Category: Family Journal

Thursday night we celebrated my son Owen’s tenth birthday. We traditionally do it together with his friend, Bor, who was also born on the same day. We went to the Intergalatic Diner, a 1950s-themed restaurant with excellent shakes, onion rings, big hamburgers, and mini jukeboxes at the tables. It is located by the Saint Sava Cathedral in Vraćar.

Bor and Owen’s other friend, Tudor slept over that evening. The boys were laughing late into the night. The adults had a great time as we invited Aleš, Jasmina, Claudiu, and Vesna. The night was full of laughs, hugs, arm wrestling, and camaraderie.

I can’t believe that it is 10 years since the birth of Owen. They went by so fast! Happy Birthday Owen – we love you!

Oliver, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Belgrade was dumped on over the weekend with a big snowfall. We probably have at least 6-9 inches of snow with a bit more expected today (Tuesday). The temperatures have also been extremely cold for Belgrade with -4C currently as I write this.

As you can see above, snow always provides fun for the kids. Not so much for the adults as it is a chore to take off and put on the winter clothes. Boots, hats, mittens, snow pants, etc. Our house looks like a ski chalet with all of the drying snow clothes.

I love it and if it is winter, I would rather have snow than just cold weather, grey skies and wet, brown conditions. The covering of snow gives Belgrade a different look. I’ll try to take some more pictures today and tomorrow.

As you can see from our balcony, the first snow of winter is falling. It began Friday evening and continued through the day Saturday. On Sunday morning we awoke to even more snow.

Time to go shopping on foot… more later.

The holiday season has officially begun with two Christmas parties this week. On Thursday we attended a party for the kids hosted by the school. Oliver, shown above, was ecstatic to learn he was a good boy this year and would receive a gift from Santa. Ocean, below, was a bit more concerned if she was going to get something.

The holidays have a new meaning for me as our children are in the prime age to experience the traditions. The snow is falling outside my window as I write this and one more week of school before we vacation!

Ollie and Owen, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

I survived being a single dad for a weekend when my wife had a “girls” trip to Budapest. I ended up really enjoying the time with the kids, even having a couple of their friends stay over. I successfully supervised five children by my self.

On Sunday we took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and played soccer and tennis at the school. As you can see above and below, the kids and adults really enjoyed ourselves.

It was nice to see mom again on Sunday evening, but I also enjoyed being forced to spend 100% of my time with them.

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I was surprised to find that Belgrade has a lot of parks and green areas, both large and small. The image of Eastern Europe is one of industry and pollution, but not of community parks. Last weekend I took Oliver and Ocean to a couple of them, one a new one for our family.

The first park we visited was in Dedinje, very near our house. The park is located across from Pink TV and city officials recently upgraded the park with a zip line, climbing apparatus, etc. The kids love it.

The second park was near the Kalenić market. It has a park area for dogs, a mini-skateboard park, and trees to climb. There is a statue of the Bosnian author and politician, Petar Kočić. He is known for his portrayal of the natural beauty of the mountains and rivers of Bosnia.

It is nice that the city has areas for young children to play. Many Serbs live in apartments and the need for access to green areas is vital.

Yesterday we celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving. The official holiday in the US was Thursday, but we worked on that day so we waited until the weekend. Owen and Ocean are shown above with the ćurka (turkey in Serbian) that we ordered from the neighborhood butcher. I joked that it was a “real” turkey and not the agro-industrial turkeys one gets from the US. This is a turkey that actually touched the ground. Nadia and her team did a great job of cooking the turkey and it was delicious.

We invited some friends over and had a nice Thanksgiving. Foreigners love the holiday, it is nice to take time out and reflect on what is positive or good in your life. In our speeches going around the table, there was some real heartfelt sentiment.

My thanksgiving focus, was a bit abstract. I am thankful for the realization that the material things in life do not bring happiness and they may actually bring unhappiness. The worries, expenses, time, and efforts that come with maintaining a big house, a nice car, etc. are not worth it. The most important things in life are who you are with (family, friends) and what you do. The external stuff should be functional and comfortable, but to be as minimal as possible. A cluttered life full of things distracts you from the true joys of life. I think I sound like a Buddhist.

The other important thing to be thankful for is health, which becomes “wealth” as one ages. More on this later.

So, Happy Thanksgiving readers! It is the American “slava” day!

We received Ocean’s school picture on Friday and I had to post it. She has a serious look on her face, which is rare for her. She is lively, funny girl that is always laughing.

She is five but acts like fifteen. She is such a mature little girl, way advanced for her years. It is amazing how fast she has grown. When we arrived to Belgrade four years ago, she was just a baby.

Above is a video of my son Owen performing a dance with some of his classmates. His class is studying how people express themselves in the fine arts. The students took elements from the different types of dances they learned and made them into a performance. The students came up with the choreography themselves. I was almost in tears watching how Owen has grown up! He will be a fine young man and I am proud of him.

Below, my younger son, Oliver, is shown doing the Serbian folkdance, the Kolo. He sang in the Lower School choir for a recent gala the school held. He also played the bongos. Very cute indeed!