I found this old picture of Oliver. He turned 5 yesterday and we celebrated with a party at school, a dinner at a restaurant of his choice, and he went to the store and chose a gift.
We reminisced on that frightful night 5 years ago when he was born. He was a month early and our doctor was not in town. Nadia ended up giving birth by emergency c-section in a clinic we never heard of before that night. We are thankful everything went well and today, we cherish our wonderful Ollie, who has brought so much joy, exasperation, and laughter to our lives. Happy Birthday Oliver. We love you!!!!!!!!
Saturday we went on a hike to the beautiful Beljanica mountain. It is a 1,892 meter (6,200 feet) ridge located in the Resava region of Serbia. It is 152 kilometers (94 miles) south-east of Belgrade. A group of community members from the school made the 14 kilometer hike after touring the Resava Cava (Resavska Pećina). It was a fantastic day.
I was proud of both Owen and Oliver as they made it to the summit and back. It was a long day as we left the cave around 11:00 AM and didn’t return to the car until after 8:00 PM. We finished up the night at a country restaurant that had delicious, Resava River trout and homemade bread. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. The boys were tough, especially as we strained our way through a steep stand of Beech trees. The slope felt almost vertical, but they made it fun, playing with sticks and leaves on the way up and back down.
Looking Down At the Beech Forest From the Karst Peaks of Beljanica
Beljanica means “Little Whitey” in English and it refers to the limestone (karst) ridges you see in the photo above. Karst topography is formed with the dissolution of limestone rock. Many caves are formed in these areas and the large Resava cave is impressive. They have the cave well-lit for visitors and the kids loved it.
The Tour Guide Explains the Formation of the Cave in the Main Chamber
We didn’t see much wildlife. Only a small snake, some tadpoles, and plenty of wildflowers. The initial part of the hike went along by the river and through small farms with peasant sheep herders. I want to explore the region more. There is a nice waterfalls and monastery that we didn’t have time to see. It would also be good to spend a bit more time up at the top and walk along the ridges, as there were several to be explored. It was cold at the top and, we headed back without much time at the top. The boys slept soundly on the ride home.
Owen fills his water bottle from Martin in a well.
I would like to thank our fearless trip leader, Liberozo Sapundžić and his son Luka. They are two great men and had much patience with the group. Thanks for sharing your love of nature and expertise with the Serbian wilderness! I would love to return the favor in my beloved Upper Peninsula of Michigan someday.
Yesterday we ran the half marathon in the 23rd annual Belgrade Marathon. Nadia and I had the goal of completing the half marathon (21 kilometers which is about 13 miles) and we did it. We ran together and finished the route in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 55 seconds. Above is the International School of Belgrade group and we are proud to say that we all finished the race. It was nice to have a group of students, parents, and teachers to support each other and along with the 3,000 other people running the half and full marathons, it was an exhilrating and exhausting morning. Once again, the Belgrade sun was shining brightly which made the sights all the more beautiful. We set the goal last year after we tried the 22 nd Belgrade Marathon. The last 5 kilometers were tough on both of us. For me personally, I find that now the limiting factor in my speed and distance is my legs and joints, it used to be my lungs. That is age starting to kick in.
I don’t think we are going to step it up again next year and do the full marathon, but you never know… Oh, and by the way, as we were finishing the half marathon, we watched the Kenyans finishing the full marathon. Wow.
Yesterday Nadia attended a CPR / First Aid Training course so I had the three kids all day by myself. It was a wonderful day! It was a perfect, spring sunny day and so we went over to a nearby school for some tennis. They have a large cement wall and cement basketball court which is perfect for the kids. For the first time, Owen and Oliver played more against each other than against me. You can go to my flickr.com page to see the video.
Ollie Hits the Ball
The day included basketball in the back yard, purchasing fruits and veggies from Mali Kalenic, a speciality natural grocer, lunch at McDonald’s and then a nap and yard work before Mom got home.
Nadia and I are both excited for today’s Belgrade Marathon! Nadia has a bad cold however, and I hope she can make it. Weather conditions look perfect again today, so it should be a beautiful run through our beloved Belgrade! I’ll try to get some photos today of the run.
We are heading back to work today after a restful holiday. We stayed in Belgrade and just enjoyed time with the kids and doing things around the house. It is always great to reconnect with the kids and Nadia and I as a couple. School gets hectic for all of us and it is just nice to have the luxury of free time with each other.
Family Poses on King Petar's Grounds in Topola, Serbia
We did manage to make a couple of day trips into the Sumadija region of central Serbia. “Shoomadeeaaa” is located just south of Belgrade and it is a region of farms, rolling hills, pastures, orchards, and forests. It is the traditional heartland of Serbia at the time of Ottoman occupation. We visited a winery and toured the grounds of King Petar I, who was the King of “Yugoslavia” in the early 1900’s. He had a house near the village of Topola. It was a beautiful sunset and with perfect lighting and trees, we took some photos of the family.
. We have been spending a lot of time in the yard playing with the kids. I play soccer, basketball, and football with the boys on a daily basis and we’ve stepped it up during the Easter holiday break. It is so nice to have loads of time at home with my family. The weather has not been great, but we don’t care. It has been a relaxing and rejuvanating holiday. As you can see in the photos, the boys like to jump off the swings.
Ollie Gets Into the Act Too
Yesterday I cut the lawn for the first time this spring. It really needed it. I am almost finished with planting in the garden. This year besides herbs and flowers, we’ll be trying to grow veggies and fruits. I don’t know why the fascination with gardening hits people as they get older. I can’t get enough of it.
Nadia and I went for another run yesterday. We’ve exercised every day this break. My left knee is a bit sore and I should rest it, but we are getting ready for the Belgrade marathon which takes place next Sunday, April 18th. We will both try to complete the half marathon. Last weekend, we ran 15 kilometers and it felt good. So good that it started me thinking about going for the full marathon. But, with my knee in the shape it is in, I would be unable to do anything for a few weeks afterwards. Nadia is looking as beautiful as ever…
Yesterday it was a rainy day, and despite the wet weather, we still ended up having a great day. The highlight for me was going to a pig roast at the school hosted by our good friend, Goran. He is shown above with a fresh, Obrenovac-raised pig. I joked that it was a “prase” which means piglet in Serbian. That was my word for the day, svinja that means an adult pig and pork. The meat in the store would be referred to as svinjetina.
The Serbs are masters of preparing pork. For many centuries, they specialized in raising pigs and selling them to the Austro-Hungarians. The Royal Family of the Serbia, the Karadjordje dynasty started as pig dealers. I think they should have a pig sty in the White Palace grounds as homage to their past.
Goran served the svijetina with kupus (coleslaw), bread, and condiments of light green peppers or green onions. Delicious! A big thank you to Goran for letting us share in the feast.
Last night we visited the home of our friends, Vera and Miloš Tutuš. I didn’t have my camera, so the photo above was taken September of 2008 at party we attended together. Miloš is a 28 year old artist and art teacher at the Chartwell School, a British private school here in Belgrade. He is a fine artist and we have a couple of his works hanging in our home. He is both a sculpture and painter and he has a wide range of works. He maintains an on line gallery of his work where you can view and purchase many of his pieces. The web site with his page is managed by a non-profit organization called ARTE that focuses on promoting artists and web entrepreneurs with emerging technologies.
Keyhole "Engrova" - A piece by Miloš in the Kralovec Home
We had a nice day around the house yesterday. Nadia and I took the opportunity to do some serious spring cleaning. I stored away all of the winter clothes and organized our basement storage boxes. With a family of five, we have a lot of stuff! We also sorted through drawers, shelves, etc. It is amazing the amount of stuff that piles up during a school year. Nadia did a thorough cleaning of the house.
As you can see from the video above, the kids enjoyed the easter egg hunt. We are not religious but still celebrate the holidays all the same. I started telling the story of the crucifixion of Jesus, but need to re-look at the Biblical accounts to give a proper bedtime story to the kids. We also listened to the storynory.com origin of Easter eggs and the Saxon pagan beliefs where the holiday originates.
The weather continues to be perfect, cool temperatures and blue skies. The neighbors brought colored eggs to our children. Eastern Europeans are really into decorative eggs, which I’ll blog about more later.
As with Christmas, the Serbs exchange phrases when greeting each other on Easter.
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