Ollie Attempts to Throw His Popsicle Stick in the Danube
Yesterday afternoon the sun came out and so we took advantage of this and went for a bike ride in the Park of Friendship in New Belgrade. This is the park that world leaders used to plant a tree when they came and visited Tito during the Communist years. It is also the park that Milosevic used to hold mass rallies during the turbulent times of his presidency. More recently, Madonna held a concert last August there for over 40,000 people. There is a nice bike trail that runs along the Danube River. There were lots of people walking along the river as well as sitting in the cafes located on barges in the river. You can see a couple of the “splavs” behind Owen in the photo below.
We stopped for an ice cream before turning around and heading back to the car.
This afternoon we went over to New Belgrade to see the World Cup Soccer trophy. FIFA is sponsoring a tour of the World Cup trophy and soccer “experience” literally around the world. Coca Cola is advertising big time with the tour. The trophy was in a large hall. There was a lot going on that was frightening for the young Kralovecs. Between two bands of African drummers, an electronic soccer carpet, aerobic dancers, etc. the experience was a bit overwhelming for them as you can see by the look on their faces.
Ollie Jumps Right In!
The workers were nice and they let us cut to the front because of the kids. We got our picture, free cokes, and then headed out. Serbia is in the World Cup and the country is excited for June. I can’t wait to watch the games. Thanks to Eric for letting me know it was in town.
We have lots of great times as a family in our garden (back yard in American English). Above is a video I took last Saturday morning. Yesterday Nadia, Ivana, and I started to plant in the garden. We planted tulip bulbs, freesias, and basil. We are expanding the garden this year and I’ll be hard at work with it over the holiday, which begins tomorrow evening!
Ollie Enjoys The Magnolia Bloom!
Two of the Magnolias bloomed in our yard. Ocean loves taking a flower each day and putting it in our garden. As some of you may know from my blogs I love trees and it is about the only thing I believe is sacred. The magnificent and ancient Magnolia! I love magnolias!!!
We had a great time Saturday at the annual ISB Easter Picnic. Ocean is shown above with the Easter Bunny and his helper. It was a beautiful day and the volunteers from the PTSA and US Steel did a wonderful job in making it a fantastic and fun event. Despite the economic recession, US Steel still does have a significant presence at the school and it was nice for them to run this event for the kids.
Owen is really enjoying the teen spy Alex Rider book series. We read the first one, Stormbreaker, together and he is reading the second, Point Blanc. They are really reinvigorated his reading and writing in school. The books are basically James Bond novels with a teenage antagonist. Plenty of action and gadgets to hold young boys’ attention.
The weather is fantastic this week. Spring has sprung and I’ll try to get some photos today before the rain comes this weekend.
Sunday we had some time to kill as our flight out of Estonia didn’t leave until the evening. We went for a long walk around Tallinn and ended up at the Pirita Beach, just outside the city. As you can see, the Baltic Sea in mid-March is not quite ready for a picnic. Tallinn is 59 degrees north.
We had a nice time in Estonia. It was off the beaten path and I got to know a little known place in the world. The Estonians are very similar to the Finns and I think since there are only around 1 million of them, they develop some stronger ties to Finland. They have some definite animosity towards the Russians. We noticed this when we went souvenir shopping. I was looking for “babushkas”, those Russian dolls that have small ones inside each other. The Estonian gift shop vendor pointed out that those were Russian and not Estonian. The Russians had a market outside the Old Town and they were pushed out of the nice areas. I guess after the Russians occupied Estonia, there is still resentment. I wonder how the Russians living in Estonia get along in their daily lives. Do they learn Estonian?
The ISB Gang In Front of the Czar's Former Palace
I am not sure if I’ll ever get back there. It would be a nice place to live, although the long winters would be tough.
Besides learning how to be a better principal from the CEESA conference, I am also learning much about the host city, Tallinn, Estonia.
I wonder how many Americans have heard of Estonia, know where it is located, and a little of its history? I bet it would be about 1/3 of Americans who could answer those questions correctly.
It is the smallest and furthest north of the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania being the other two) with a population of 1.4 million. Tallinn, the capital, has a population of slightly over 400,000. It is slightly larger than Vermont and New Hampshire combined. As you can see from the snow above, Estonia is located 59 degrees north latitude. The Estonian ethnic group is not related to the two other Baltic states. The language and the looks of the people, make them very similar to the Finns. Finland is a two-hour ferry ride away, across the Baltic Sea.
For most of its history, Estonia has been under the control of a larger and more powerful country. The Swedes, Danes, Livonians, Germans, They have only been an independent country for 38 years. A short period between WWI and WWII and then again in 1992 after the Russians left. I am surprised that the Estonians kept their language and culture and ethnic identity alive during all of those years under the control of other nations. They did leave their marks however, and I see the beautiful Old Town arrchitecture of the Germans and the ugly block apartments left by the Russians.
The Narrow Streets of Old Town
It is an odd little place.For example, in the fridge in the hotel, there is a “good morning pickle.” Do Estonians eat pickles for breakfast? Two nights ago for St. Patricks day, we went out to an Irish Pub to celebrte the day. The band playing that night featured a lead singer that sang like Alvin and the Chipmunks and with a lead violinist with wild, hairspray, hair. For their last set, they brought out three girls playing white violins. I think they would be huge celebrities in the US. It was an original idea, I think they would be immensely popular world wide.
We spoke to the waitress last night at dinner. She was around 20 and was thinking of going to university. She said Estonia was a bad place for young people as there was not much opportunity to develop a career. She was looking to make a move to a larger city in Norway, Sweeden, or Finland.
The city is buried in snow which makes it even more beatuiful The Old Town is incredible. I’ll blog more about my impressions of Estonia.
One of the nicest things about these CEESA events are the opportunity to make new friends. The visiting student-athletes are traditionally billeted with our students’ families when we host an event. This is a great way to forge new friendships and get to know people from a different cultures.
We are hosting two young men from the International School of Helsinki. They are shown above yestrday morning in the school parking lot with Nadia and the boys. Owen and Ollie have been so excited to have the “Husky” basketball players staying in our home. They will not leave them alone. They were so excited the first night, that we had a difficult time putting them to sleep.
Both Josh and Jani are very nice gentlemen and we have enjoyed hosting them. We’ll be sad when they have to leave on Sunday for Helsinki. These are just two of the many friendships that form over the years in CEESA. When we travel to the various events, our students are billeted with the various host families. The players get to know one another and make lasting friendships. It is all about bringing the nations of the Balkans and eastern Europe a little bit closer to each other.
It was nice that yesterday’s game between the International School of Belgrade and the American International School of Zagreb was about the students and no politics involved. All of the teenagers in the game yesterday are great examples of products of international schools. They was a strong spirit of camradarie and athletic competition.
We had the coaches dinner last night and that again, is an opportunity to make friends. We had a lot of laughs and this season, Nadia and I have gotten quite close to several of the other team’s coaches.
It has been a very rewarding basketball season. Our final game is this afternoon. It will be our 20th game of the season. We have 12 wins and 7 losses. We’ll see what the end brings us.
Owen and Oliver the past few weeks have been practicing with a new football club, Atacante. Click here to see the boys’ photos on the club website. The boys practice on the weekends and they quite enjoy it. Oliver is a bit too young for the club, but the running around is good for him.
The club is run by Mihailo Jovanovic, a former professional player. The Belgrade native played first division soccer in Finland and Hong Kong. He speaks English and caters to the international community of Belgrade.
Yesterday morning we awoke to a winter wonderland. We had a wet snow overnight. Everyone is looking forward to spring and the recent warm weather had me watching my tulips. Instead, winter gave us one last show. I am a morning person and as you can see by the video above, am the only one who was happy. Our car came back from the shop yesterday afternoon so we had one last walk to snow.
That is one of the nice things about working at an international school. The school maintenance department took care of all of the car repair. They found a good mechanic, ordered a tow truck, explained everything, and picked it up. I could concentrate on my work and family, and magically on Friday afternoon, Eidelweiss (we named our car after the sticker on the front hood), was as good as new.
The snow was melting a bit in the afternoon and I think it will be gone by Monday. We cancelled our hike Sunday, so I’ll have a day around the house. It is the big Davis Cup weekend, with Serbia playing the USA. Nadia and I are going to the doubles match today with free tickets from friends. I’ll have a full report.
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