Serbia – Page 18 – Bill's Blog

Golubac Castle: A Boys’ Paradise

June 22, 2009June 22, 2009billkralovec

Owen, Oliver and I on our triumphant return from climbing one of the ten towers of Golubac Castle. This is a 700 year+ castle located near the village of Golubac, Serbia on the banks of the Danube River. It is the start of the Đerdap National Park and one of the most beautiful places in Serbia.

The fortress is an amazing place! If the castle was in a western European nation, the place would be tightly controlled, with safety nets installed, an interpretive center built, etc. In Serbia, it is completely abandoned. There was one guy selling souvenirs near the castle, but they had nothing to do with the castle. There were no interpretive guides or accompanying museum. Basically, it is an old fort that we were free to explore. I took the boys and we climbed to one of the upper towers. The guys absolutely loved it! There was a slight trail leading up and we scrambled over the rocks and bushes to get to the base of a tower where a ladder hung down. We then climbed the ladder to get to the top. From there the trail wound around to another tower, but with a 6 and 4 year old, I thought it a bit too risky to go on.

I told the story about the castle to the boys. The fortress exchanged hands many times since it was built in the 1300’s. As with most castles, it is in a strategic position. The Danube narrows at this point so from the fort, one can control the flow of traffic down the Danube (Dunav in Serbian). The place was the scene of many battles between the Hungarians, Ottomans, and Serbians.

Nadia & Ocean Stayed in Eidelweiss While We Climbed to the Top

You can see the slight trail to the right of our car. It moves from right to left above the vehicle. There were two guys fishing from one of the flooded towers. A dam was built in the 1970’s that flooded the lower parts of the castle, and a road was built through the portcullis (seen just left of our car). A couple of cars stopped while we were there, but no one bothered to climb up. I thought the challenge and managing risk of the climb very good for the boys. I want to instil in the boys a sense of adventure and an enthusiasm for getting out into life and doing things. We will definitely return here, as the fortress is just an 1 and a half from our home in Belgrade.

The trip can be combined with a visit to the archeological site Lepenski Vir. Remains of an 7000 year old village were found with some fish-lipped statues. Unfortunately, the museum where they are housed was closed for reconstruction and we weren’t able to see it. We stayed at the Silver Lake Hotel which I will blog about later.

Approaching the Castle from the village of Golubac

The trip gave me a greater appreciation for the Danube and the freedom of Serbia. What an opportunity to be able to scramble over an abandoned castle, just like explorers coming to it the first time. There were lots that we didn’t get to see and it begs a return visit. I would love to lead an reconstruction and excavation of the site. It would also be nice to make an accompanying web site with pictures and stories of the long history of the place.

The Danube compares to the Mississippi and I see why people have gone down its entire length. The river and its tributaries go through the heart of central Europe. The wildlife, views, and fresh water are something to be cherished.

World Cup Qualifying Match in Belgrade

June 7, 2009June 8, 2009billkralovec

South End Fans Demonstrate Their Enthusiasm

Serbia defeated Austria 1 – 0 Saturday evening in a World Cup Qualifier at Red Star Stadium in Belgrade. Serbia got an early goal through a penalty kick and the rest of the game was scoreless. Both teams hit the goal post, with Austria having a few more chances for a goal than Serbia. Serbia was lucky to get the three points, as they were not as explosive offensively as in past games. They will need to play better to win the group. The win takes them to 18 points in 7 games. They play the Faroe Islands this week in their last game until September. On a side note, I think it is a joke that a group of “autonomous” islands that belong to Denmark can have a World Cup Qualifying team with a population of 50,000. What a waste of money for Serbia to have to travel there! The Faroe Islands have absolutely zero chance of ever qualifying for a World Cup.

Serbian and Manchester United Star Vidic Comes Off With an Injury

We didn’t get to enjoy the game because of the over crowding in the stadium. The game was sold out and then some. I should have known something was up when I noticed fans arriving to the stadium two and 1/2 hours before gametime. I am used to having to do this from my many years in Latin America, especially Colombia. Many Latin American countries have problems with counterfeit tickets, seats being sold twice by corrupt game officials, poor crowd control and security in the stadium. This causes fans to have to show up hours before a big match to guarantee a seat. It seemed like a similar situation in the stadium here. We unfortunately arrived 15 minutes before kick off. I had Owen with me as well as my friend Eric. There were lines to enter the stadium, and funny thing was they never even checked our tickets. We got to the tunnel leading to our seats and it was tightly packed. As we were walking in and down the steps, we felt pushed from behind. It was quite crowded and Serbs are big people. I put Owen on my shoulders and I was concerned that I was going to fall. Eric put out his shoulder and braced himself against the wall as I eventually passed Owen to a soldier that was there. Luckily the press box was right next to the exit and the soldier kindly passed Owen up over the plexiglass wall and a cameraman helped him over. After he was safe, Eric and I made our way out of the aisle in into the row beneath the press box. It was standing room only all the way down the aisle and next to the aisle. It was this way for all of the tunnels leading to the field around the stadium. People were shouting “polako” (take it easy) and as game time approached, they all got settled in. One young boy was a bit shook up as he also escaped and stood by us. I don’t think we would have been trampled, but it if we would have fallen down, it could have gotten ugly, especially for Owen.

This brought home to me that stadium officials need to be more organized. It will keep me away from the stadium because I don’t have 5 hours to waste at the stadium and it was not comfortable to watch the game. They need better control at the gates and entry tunnels. I was surprised at this because of all of the other events I attended here, have been well done.

Another Bridge Over the Sava River

May 23, 2009May 23, 2009billkralovec

Earlier this month, Owen and I were riding our bikes to Ada Ciganlija Island. Along the bike path, we stopped and watched the huge cranes as they were building the support for the new bridge. This is a much needed project, as there are not enough bridges in the city. The Sava River is a tributary of the Danube, and both rivers divide Belgrade. On our side is the older part,and the other side has New Belgrade. We cross the bridge to go grocery shopping, etc. Last night, we went to the Enrique Iglesias concert at the Belgrade Arena which is also in New Belgrade.

The bridge closest to our house, the Gazelle Bridge, is the main freeway through Belgrade. It is constantly full of traffic and this new bridge will relieve this.

I was a bit worried that the bridge would ruin the atmosphere of Ada, my favorite spot in Belgrade. I don’t think it will as you can see below, it just touches the tip of the island. There are private rowing clubs on that side and I never go there.

A Model of What the Bridge Will Eventually Look Like

I wonder if “Sava Bridge” will be the name of it. The official web site calls it Sava Bridge Project.

Owen’s Swimming Lessons

May 18, 2009May 18, 2009billkralovec

Owen with Coach Nesa, originally uploaded by bill kralovec – May 9, 2009

Owen is taking swimming lessons with the Plivaćki Klub “Free Style.” Plivački means swimming in Serbian. Owen is shown above with his coach, Nenad Milojević. Coach Nenad is showing him how to dive. Swimming and especially water polo is big in Serbia. The lessons take place at the Partizan Water Polo Club pool in the Banjica suburb of Belgrade. The facility is huge, with an Olympic size pool and 1/2 of an Olympic size pool. There are also multiple swimming pools outside that will open on June 1. Besides the pool, the recreational complex houses a table tennis school, a tennis club, and right next door is the RAD professional soccer club.

The lessons are for elementary age students and take place every Saturday and Sunday at 5:00 PM. There are about 20 kids in Owen’s group, with Owen being just about the youngest. The classes cost $40 per month. They spend a lot of time with the kick boards and Owen is developing a good kick and back stroke with the board. He is also starting the fundamentals of the free style and sort of diving. He is improving rapidly. Serbia always in medal contention for water polo so I hope it rubs off on Owen.

Typical European changing rooms – unisex, with men and women right next to each other. It is no big deal here, but in Puritan USA, it would be a scandal. They are separate rooms with no doors and everyone respects each others’ privacy.

We want Owen to feel safe in water and these classes will hopefully help him do that. He is very coachable, and I see him doing a lot of laps compared to the other kids, who sometimes are off-task. Nenad and his assistants do a good job of getting the kids to not fear the water and develop good fundamentals. The classes also give me a chance to work on my Serbian lessons. I take my book along and do a lesson while Owen is in the pool. Nenad (Nesha for short), wants to practice his English with me and always helps with my Serbian.

I highly recommend the swimming club to anyone. Owen is the only foreigner, but we are treated very well by all. That is one thing that everyone always says about the Serbs here in Belgrade, they are really nice.

Visit to Air Force One (Well Sort of)

May 16, 2009May 17, 2009billkralovec

At last weekend’s Serbia Open, we had a pleasant surprise upon arriving. I parked my car on a side street and we went through someone’s yard to get to the stadium. When we emerged through the yard, we came upon two policemen that directed us across some railroad tracks. On the tracks, was the ex-Yugoslavian leader, Tito’s famous blue train. Serbia being a relaxed country, (I think of it as a Slavic Spain or Latin America), they of course let us enter the stadium via this unofficial route and gave us a tour of the train.

Tito and his wifes chair were bigger than the rest of the chairs — Tito and his wife's chair were bigger than the rest of the chairs

Tito didn’t like to fly and so he ordered a train to be constructed. It had bedrooms, bathrooms, dining rooms, meeting rooms, etc. Very presidential like the Air Force One plane for the US President. It was built in the late 40’s early 50’s and he toured around Europe with it quite a bit. Many world leaders were hosted on the train.

After his death, the train stood idle, but about 10 years ago, it was restored. The train is available to rent for groups and it is perfectly restored. My son Owen commented that it looked like the set from an old James Bond film. So right he was as you can see from the photos.

I really felt a sense of history walking through a few of the cars. The train was as the tennis tourney because they hosted journalists and guests for a luncheon and press conference. I wonder what conversations took place in it. I definitely want to rent this train for my farewell to Serbia. So I guess it was in a way, a visit to the Air Force One of its time. Except in this case, instead of the presidential plane, it was a train, and about 50 years ago.

There is much nostalgia for the time of Tito here in Serbia. Yugoslavia was then ahead of its neighbors in Eastern Europe as it was out of the Soviet sphere of influence. The economy and freedom of travel in the 50’s – 70’s was very nice. Tito died over close to 30 years ago and those living memories are being forgotten. It was not a sustainable economy however, and the bottom would have fallen out of it, but nevertheless, during the Cold War, Yugoslavia mattered. It is sad that all of the former republics of Yugoslavia felt so strongly about being independent. I believe the quality of life for all would have been better if they could have kept it together. Brotherhood and Unity!

Titos Bedroom (his wife slept in a separate room) — Tito's Bedroom (his wife slept in a separate room)

Visit to Sremski Karlovci – The Oldest High School in Serbia

May 14, 2009billkralovec

I am pictured with a group of our Amercian Students

Today I went on a field trip with Ethan and a group of American students at our school. For all the details, check out the school ISB blog post I wrote.

Novak Wins His Tourney

May 13, 2009May 13, 2009billkralovec

As expected, Novak Djokovic won the inaugural Serbia Open in a straight sets victory over Lucasz Kubot. It wasn’t as easy as I thought, as Novak had a flair for the dramatic, going down 2-5 in the second set, only to come back to win, 7-6 (7-0) in a tiebreaker. Djokovic won the first set, 6-3.

Kubot did not have history on his side. He was a Lucky Loser from Poland and ranked #179 in the world. Kubot did win the doubles tourney however, his second career ATP title. This was Novak’s 13th ATP tour title.

It was a celebration for Serbia. The hero brought the ATP tour to this tennis mad country. It was a beautiful day, with the Kalmegdan Fortress on one side of the stadium, and the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers on the the other. The President, Prime Minister, and Serbian military representatives were all there as well as a packed, enthusaistic stadium.

Owen, Nadia and I really enjoyed the game. We got to see Tito’s Blue Train (a future post) and some world class tennis.

Serbian President Tadic & PM Cvetkovic Watched the Game Too (blue shirts)

Kralovec Family To Attend Serbia Open

May 9, 2009billkralovec

Nadia, Owen and I are excited for our first ATP Finals tomorrow. We will be attending the Novak Djokovic, err, excuse me, Serbia Open. I joke that it should be called the Novak Open as he bought the rights to the Dutch Open tourney and moved it to his hometown of Belgrade. Thankfully, he didn’t disappoint his family and the home crowd and made it to the finals. Unfortunately, all the Serb players ended up in the same side of the draw and Djokovic cruised through defeating two Serbs, including the second highest ranked Serb, Victor Trocki (#40 in the world). It was almost like a Davis Cup practice. Tonight he got by the Italian, Andreas Seppi, but lost one set.

He will be taking on a “Lucky Loser” named Lukasz Kubot, from Poland. He is the first Polish player in an ATP final in 27 years. The term lucky loser means that Kubot lost in the qualifying rounds to get into the tourney, but due to an injury, was the alternate and got to enter the main singles draw. Only 5 lucky losers have won ATP events in the last 30 years. Lukasz is a decent doubles player, with one ATP doubles title, and he is currently ranked #22 in doubles, but #179 on the singles tour. After catching a lucky break to get into the tourney, he got another one when #25 ranked Russian Igor Andreev, withdrew in the first set of their second round match. This afternoon he defeated world #24, Ivo Karlovic, the 6 foot 10 inch big server from Croatia. For Kubot, with a career singles record of 15-16, this was the biggest win of his career. The 26 year old will have the biggest match of his career tomorrow.

Kubot from todays win in the semifinals. (photo courtesy of the Serbia Open) — Kubot from today's win in the semifinals. (photo courtesy of the Serbia Open)

Does Kubot have a chance tomorrow? His only hope is that Djokovic played late tonight and played three sets, and he might be tired tomorrow afternoon. Will Novak be over confident? Kubot has to be happy already with getting this far and the guaranteed 40,000 Euros. Will his luck continue?

I predict a straight sets victory for Djokovic, and if Kubot wins 6 games in the two sets, he should still consider himself lucky.

With our finals tickets, we also have access to the doubles final. I see that tonight, Kubot won again and he will be playing in the doubles final as well with partner Oliver Marach.

Leaded Gasoline In Serbia

May 9, 2009May 9, 2009billkralovec

Types of Gasoline In Serbia, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

There are many little challenges in living in a country other than your own. When we bought a car this year, we needed to fill it up with gasoline. I pull up to a gas station and see these choices of fuel. Which one is for my car?

I immediately eliminated the two choices with “dizel” which is a cognate of diesel. My car is a 1996 Honda Odyssey and requires unleaded gasoline. So what is the difference between the two premium choices? I usually trusted the attendant, as in Serbia, there is no self-service.

I did a bit a research on line and found out that the “BMB” is unleaded fuel and “MB” is leaded fuel. I am surprised that Serbia still uses leaded gasoline. This was phased out in the US in the 1970’s and across much of the world. Leaded gasoline is still used in less developed nations like Afghanistan, Fiji, Iraq, etc. There are three of the former Yugoslavia nations (Bosnia, Macedonia, and Serbia) still using leaded fuel.

Expats to Serbia always complain about people smoking, but rarely do I hear them complain about leaded gasoline. I wonder what the health effects are, especially with my children. We live in relatively traffic free area, but we must still be exposed to lead in the air.

I’ll definitely do some more research on the topic. If any readers of my blog have any thing to add to the discussion, please do so.

I must remember then, to put “BMB” in my car as that is the Unleaded Gasoline. A mnemonic to use is “un” is one extra syllable and “B” is one extra letter. “B” is good, no “B” bad.

This from the “United Nations Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles” report.

Serbia – deadline of 2015 – 2020

The Clearing-House together with the REC country office supported a one-day national round table
discussion 8 May 2006 that included the phase-out of leaded gasoline. The Clearing-House plans to carry out an
awareness campaign that will include blood lead level testing, in cooperation with REC and the Institute of
Public Health of Belgrade. A ban for phase-out is not clearly defined; according to the National Environmental
Action Program, an optimistic forecast is given as 2015, whereas a ‘business as usual’ deadline would be 2020.
As of 2006, 58% of fuel used was leaded, with no price difference between leaded and unleaded. Serbia is in the
process of privatizing its refineries, and there is currently no political interest in improving fuel quality in the
country. The PCFV Clearing-House, together with the US EPA and the REC, plans to participate in the
upcoming UNECE Environment for Europe ministerial conference, Belgrade October 2007 to bring more
attention to the issue.

Humor in the Neighborhood Part II

May 7, 2009May 7, 2009billkralovec

This is another sign in our neighborhood. On a street that runs perpendicular to our street in our neighborhood of Senjak, I saw this street sign. Since the street signs in Belgrade are all in the Cyrillic script, this will take some translating to get the message.

Serbia used two types of alphabets. The one above is Cyrillic, which is the Eastern part of Serbian culture. They also use a corresponding Latin alphabet. The first line in the sign is “Ulica” which means “Street” in English. The name of the street is “Ljube Jovanovića” which is a Serbian name.

Some of the letters have been blocked out by spray paint. What is left are the letters, “OBANA” which is very close to “OBAMA.” I noticed this was done in October, just before the elections. US President Barack Obama is very popular here in Serbia as I blogged about in November. There is some Obama supporter here in Senjak. At least the sign will be good for at least four years.

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