July 31, 2008 – Bill's Blog

Our children are pictured above on the jogging trail that goes along the banks of the Sava River. After buying a table cloth at Home Center, we took a stroll along the river. The river is just down the hill from our home in Senjak (Belgrade). I discovered the trail on a run I went with Ocean yesterday morning. It goes north towards the city center for at least 7 kilometers and south for another 5 from our entry point. The trail is paved and perfect for biking or jogging. I am sure we’ll be cruising it a few times as it will become one of my running loops around the city.

The Sava is over 600 miles long and runs through four countries of the former Yugoslavia. It connects three capital city. The Sava originates in Slovenia and ends here in Belgrade, when it connects with the Danube. It is the second biggest tributary of the Danube.

It is one of the few rivers that still has flood plains as it is not regulated. It flooded the lower parts of Belgrade in 1981 and 2006. The name Sava is not Slavic – it has Celtic and Roman origins.

I see many people fishing on the river and lots of bikes and runners in the late afternoon. There are plenty of boats, many of the old and rusty boats that look like they are permanently anchored near the banks. There is also some algae buildup and plenty of refuse, so I question the water quality. It would be a lot better if it was better taken care of, but I am do not know the strength of environmental agencies and groups here in Serbia. It is still nice and our neighbor Radko swims in it all the time. He says there is a clean spot between the bridge supports pictured behind. I enjoy the fresh water air coming off of the river and the large number of birds along the shoreline. The bike trail is great too! The Serbian word for river is reka.

It was my last day of summer holidays as I report to work tomorrow (August 1). In the morning I took the kids with their bikes to the park. In the afternoon we organized the shelves in our house and the computer and camera equipment. I went to the airport with Eric, Goran, Jasmina, and Dominik to pick up the new elementary principal, Tim, but his flight was delayed with Lufthansa. After I came back, we went to the river. We wrapped up the night with watching Spiderman with the boys under our gazebo outside and Nadia and I had a nice glass of Macedonian white wine.

Riots in Belgrade, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Above is a screen shot from the B 92 television channel here in Belgrade. Nadia and I watched a small group of protestors clash with the riot police on Tuesday evening. The radical socialist party held a rally downtown attended by about 15,000 people. The protestors were throwing rocks and flares at police while they were responding with tear gas. There were some injuries and arrests, and the windows got smashed on the McDonald’s, but that is about it. It is funny that the center of the protests has been on Makedonska Street, the first place Nadia wanted to go to when we arrived because of the Pizza Hut being located there. On our side of the river in Senjak, all was quiet. We did see the riot police on Monday preparing near the Kalemegdan Park downtown. (photo below)

In my very unofficial poll of Serbians, most seem unconcerned about the arrest. Two said that Karadžic had ties to organized crime and they were happy he was finally arrested. A taxi driver wanted to forget about the past and have Serbia concentrate on improving its economy.

I need to read more about the break up of Yugoslavia before I can have an opinion. It was a very difficult and chaotic time for a nation to break up as well as the Communist form of government. I would like to see all sides articulate their actions. I also think the trial should take place here in the Balkans and not in the Hague. An clear documentation of what happened needs to completed so the people of the ex-Yugoslavia can reflect and learn from what happened.

Karadžic flew to the Hague yesterday, so we will surely be hearing more about his years of being a fugitive. It is very unclear as to who arrested him and who supported him during his time on the run.

The New York Times has three interviews with journalists about the arrest. All three have met the ex-Bosnian Serb president and have authored books about that breakup of Yugoslavia.