Author: billkralovec

Summer Holidays Begin

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Owen , originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Owen is shown above in Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. We had a long flight as we left our house in Serbia at 7:30 AM and finally arrived in Iron Mountain Michigan’s Ford Airport at 9:00 PM. With the time changes, it would be 4:00 AM Serbia time so that is around 21 hours of travel. It ended with me driving the last hour to my village, Caspian.

The kids were well behaved on the flight and everything went smoothly. We were all jet lagged yesterday and are recovering slowly.

The kids spent a lot of time coloring and drawing to pass the hours. Nadia and I are impressed with Ocean’s ability. For a 2 year old, to draw a human figure with that amount of detail, it amazing.

It is nice to see my brothers, my father, and old friends here in Caspian. We are looking forward to the arrival of Nadia’s family.

Buried Treasure?

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The three men in Ocean’s bedroom are not looking for a buried treasure. This week we are doing repairs on the main pipe leading away from our bathroom. The approximately 80 year old pipe broke this weekend. The result was a flooded bathroom. The pipe broke about 3 meters away from the toilet, which actually was underneath the floor in Ocean’s bedroom. As you can see below, they dug underneath the bathroom first.

Our Bathroom

We are sitting around now awaiting for the workers to finish. I don’t think too many people have basements here in Serbia to they actually have to rip up the floor to get to the pipes. In the US, there is a space between floors for pipes that is accessible.

The school was really nice in finding us alternative accomodations. We are staying at the “M” Hotel, which is the Best Western lacated in the suburb of Banjica.

Nadia’s First Art Exhibition

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On Monday Nadia gave her first art exhibition. She presented her recent work in a gallery along with the student-artists of the International School of Belgrade’s art classes. Nadia has been working with Maja , a local artist once a week this semester. She had several works and everyone liked the art. It was the first time I saw her paint in a realistic style. Her usual style of art is abstract and very colorful. Below are some photos from the evening.

Professor Maja and Nadia
One of Nadia's Works

The gallery is located in New Belgrade near Brankov’s Bridge, near the Sava River. The neighborhood is called Staro Sajmaste, which translates to Old Fairgrounds. It has a sad history, as the Germans used the fairgrounds as a concentration camp during World War II. In 1940, the area was uninhabited marsh land. The Nazis asked the Croatians, who had the left bank of the Sava under their control, to take Serbian Jewish prisoners. There is a small monument in an abandoned park near Poseydon Hall where the exhibition was held.

The Poseydon Hall

FK Atacante Defeats FK Dribbling

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Oliver Gets in the Action, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

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.

Rainy Spring – Flooding on the Sava

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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.

Family Journal: June 6, 2010

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Ocean, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

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.

My Serbian Man Purse

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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.

Lepa Brena Sings at ISB

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Lepa Brena, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

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.

My Birthday

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Family, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

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.

Blowing Out the Candles

Serbia Finishes in the Middle of the Pack in Eurovision Song Contest

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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.