Category: Family Journal

An archive of our family’s daily life.

Morning Ride to School

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Oliver has joined Owen and I on our bicycle ride to school. I asked our nanny to take the photo of us heading out of our apartment yesterday. He was so cute on his first day with us last week! The pride and sense of accomplishment was written all over his face. Ollie still needs a bit more refining, as well does Owen. Most of the ride is through quiet streets or parks, but there are two intersections that are a bit tricky. They are learning how to manage risk, however and develop riding skills that will serve them well throughout their lives. Biking for me is the best form of transport. Belgrade is pretty good for bike riding with many specific biking trails, but they could make more. People drive too fast however, and that is an annoyance and danger for cyclists.

The 1-mile ride to school is one of the best parts of my day. I hope to get Ocean and Nadia also riding to school someday.

Hike in Fruska Gora National Park

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Last Sunday the ISB Hiking club went on our first hike of the spring season. We left from the village of Bukovac in the Fruska Gora National Park. This is an area of small hills outside of Novi Sad. Owen is pictured with his friend Ognjen at a cross at Vilina Voda (Nymph’s Spring) where we stopped to fill our water bottles. We were walking through the rolling hill woodlands of the park. They are not huge mountains or anything super impressive, but just really pleasant on a beautiful spring day.You can see my Serbian nature blog for some of the wild flowers and animals we photographed.

I was surprised on how much the boys remember from our previous hikes and camping experiences. The fresh air, tall trees, and green life really refreshes my soul. It reinforced my goal of developing an appreciation and longing for wilderness in my children. Below the I showed the boys “wigglers” or larval mosquitos. There were thousands of them in a small pool on the base of a tree. It led to a discussion of DDT and poisons in the environment. They are catching my enthusiasm for identifying plants and animals.

Family Journal: Backyard BBQ

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Our landlord put in a new BBQ oven in our back yard. We’ve been spending more time outside since the weather has improved and we’re loving the “mini-šuma” (forest in Serbian) the extra space has given us.

The black worm-shaped objects on the ground are the flowers of the Walnut Tree (Juglans regia). It is a very common tree in Belgrade. In Serbian it is known as the orah and besides collection of the nuts, the Serbs make a nice rakija (distilled spirit) with them. It is one of my favorites, along with the honey spirit.

We hope to use the BBQ although I am not that big of a “griller.” I still consider it cooking, even though in popular culture men brag about their BBQ skills. I think women encourage it because they like to see the men cook! I do have pyromaniac tendencies however, and do enjoy the fire aspect of it. I’ll try to get better this spring just because I like being outside more than in the house.

I’ve finished quite a few books lately but have not had time to blog about them. My most recent was “Blood River: A Journey to the Broken Heart of Africa” by Tim Butcher. He is an English journalist who tries to retrace the steps of the famous British explorer, Henry Stanley of “Dr. Livingstone, I presume” fame, and his mapping of the Congo River. It was an interesting book as he mixed Congo history and culture with his travels through the country. Butcher does not give a nice picture of the country. Since the Belgians left in the 1950’s, it has deteriorated to the point of going back to the stone age. Where there were roads, industry, and hotel resorts, there are no foot paths, thatch huts, and misery. It made me sad and angry that in these modern times, there are societies that live like this. Butcher gave the impression, especially in the rural areas, of being the most dangerous and backwards country in the world.

I’ve been extremely busy at work with the end of the school year rush. There is so much going on and with a construction project on our campus, it just complicates things even more. I hope to maintain my balance of family and work and health during the run up to June 21rst.

Great Night Out!

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We had a rare evening out this past Monday in Belgrade. We had tickets to the Shakira concert at the Belgrade Arena, so we decided to go out to dinner first after work.

I finally got to enjoy one of the “splavs” in Zemun. These are the floating restaurants, bars, and cafes that are moored along the banks of the Danube in the suburb of Zemun. It was quite peaceful and elegant to be having a dinner and drinks with the Danube slowly flowing by. We ate at Žabar’s, which is a nickname for Italians here in Serbia as well as žaba which means frog. My buddy Claudiu and I had the fish while Nadia and Vesna had the turkey. Excellent meal and cool atmosphere – I highly recommend it. We are pictured out front of the restaurant and you can see the river in the background. You can go to my flickr.com account for more photos. I definitely be back to the splavs again, as there are many in Belgrade.

Shakira Performs at the Belgrade Arena

The concert was pretty good. I am surprised at the appeal to a wide range of ages Shakira has. Her costumes and dancing were quite racy. I have a special bond with Shakira because I lived in her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia when I first started teaching overseas. She didn’t play any of her old stuff, but she did sing the words, “Barranquilla” during one of her songs, but I don’t think many in the audience caught it. I was pumped to here the World Cup song, “Waka waka hey hey – This time it is for Africa” and I’ll post the video a bit later. I wouldn’t go see her again. I think she was lip-synching some of the songs and I got bored of watching her belly dance. Maybe I’m getting old…

Billy Kralovec – circa 1972?

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Memories, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We went to the US Commissary in the Embassy last weekend and bought some US processed cereals for the kids. We usually have pancakes, eggs, or porridge and not cold cereal. Growing up in the 1970’s, my brothers and I ate a lot of processed cereals. My favorite was Cocoa Puffs, and I also fondly remember eating Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Count Chocula, Booberry, Cheerios, etc. People seem to have more of a health conscious today and are eating less processed foods, but in the 70’s, it was acceptable.

When Oliver asked for his second bowl and started reading the box while slurping his Cheerios, I had to laugh. It looked just like me over 30 years ago.

Skateboard Fever Hits the Kralovec Boys

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New Belgrade Skate Park, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We are entering a new stage in the life of the boys. Owen has become interested in skateboarding. He goes out just about every night to skateboard down our street. He is shown above at the New Belgrade Skate Park. I took the boys over there during the Spring Break holiday. We had a wonderful afternoon of biking through Friendship Park and then boarding at the skate park. If you go to my flickr account, you can see videos of the boys in action.

Oliver is shown below. He always tries to keep up with his older brother. Ollie is getting quite good with the bicycle. He is almost ready to ride to school with us. A couple of more weeks of practice and he’ll be on his way. Ollie is not yet ready for the skateboard as you can see.

Ocean is also getting into the act with her tricycle and no-pedal bike. She always asks me to carry her bike back up the hill on the street near our apartment. She then races next to me up the hill.

The only issue with our street is dodging the secret service vehicles leaving from the back entrance of the Serbian President’s residence. They come out of there like there is an emergency of national concern every time.

Weather has taken a turn for the cool side. It felt like winter yesterday.

Happy Birthday Oliver!

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Oliver’s Birthday Party, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We celebrated Oliver’s Sixth Birthday on Saturday. Below is the video of us singing happy birthday and Oliver showing off his birthday gifts. The little guy is so cute! He loved his “spiked” soccer shoes, bicycle, and set of plastic army men.

Spring Break Continues

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Ocean, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Yesterday it was the girls’ day as I supported their shopping. While they were in the stores, I played with the kids in the park. Ocean is shown above in Pioneer Park in downtown Belgrade. It was a bright, sunshine-filled day and we enjoyed time together.

We ended up with a game of bowling at the Usce mall. Owen is at the point of not needed the railings to prevent gutter balls. Ollie is shown below firing away.

Family Journal: Spring Break 2011

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We are enjoying 12 days of holidays in Belgrade for Spring Break. For the first time in a long time, the Catholic Easter and the Orthodox Easter are on the same day. I love just being with my family and the weather has been so nice, so far.

We are not a religious family, but we did pay homage to Easter by visiting St. Sava’s Cathedral. We lit candles in honor of loved ones. After hearing of our Easter lunch at McDonald’s, our friends invited us over to their home the next day for a traditional Romanian Easter lunch of lamb with prune sauce. Oliver was a bit sick on Easter so we took him to Bel Medic. The little guy rarely gets ill, and as you can see below, he wasn’t feeling up to his usual self. The antibiotics prescribed did their job and the next day we was back to normal.

Ocean also photographed us in the back yard playing basketball. We have such a nice garden and neighborhood! We play basketball, soccer, and skateboard/bike ride several times per day. Owen is shown below driving to the basket. We are playing out the entire NBA playoffs with games up to 20-40 points, depending on the time. I have little practices for them before each game to teach a fundamental. Lots of fun.

 Just for the record, I am predicting a Miami Heat – LA Lakers final in the real NBA Championship, with the Lakers prevailing in 7 games. We are done with the first round in ours and I’ll keep you updated.

Spring Break Begins

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Owen and Ollie, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

It was a fabulous day yesterday as we began our Spring Break! We have 12 days off of school. It felt like a long time since Ski Week, especially for me with the basketball season and the accreditation visit. We are staying in Belgrade for the time off and enjoying our new apartment and the spring weather.

The boys are shown above playing basketball. They love playing hoops and with the smaller ball, Oliver can make baskets. Besides playing a lot in the back yard, we did some shopping for more plants and did somethings around the house. I am growing flowers, herbs, and vegetables on our balconies.

We wrapped up the day with a great meal at the Sheher Restaurant (Park Cafe) with friends Claudiu, Vesna, Per, and Maria and families. It is located in our neighborhood and it has a big outside area for the kids to run around while the adults can socialize in peace. The food was delicious and a great ambiance outside on their patio. I highly recommend the place.

I’ll try to blog as much as I can for the holidays. Today we’ll begin dyeing the Easter eggs. We are trying to have a full Serbian Orthodox Easter this year.

Nadia with Tulips from Kalenić Pijaca