Challenges with grocery shopping when abroad

I am sure, many others can relate to this problem when abroad, unknown food products! The problem is the language and the fact that nothing seems familiar. Of course, you can find some familiar imported stuff, but they come with higher price tag so, investing in locally produced goods saves a lot of money. A lot of goods are produced by local companies and farms, so, choosing them is highly recommended because of, for example the freshness of fruits and vegetables. However, sometimes it's really hard to come up with the idea of "what should we eat today" and I might use large amount of time while looking for products I’m familiar with enough to try. I am also, for some reason, quite suspicious in what comes to meat here in Croatia.

We were actually very lucky with the location of our apartment. We live only two minutes away from the big grocery store called Super Konzum. I find the name of the store, Konzum, very funny but it provides us with a good range of food products and cosmetics, and it is cheaper than the other big brand, Spar. I love the vegetable and fruit department the most and it is not surprising it doesn’t cause us any problems to shop for those :D. This part looks quite similar regardless of the country you are visiting. Here, however, you can find really inexpensive fruits and vegetables, sold in Finland as imported items for salty prices. How would it sound to have a half kilo of peach and one kilo of cherry for one euro? Even though I've complained about the local price level, yes, there are a lot of cheap products here too.

Compared to Poland and, in particular, Warsaw, the assortment is quite narrow. In Warsaw you can find everything. It was delightful to find organic products in multiple alleys of the store, products suitable for vegan diet, and products suitable for different kinds of special diets. Unfortunately, here in Croatia, we mainly find just common products, and special diets have not been taken into consideration as well as in Warsaw. Even though I do not follow any particular diet, I would like to support organic production and reduce substantially the meat consumption. Here, we just find ourselves with "lack of culinary imagination" because of this issue. I believe, that with time and experimentation, the situation will of course change.

We also have a problem with having enough space in our current apartment because the kitchen is small and cramped. It’s quite uncomfortable to make any major gastronomic experiences and I, as a claustrophobic person, am trying to just create meals as fast and easy as possible. If it seems that we are staying here in Croatia for longer, it will be very necessary to look for a new apartment. I love cooking, but the current kitchen kills my passion. Although, our apartment is otherwise compact and pretty. On the other hand, it is a bit expensive for the general price level. Many of my colleagues have been shocked when I told them how much rent we pay for our place, considering how small it is. However, our apartment is so well located that it is a pity to change. M has a 10-minute walk to work, I reach work in 15 minutes by bus and the city center is 20 minutes away by tram. We could definitely find cheaper and bigger place, but we have to then of course abandon some of the good things we have now such as, utilities and the Internet included.