Once again, despite the US’s gutty effort yesterday against England, the big match took place in the morning.
Yesterday the boys participated in a tough game against FK Dribbling. Oliver got into the game a few times and played well, despite being the youngest player. You can see him in the middle of the play above. Owen scored 3 goals and his team won easily.
Summer has finally arrived and temperatures were near 100 F yesterday. We brought plenty of water for them to drink. The heat did slow everyone down a bit, but they play was exciting as usual. Owen is shown below congratulating one of the opponents on a good game.
Last weekend we went for dinner on a “splav” or raft on the Sava River here in Belgrade. The splavs are all over the river and consist of bars and nightclub (like the example above with the New Railroad Bridge in the background) restaurants, and private weekend cottages. There is a good article on the splavs here if you want to learn more.
The water was so high it flooded the bike path. It is up several meters from its usual depth. We had a snowy winter and rainy spring, and hence the high water situation. The hot, sunny weather finally arrived this week and so we are hoping the rain will go away and we can use the bike path again.
I had a nice day with the kids yesterday. We went to Kalemegdan Park while Nadia got her hair cut. We played a lot of hide and seek and in the parks. It has been a very rainy spring in Belgrade and the rains continued yesterday. It did clear up a bit to allow us to get outside.
In the morning I went for a run after making breakfast for the kids. Last night, Nadia and I went to the B.E.A.T., the Belgrade Expat Adult Theatre group’s performance. It was held at the school’s performing arts center and it was very entertaining.
Getting ready to go to soccer practice with the kids. Ocean is shown above running after the boys in the park. Below is the “Roma Recycling” program. The Roma collect old appliances by driving through the city streets on these tractors. Sometimes they collect them from directly from people and sometimes from the garbage receptacles. The Roma are very fascinating and I would like to post more about them.
Yes, I’ve joined them! Probably over half the men here in Serbia walk around with a “man purse” and when my secretary bought me one, I was skeptical. I first noticed this a few weeks ago at the Usce mall. In the mall, about 2/3 of men had them. I started to look around and saw that most clothing stores had a version of the man purse. After using it a couple of times, I found them very handy to carry my wallet, camera, keys, etc. I love it. Especially as a father, it seemed that my pockets were always full with toys, diapers, etc.
This particular brand is Diadora, the Italian Nike. I am comfortable with this one, it is not leather so I can beat it, and it is a sporting company so it is a bit more masculine. That is if you can call a man purse masculine. There is a wide range of sizes, from just enough to put in a passport and wallet, to expensive leather purses that really are the size of a woman’s purse, and may actually be, a woman’s purse.
My wife and I are afraid that I will forget it somewhere. Partly because I am not used to walking around with a purse. I’m sure this recent development of carrying a man purse will develop for me. I don’t think it will become a lifelong habit. At least I hope not. For now, I am enjoying the fact that my pockets are empty and I’m comfortable.
I figured an expat would have noticed this before me and when I typed in “Balkan Man Purse” sure enough, a post was done a couple of years ago on the B92 blog by Nicholas Cromie. A very funny post.
Last Saturday we were lucky to have the biggest recording artist in the history of Yugoslavia sing a tribute to our graduates. Lepa Brena has sold over 10 million records and sang at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. She sang after the ceremony in honor of our graduates, one of which was her son. She sang “Hajde Da Se Volimo” (Let’s Go Spread Some Love) and the crowd and I loved it.
She was very nice to do this and it lent a special touch to our commencement exercises. I found her to be a funny, generous person and want to thank her for making it a better day for all of us. I have to get more of her music. I love this song. Below is the original video.
Last week I turned 43 years old and we celebrated together as a family. It was a beautiful spring evening and when I came home from school, the kids were waiting with a cake and cards. We then went out dinner. The hugs and well wishes I received from my family were the best gift ever. We are shown above about to go to the restaurant. I share my birthday with Tito, the deceased leader of Yugoslavia and I payed homage to him by stopping at his museum.
Milan Stanković is this year’s Serbian representative to the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition is over 50 years old and is sponsored by the European Broadcasting Union. It is a bit like American Idol, with the artist singing the one song and being judged by television voters (50%) and international juries (50%) of music industry professionals. The artists selected are usually young and obscure and few go on to huge careers.
Stanković in the video above is bit of a sensation here in Serbia. His song and image are everywhere. He has a strange look, but the girls love him. The song is Ovo Je Balkans which means “This Is the Balkans” and it is a catchy song based loosely on the folk music of the region. One line in the song refers to the fact that Serbians kiss each other 3 times which distinguishes them from other countries. The 3-finger salute and this comes from the sign of the cross in the Serbian Orthodox Church, in which one uses three fingers to make it.
Eastern European countries take the contest much more seriously that Western European countries. When the song came on last night in the finals, we heard fireworks in the city. Milan was the eighth singer up out of 25 and we thought he had the best song we heard. There were a variety of styles, from the Mariah Careyish Azerbijzan singer to Bosnian Serb metal.
In the voting, fans cannot vote for their own country. Serbia came in 13th of 25. A German girl won the contest.
Yesterday we visited Sremski Karlovci, a small town just outside of Novi Sad. This is the heart of the Vojvodina, a region in northern Serbia that is a rich agricultural region and very Hungarian.
In the photograph you see the round yellow building to the right. This is the Chapel of Peace. On this spot in 1699, the Ottomans surrendered to the Austro-Hungarians on my wife’s birthday, January 26. The Turks controlled Belgrade and much of Vojvodina for years, but in 1697, a coalition of European armies came together to attack them. The Turks were hunkered down in the big fort in Novi Sad, Petrovardin, and had left to conquer another settlement north of the city. They ran into difficulties and attempted to flee to their winter headquarters in the Romanian city of Timisoara.
The Hapsburg Army was led by a Frenchman, Prince Eugene von Savoyen (below) was the hero. He had protected the Empire from the Turks in 1683, when they reached the farthest west they got, Vienna.
Prince Eugene - Defender of Vienna!!!!
The decisive battle that led to the Turks leaving Vojvodina and agreeing to peace terms at the spot above was on September 11 1697. Ironic that an Islamic army would have a serious defeat on this day. As I wrote, the Sultan was trying to get his army back to safety in Timisoara. They were crossing the river Tisa, near the modern Serbian city of Senta (then called Zenta) when Eugene’s army surprised them. It was a complete massacre of the Ottomans. They were trapped on a bridge and were totally unprepared. With a loss of only 500 men, the Hapsburg forces killed 30,000 Ottoman troops. There were many Serbs in the 70,000 strong force and they must have taken great pleasure in getting revenge on the Ottomans, who at the time, controlled Belgrade.
In the loot, were the Sultan’s royal treasure chest, the Ottoman state seal, and most interestingly, the Sultan’s Harem. I wonder what happened to those poor girls. This eventually led to two years later, Ottoman officials going to Sremski Karlovci and signing over huge parts of territory to the Austro-Hungarians. They gave up Transylvania, Hungary, and parts of Croatia.
On the day of the signing, there was no chapel but a round tent. Legend has there were four doors so the parties involved in the signing could come in at the same time, and perhaps, the term “round table” came into use in diplomacy circles. The Brits and Dutch were there as neutral guarantors of the treaty. The ambassadors of these countries still mark that day with a ceremony on the anniversary of the treaty signing.
Later, a Catholic church was built on the spot and recently restored. On the day we went, it was locked. A tour guide from the town was showing a group of American tourists the chapel and was complaining that the Catholic church would not allow town officials to turn it into a museum.
Front Facade of the Kapela Mira (Chapel of Peace)
It is a nice little town with a beautiful square, an excellent private high school, and a few wine cellars, so we’ll probably be back.
An amazing game last night at the 2010 Sajam Fudbala (Football Expo) in New Belgrade. The boys’ football club, Atacante had the honor of opening the Expo by playing a friendly “U-10” game between Serbia and “The Rest of the World.” Owen and Ollie and the international students of ISB that belong to the club played against the Serbian kids of the club. The game was played on a mini-soccer field inside the ExpoCenter, which is a big exhibition hall next to the Holiday Inn in New Belgrade. The Sajam is going on all weekend with exhibitors of soccer camps, professional clubs, sports television, and sporting goods, all having interactive booths.
The Rest of the World lost 2-1 in the game. Both Owen and Ollie played well and I’ll be posting video of the game tomorrow. The highlight was getting to meet the Serbian National Soccer Team coach, Radomir Antic. He is the guy in the center of the photo. A big thanks to Atacante coach Mihailo for organizing this for the club! It was an unforgettable experience. The city is getting excited for Serbia’s World Cup games. They open up against Ghana on June 13.
Ollie on the AttackOwen Gets Ready to Enter the Game
Nadia and Ocean made a delicious strawberry dessert yesterday and we enjoyed some after our soccer game. The cherries and strawberries are coming into season. We stopped at the Green Market in Senjak last night and stocked up.
We’ve had dreadful weather this week with cold temperatures, overcast, with occasional showers. I haven’t seen the sun since Saturday and that was only for a short time. This is a hugely busy time of the school year and I haven’t spent enough time with my family lately. I hope to change that this weekend.
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