Adriatic, as well as to a lovely, sleepier town just past it--Ika--where we had lunch. We also went part way up Mt. Učka where J.D. and I really enjoyed the amazing views, both of places in the mountains in one direction and the Adriatic and Rijeka in the other direction.
In Ika, the young man who worked behind the small lunch counter where we ate was very friendly and asked us a lot of questions. One question--what was my salary in the States?--took me aback a bit since discussions of salary are generally such a no-no in the the U.S. However, I had been somewhat prepared for this by a representative from the university's International Relations Office who explained that as I took various steps for our family to get our temporary residence permits, I might be asked a lot of questions verbally (not just on forms) about my income. She said that she always prepares Americans for these questions because we're not used to them. In some ways, I found the question from this man in Ika to be refreshing. Perhaps that's in part because I've never liked that in the American context, secrecy surrounding salary helps to keep people from negotiating appropriately to get the salaries they deserve.
Note the palm trees below. When taking family Croatian lessons before we left the States (again, thank you, Marko!), Caroline insisted on learning the Croatian phrase for "palm tree" (along with "coconut," "princess," and a few other practical words), despite the fact that the rest of us didn't think we'd need that phrase where we'd be living. Miss Caroline was right again!
Laura
Opatija
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| Our rental car |
On the road to Mt. Učka
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| A view of Rijeka |
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