Category: Family Journal

An archive of our family’s daily life.

Ocean’s Parent-Teacher Conference

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Nadia and I attended my daughter Ocean’s conferences today. I snapped this photo of her playing with her friends in class. Ocean attends the International Nursery School of Belgrade three days a week. Her teacher reports that she is making friends and is happy at the school. One of Ocean’s best qualities is her empathy towards others. She is always trying to help others. Another of her strengths is her language. She loves to talk. I think she gets that from her mother…

We are very proud of her and love her very much. Way to go Ocean!!!!

A Sample of Ocean's Work

Kids Enjoying Autumn

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Ocean Throwing Leaves, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

This will be my last leaf posting. One of the reasons we moved to Serbia was for the kids to enjoy the change of seasons. Ocean and Oliver got “fall” and it was fascinating to see Ocean make the connection. She saw the leaves falling and accumulating in the yard. She said this must be autumn and she also gave me the word in Spanish (otono) and in Serbian (jesen). They must have been discussing it at school. The best thing about this video is the infectious laugh of Ocean. She is a fun-loving girl and she got a big kick out of throwing leaves at me.

Slatko: A Serbian Delicacy

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My son Oliver is trying a peach slatko last weekend at the restaurant Stari Majdan. Slatko is an interesting traditional Serbian fruit preserve. It is like a jam but with chunky pieces of fruit and it is served with water. It is very sweet and immediately afterward, one needs a sip of water. I guess that is why it is named slatko which means “sweet” in English.

It used to be served to guests when they arrived in a Serbian home. Today, it is only found in rural areas in Serbia or occasionally in green markets in the city. Nadia absolutely loves it and we usually have a jar in the kitchen. I’ve seen that strawberries and figs are the most common types. My friend mentioned a watermelon (lubenica) slatko that I would like to try.

Update – July 9, 2012 – I read an article in the Spring 2012 edition of BelGuest that mentioned slatko comes from the Sephardic Jewish community of Belgrade before World War II. The Spanish (Ladino) word for the desert is dulse and the Serbs adapted it from their interaction with the large (22,000) Jewish community in the city.

Annual School Pictures (School Photo Day)

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This week we received the official school pictures of the boys. Above is Oliver’s first grade picture and below is Owen’s third grade picture.

As you can see by comparing how they looked in 2008, their first school pictures I posted on the blog, they are growing up. We will be getting Ocean’s first school picture later this month.

Owen Kralovec - Third Grade

Autumn Colors of Belgrade

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Autumn Colors, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We are in the peak color season in Belgrade. In Europe, as opposed to my birthplace of Michigan, the colors are mostly yellow. The theory goes that there are more tree species in North America that gives more colors and the ice age killed more of red-producing pigment trees in Europe than in North America. Despite not having the reds and oranges, it is still a beautiful time of year. Above is a photo of a wall at our school.

It was great this morning. I was walking with Ocean to our car and she said, “it is leaf day today.” There were leaves literally falling all over the drive way. It has been great to experience the change of seasons, especially for the kids.

It has also been foggy this week in the mornings. Below is a photo of our yard yesterday morning.

Weekend Journal: Halloween

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The kids are shown above in their Halloween costumes. Owen and Oliver wanted the skeleton outfits from the Chinese Market and Ocean went both as a Princess and Hello Kitty. I think the boys loved the plastic battle axes that came with the costume.

It was a full weekend of parties. It started with the school’s party with spooky carnival games and trick or treating through the rooms. We then went to the US Embassy Halloween party which included going door-to-door trick or treating and a nice party at the end of the evening. The kids loved going through the neighborhood, which is owned by DIPOS, the Diplomatic Housing Enterprise that rents to US Embassy personnel.

The weather has been spectacular with sunny skies and relatively warm temperatures. We raked leaves and jumped in the pile. We also had a camp fire and played a lot of sports outside.

 

Family Trip to the Istria Peninsula

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The family is pictured above on our street in Rovinj, Croatia. We stayed in the old city in the ancient city of Rovinj, on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. It is about a 6 hour drive from Belgrade. The Croatian coast is magnificent and reminds me of my graduate study in Mallorca, Spain. The European Mediterranean has a special feel with the architecture, light, sea, and culture. It is such a relaxing holiday destination.

The kids loved the concept of the walled city. The apartment we rented was once part of the fortifications and our back yard was the Adriatic. We were throwing pieces of bread to the seagulls right out of our window. There is something to be said about walking to the market from the apartment, buying fresh bread and cheese, while a Hemmingway-esque fisherman is having a glass of wine and cigarette at 8:00 AM next to you.

Nadia loved the shopping in the little shops and everywhere you turned, there were postcard views and quaint little corners and streets. Magnificent!!!!!

Enjoying the Tastes of Istria

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We went to the truffle capital of Istria, the village of Lipave, the hometown of Giancarlo Zigante, who ten years ago discovered the world’s largest truffle. He went on to start a truffle company and we went to the Truffle Festival last weekend. The entire area is now famous for truffles.

Truffles are mushrooms that grow underground on or near the roots of trees. They have a very strong odor and are found with the help of trained dogs. They are also one of the most expensive foods in the world and we wanted to see what the big fuss was all about.

We went to Zigante’s Restaurant try it for ourself. The truffle expert in the restaurant, shown above letting Nadia smell the truffle, was explaining that his trained nose can discern when a truffle is “interesting” and ready to be served. Truffles are kind of like wine, a palette of great adjectives is all you need. He selected a white truffle (shown below) and brought it over to our table. He sliced the truffle into thin pieces over our dishes with a special truffle “slicer.” They are served raw lightly over the dish. The guy said simple dishes are best to eat with truffles so the taste can come out. I had noodles with cheese plate and Nadia had pumpkin ravioli.

What did the truffles taste like? I thought it was like a strong, pungent, taste and smell, kind of cheesy or like garlic. Nadia and I both agreed that it wasn’t worth the cost and we don’t see why this mushroom is so sought after. I wouldn’t have them again.

We did enjoy sampling and buying the local wines that were also at the festival. We bought several bottles of the Istria grape varieties, the Malvazija (white) and Teran (red), and both were very palatable. I would especially recommend the “Ana Antonija Teran 2010, from the Benazic Winery. The prices were great, too. Owen and Oliver loved the glass rinsing machine that we used between sampling the many wines on display.

Nadia with her two little wine helpers

Gladiators: Roman Arena in Pula

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All this week I will be blogging about our recent trip to the Istria Peninsula in Croatia. We stayed for 4 days in the old “Venetian” city of Rovinj, Croatia and toured the entire peninsula. The best part of the trip was all of the family time we spent together. We experienced Roman ruins, truffles, delicious food, and breathtaking views of the Adriatic.

One day we visited the Roman Arena in Pula, Croatia. The Arena is the “little brother” to the more famous Rome Coliseum. I was amazed to have read so much about the Roman Empire, to finally see one of the bigger ruins. I was most moved by how much modern US sports is like the Romans did 2,000 years ago. The Arena (named after the sand in the center pit) seated 23,000 people and they had a variety of spectacles, including gladiator fights, Christian sacrifices, etc. The stadium had its luxury boxes for the noble Roman families and a complex underground network of rooms to house wild beasts and gladiators. As you can see above, we are simulating one of the gladiator fights from ancient times.

Today, Pula is a city of around 20,000 people and the city is built up around the arena. It is used for concerts, although loud music is now banned because of the damage it causes to the rocks. I can imagine what it must have been like so long ago. Pula was just “around the corner” from Rome and as the empire was expanding, it was a strategic port on the southern tip of the Istria Peninsula.

It also got me thinking about the idea that professional sports is a distraction to our society. The amount of attention, money, and energy spent on the professional games is distracting society from the real problems and issues. As I get older, I am less into sports, but still keep a rooting interest and listen to podcasts while running or doing household chores and watch highlights of games. I think doing sports is very beneficial for children but too much of following of the games and wasted time in front of the TV is bad.

The kids had a blast climbing the walls and running around the arena. There was no blood spilled in our gladiator spectacle and we declared the fight a draw.

Weekend Journal

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Ollie and Owen, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We had a nice two days as a family. It was busy with birthday parties and we took the kids to three of them in the two-day span. The last was a disco party at the Continental Hotel that Owen and Oliver really enjoyed.

Above is a video of Owen and Ollie playing catch in front of the Kalamegdan Fort. We were killing time before picking up Ocean and Mom from a party. It was the first cool weather we’ve experienced this fall and the grey skies and coldish breeze felt invigorating.

Below is a photo of some apartment blocks (Blok 23) in New Belgrade. New Belgrade is the result of a planned city by Tito’s Communisty Party. It creates a fascinating and unique landscape and vibe. I found an excellent scholarly work on New Belgrade by an English professor. I am definitely going to blog more about part of Belgrade on the other side of the Sava River.