Category: Family Journal

An archive of our family’s daily life.

Čestitam!

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nemi and bill, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Čestitam means congratulations in Serbian and last night I celebrated with my friend, the birth of his nephew. In Serbian tradition and medical practice, when a mother goes into labor, the father cannot be in the operating room. In fact, for several days after the birth, only one visitor to the hospital is allowed at a time. This is very different from the US or Latin America where I was in the operating room with my wife.

So what can the father do? In Serbian tradition he throws a raucous party and guests rip a piece of his shirt for good luck and health. A father may go through several shirts in an evening. If any of my readers can tell me the origins of this tradition, why is this done? I guess if you can’t be there, you might as well have a good time and there is no better reason for a party than a birth of a child.

Nemanja in the picture is not actually the father but the uncle, but the party guests got carried away and ripped three of his shirts as well as shirts of his brother-in-law. I had a great time and need to learn some Serbian folk songs. The accordion player was belting out some traditional songs and I recognized many words, “srce” – heart, but I could only dance and not sing like the rest of the party. I wish Americans celebrated like the Serbs do. We don’t get many occasions where everyone is drinking, singing, and dancing with a live accordion player in the apartment! Such a warm feeling of togetherness!

Congratulations to Nemanja and his family! All the best for many more healthy children!

Changing Weather In Belgrade

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Ocean, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

My daughter and I made a snowman yesterday in the backyard. She was so cute I just had to take a picture. Good thing we did take time to play in the snow, because by Monday morning it was all gone and 12C. There was an amazing rate of evaporation on Sunday afternoon and evening, as all the snow melted and the roads were completely dry. It almost felt like spring today, although I know the cold and snow will come back again.

I spent most of the weekend in Budapest, Hungary on a school basketball trip. The team stayed in a classic, communist era socialist realism style hotel. As you can see below, the hotel in the round style is a bold design. The wood paneling and dark velvet curtains in the dining room as well, give it an “old school” flavor. It was clean and comfortable and we enjoyed the stay. It is located near a park and a big mall so very convenient for us.

The Hotel Budapest

Hoboken, New Jersey

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Nadia is pictured above in Hoboken, New Jersey, along the Hudson River, with Manhattan in the background. The main purpose of our visit was to see my sister and the famous, “Cake Boss.”

The city has an interesting history. The name comes from the Old Dutch word for “high cliff” and the first recorded baseball game was played here in 1846. The city was very industrial but has now become “yuppie” with many New Yorkers living there and commuting across to work in Manhattan, like my sister. As you can see, they have a beautiful waterfront with parks and a running/bike trail. They also have quaint little shops and buildings. It was very pleasant.

The kids were excited to see Carlo’s Bakery, site of the TLC reality series, “The Cake Boss.” The popular series in its fourth season and shows the power of television. Each day there are lines of tourists at the shop. The owner, Buddy, makes elaborate cakes and the show follows his family and employees as they make different cakes for a variety of occasions. The guy is making a mint from the show and is opening up stores in NY and NJ and he is renting a factory/warehouse to ship nationally.

Nadia wanted to try his famous cannolis, an Italian dessert. They were delicious, the right combination of lightness and sweetness. We took a bunch of pictures, walked down to the Hudson River and had lunch at a 50’s hamburger place called Johnny Rocket’s. A fine day indeed!

Because of the influx of New Yorkers to Hoboken, it has driven up real estate prices. I couldn’t believe that a one-bedroom apartment goes for around 750,000 USD. Hoboken is part of the New York Metropolitan Area which is a vast urban area of around 22 million people. It is the largest urban zone in the US and rivals the megacities outside the USA.

A cute Ollie on the streets of Hoboken

The Kralovec Family In New York City

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I have not had a chance to blog much over the holidays. Too much eating and enjoying family. I am going to do a couple of blog posts on our holidays in the USA.

We spent two days in New York City! It was our first time to the “Big Apple” and we were all amazed at this wonderful metropolis. It lived up to all of my expectations and it is truly an iconic world city that everyone should visit in their lives.

We are shown above freezing in Times Square. The weather was extremely cold and unfortunately, our bag with much of our winter clothes was taken by another passenger on the bus by mistake. We took a bus from Allentown, PA where we were staying to Port Authority. Despite the freezing temperatures, we really enjoyed ourselves.

I was fascinated by the five boroughs and didn’t realize how big the city really was. Brooklyn alone is over 2.5 million people and the boroughs account for close to 8.5 million people. We stayed in Manhattan near Broadway and Fifth Avenue so we really got a flavor of the place. We found an excellent Thai Restaurant called The Pongsri which had the best Thai food I have ever had. We loved it so much we ate their three times.

The view from the bottom of 30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York is also home to the world’s greatest theater district, Broadway. We saw Elf and Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark. I was absolutely blown away by the quality of the sets, costumes, acting, singing, dancing, and live music. Absolutely breath-taking! I could go to a play everyday, although at $60 per ticket minimum, it is a bit pricey. Totally worth it however and with the amount that goes into a performance, I can see why the best theater in the world costs that much. The quality of the actors was something to watch. They never missed a line, and such voices and stage presence!

The Kids Enjoying Elf at the Hirschfeld Theatre

There were so many iconic places featured in movies, television, history, and literature, ranging from the skating rink at 30 Rock, to the UN building, to the Flat Iron Building, and Greenwich Village, the East River, etc. We took an open air bus tour around the island and learned a lot. We also of course, did some shopping on Fifth Avenue. A fatal stop at American Girl, which is a store that induces a frenzy in little girls! Ocean had to find the 1974 edition, “Julie” that looked just like her and she bought a winter outfit for her as well as a dog. I was laughing so hard that little girls could take their dolls to the “hair salon” for a professional styling for $10. They also had a doll cafe and hospital. What a racquet! The Pleasant Company is sitting on a gold mine and the four floors of their flagship store were bustling with people making purchases in the hundreds of dollars.

The classic Manhattan street scene

We only really scratched the surface of the city and there is so much more to explore. It was an overwhelmingly awesome experience that I highly recommend. I leave you with U2 performing the headline song of the musical Spider-man on American Idol, “Rise Above.” I would to thank Cathy and Jack for the bus tickets and hotel stay..

 

The Modern Rome

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We spent the afternoon yesterday touring around Washington DC. This is my second visit to the city and I was really inspired with awe at the architecture and layout of the city. It reminded us of many of the European cities we visit, and that is because the original plans of the city were based on European cities. The parks and grand buildings make me think that it must be like what Rome was at its height of the empire. It is a grand capital and fitting for the American Empire.

It is amazing to see that these institutions we hear of all the time, like the IRS (Internal Revenue Service), the FBI, etc., actually have offices and is a real place. Washington also has so many bike paths and parks and the Potomac Riverfront is beautiful. It is a city that I could definitely live in.

As you can see in the photo above, the city is getting ready for President Obama’s Inauguration Parade coming up next month. There were viewing stands being constructed in front of the White House and the main stage in front of Capital Hill (above). The city also has so many museums and cultural institutions, it would be a great place to live.

I’m in front of the White House

The Founding Fathers really chose well for a capital. I hope to come back for another visit, there is so much to see. I would like to thank our good friend Kim Winter for showing us around the city and inviting us out to her home in Virginia.

Washington Monument

A Special Evening

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We had a wonderful Christmas Party on Christmas Eve night. Pennsylvania even had it snow to make it a white Christmas! It was great to be surrounded by new family and friends and eat and drink too much. The kids were so excited and screaming and running around like crazy.

We prepared a traditional Christmas Eve Slovak meal with all the traditions and dishes. The meal featured seven dishes, none of which is meat. We made salmon patties, pirohi, oplotki, lentils, etc. Some of the traditions include putting straw under the table cloth, locking all the doors of the home, and setting an extra place setting at the table.

It was a very special evening for all of us in many ways! Merry Christmas!

The NFL Game Experience

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Owen and Oliver Enjoy the Game

Yesterday we attended a National Football League game at Lincoln Financial Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game featured the host Philadelphia Eagles taking on the Washington Redskins. In an exciting finish, the Redskins defeated the Eagles, 27-20 to take a lead in their division. You can read about the game and see the highlights on NFL.com.

This post is more about the game experience for a family. The American sports stadium experience is much different than other countries. First of all, the tickets were extremely expensive. Our seats, as you can see, were very high up in the stadium near the end zone, cost $95 each. If you include parking ($30), food ($20 for 2 cokes, a hot dog, and small pizza) and gasoline (approx. $20), it was a $370 day. I would never pay that on a regular basis and if we had season tickets, that would be $3,700 for the year. I didn’t mind paying it for a one-time experience for the boys, but it is too much to ask for a season.

Why so high ticket prices? Well, the minimum salary for a rookie is almost $400,000 per year. I also think the cost of the stadium, which was partially publicly funded, also has to do with the cost. I don’t think the experience for me and my two children is worth $370. I would prefer to lesser level of football (player skills, stadium comfort, etc.) and a lower ticket price.

Robert Griffin III hands off to the running back

That being said, we really had a great time and it continued the boys’ interest in football. We’ve been playing everyday during the holidays, which is becoming a Christmas break tradition.

As I written before, attending a game is really an excuse to drink. I am not sure how many fans understand the game well or have played the game. Personally, football is the sport I enjoy watching the most. Despite an average of only 11 minutes of action per 3-hour game, it is the only sport (except Detroit Tiger baseball game, or Tour De France or Olympics) I can watch from start to finish.

Another aspect of going to the game is comparing it to staying at home and watching the game on television. With the hassles of lining up to get in, the cold, having limited access to other game highlights and statistics, the NFL should really consider the in-game experience. It is much more comfortable to stay home with the DirecTV Red Zone channel and watch all of the games.

I would like to thank my Uncle Jack for getting the tickets and taking us to the game. It was an experience we will not forget!

Wegmans Supermarket

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In my visits to Pennsylvania, one of the experiences everyone should do is a shopping trip to Wegmans Supermarket. It is a chain of grocery stores in the Mid-Atlantic region. They have the best and biggest selection of food I have ever seen. It is an amazing experience – do not go when you are hungry. An article in the Atlantic, gives a good description of the business.

Our first visit to Wegmans, however, ended in disaster. Both Owen and Ollie had a virus that caused them to vomit profusely. It struck just after a meal there (they have a restaurant). It eventually led to Oliver visiting the emergency room to get some anti-vomiting medicine after 12 episodes.

Oliver Not Feeling So Well..

Below is an excerpt from the article. I recommend a visit to Wegmans for anyone visiting the Mid-Atlantic (Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, New Jersey) region.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Cashiers are barred from interacting with customers until they have completed 40 hours of training. Hundreds of staffers are sent on trips around the U.S. and world to become experts in their products. The company has no mandatory retirement age and has never laid off workers. All profits are reinvested in the company or shared with employees.

A doomed Internet startup? Occupy Wall Street fantasy? Bankrupt retailer recently purchased by Walmart?

No, a $6.2 billion-a-year, 79-store-supermarket chain with cult-like loyalty among its customers.Wegmans, which operates its 79 stores in New York, Pennsylvania and four other East Coast states, shows that a business can generously train its workforce and profit handsomely…

High volume, according to company executives. The chain’s stores are enormous – usually 80,000 to 120,000 square feet – larger than a typical Whole Foods and roughly double the size of a traditional supermarket. And they feature a dizzying array of 70,000 products, nearly twice the number available in a standard grocery store. Across the East Coast, Wegmans supermarkets have the highest average daily sales volumes in the industry.

 

What Money Can Do

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Owen and Oliver are shown playing in a park in front of the Bethlehem Steel Blast Furnaces. We are visiting the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania for the holidays. The Lehigh Valley is located about an hour’s drive from New York City and Philadelphia in south eastern Pennsylvania. The valley consists of three cities, Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton which are considered one urban area. The population of the three cities is around 800,000 people.

A couple of days ago we visited the SteelStacks, which is a 10-acre campus dedicated to the fine arts, education and entertainment. It was developed on the land formerly occupied by the Bethlehem Steel Company. For centuries, the company, as well as others in the state, were the industrial backbone of the USA. In 1999, the company finally closed and the city of Bethlehem rallied together to develop the site into an amazing community cultural and entertainment center. Only in America could 70 million dollars be raised to turn what could have been an eyesore, into a thing of beauty and fun.

Lehigh Valley Iron Pig Stadium – Coca Cola Park

We are going back today to visit the Christmas Market and listen to some live music. There also are some art galleries and education centers run by the non-profit, ArtsQuest.

The entire area has really impressed me! They have taken many of the old factories and mills and turned them into fine arts centers, restaurants, night clubs, etc. One of the steel company’s former site is now a baseball stadium, home to the Triple AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

I’ll be blogging more about the area and our travels this holiday.

The Magic of Movies

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I finally wrapped up shooting for the Montevideo sequel last week. They are filming the final game of the Yugoslavian team. They lost to the host Uruguay in the semifinals of the 1930 World Cup. The game was filmed in the beautiful Pink Studios, a large complex located outside of the Belgrade near the airport. The huge complex has nine sound studios and several Hollywood films have been shot there. The most famous movie being The Raven (2012).

The producers made the stadium, field, and locker rooms in the big #2 sound stage. It is a massive room with the green back drop. It was strange to do my parts without seeing a field or game. I watched the raw footage of the scenes before going into the booth.

It was an incredible experience and I thank all the extras, directors, make-up, costume, cameramen, etc. who helped me get through my scenes.