Happy Birthday Owen

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My eldest son Owen turned 11 years old on Friday and he celebrated by having two friends some over on Saturday for a sleepover. We played table tennis and tetherball at the school, ate lunch at the Intergalactic Diner in New Belgrade (Owen and his friends and family are pictured in front of an abandoned building near the diner), went to see latest movie in the Lord of the Rings series and finished with a Chinese dinner.

It was a great day for me, just to spend time with him and the kids. He is a really positive, funny, smart, boy and I am very proud of him.

Below is a picture of the basketball team I am coaching. Owen and Oliver are on the team and it is pure joy to be working with them and the kids. We practice a couple of times a week and have played two game so far against KK Sava. I’ll be blogging more about the team this winter. I can’t wait for our uniforms to be ready.

 

Peter II of Yugoslavia

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This week I took our students once again to the Serbian Royal Palace to take part in the Crown Princess Catherine’s “Children Helping Children” Christmas Gift Drive. The Serbian Royal Family, although they are not officially part of the Serbian government, do live at the palace and serve as goodwill ambassadors of Serbia to the world. They also do a lot of charity work. We were given a tour of the palace and got to meet both the Crown Prince Alexander II and their grandson. This was my second tour of the palace as I went and saw it last spring.

One of the interesting stories of the tour was this portrait of the last king of Yugoslavia, King Peter Karađorđević. The painting was from 1934, shortly after Peter took over from his father, Alexander I following his assassination in Marseille during a state visit. It must have been quite a shock for him to lose his father and become king. Because of being so young, he didn’t take over and his older cousin ran the country. He finally took over from his cousin in a coup de ‘etat in 1941, but fled when the Nazis occupied Belgrade. He ended up living in the USA for many years and died in 1970. He was finally repatriated to Serbia this year, with his remains being buried in Oplenac last May. The painting was found in a shop in Paris years after WWII, as it was part of the works of art that were looted by the Nazis from the palace during the occupation.

Below is a video of the opening of the Crown Prince Alexander’s II speech to us. He is the son of Peter II.

I am fundamentally opposed to monarchies and the idea that a family should be treated better than anyone else. It is ridiculous if you consider in today’s world, we still have kings and queens. It is a big waste of tax money! I guess if the monarchy brings in tourist dollars like England, or can somehow pay for itself, then I can tolerate them. Is the Serbian Royal Family worth it? Does the charity work they do and the good will they bring towards Serbia worth the upkeep of the palace? I don’t know enough about their finances.

The palace and grounds are beautiful and it does make a nice afternoon for tourists. There is a lot of history in the place and Serbians should be proud. I would feel better about royalty if instead of being hereditary, the king could be selected by a panel of experts of someone worthy of the position and who would do a good job of promoting Serbian and helping the disadvantaged of the nation. Usually in families it is hit or miss with each generation. I also wonder what the future holds for the Karadjordjevic family. What will they be like in 50-100 years?

 

 

European Cross Country Running Championships

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Today we went to the European Cross Country Championships which took place in Friendship Park here in Belgrade. I went with my children and fellow running enthusiast, Michael Daws. It was quite exciting running back and forth in the middle of the loop. The course allowed the spectators to follow the action. We only came for the last race of the day, the men’s seniors, and watched the Spanish-Ethiopian runner, Alemayehu Bezabeh, win his second cross country championship in a time of 29 minutes and 11 seconds. He has quite a story, starting as an illegal immigrant, living on the streets, making due with prize money from races. He was granted Spanish citizenship because of his running ability. He recently came back from a blood doping ban. He easily won the race today with no one even close.

Alemayehu Bezabeh pulling away in the Men’s 10 kilometer Cross Country Final

The second place finisher was Kenyan Polat Kemboi Arikan, running for Turkey. The first “European” was the scrappy Brit, Andy Vernon, who came from behind to take the bronze medal, but a full 34 seconds behind the winner.

Owen Does His Usain Bolt Impression

It was a fantastic event and we were all inspired to run! The pace these guys run at is amazing and with a 29:11 time in a 10 kilometer is really fast. I usually run them around 42 – 45 minutes.

Red Star Basketball Game

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On Thursday evening I attended the Red Star Belgrade versus Tel Aviv Maccabi Elektra Euroleague Basketball game. The first round game was held in the famous Pionir Hall, in my opinion, the best venue to watch a basketball game anywhere. My Israeli friends invited me to attend the game in the Maccabi fan section and as you can see by the security in front of the section, we were well protected from the rabid Red Star fans.

Red Star, after being behind the entire game by 10-15 points, came back in the fourth quarter and had a couple of opportunities to win the game in the final moments, but lost. The crowd was so loud and the game very back and forth with both teams making great plays, it was a thoroughly entertaining evening. It was interesting being in the “enemy” section. I did not feel threatened and there was much good natured back and forth between the Maccabi fans and Red Star fans. We had to wait about 30 minutes after the game finished to walk out, and I got to my car and home without incident.

Serbia loves basketball and I highly recommend the Pionir Hall basketball experience! You will not forget it.

A Christmas Tree Adventure

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This weekend we went on our annual trek to buy a Christmas tree. We go to a farm about 20 kilometers outside of Belgrade in the Šumadija region, near the Avala Mountain. It is a tree farm in the village of Žuče. We have gone there for several years and you can get a tree for about 1, 200 RSD (10 Euros).

We buy the roots and all and carry it away in a pot instead of cutting the tree. We later find a spot to plant it.  The guys at the farm are very helpful and will dig it up, wrap the roots, and tie the branches for easier transport. The kids love going too because they can run around and play hide and seek.

We got off to a late start because of car trouble. I was filling the tires with air and the valve on the tire snapped in half. Luckily, I was with friends and the great mechanics of Anđelković Garage are in the neighborhood. They sent Jovan over and he saved the day by replacing the valve. We gave him a round of applause.

With the pot the tree is quite big and my friend Michael and I had a difficult time getting it up the steps and in the house. It was worth it however, because the decorated tree looks perfect and Nadia did a great job of decorating the house with poinsettias and Christmas decorations. This is our last Christmas in Europe and so we are going to enjoy it.

Now we just need snow! It is in the forecast, and tonight it is 1C so I am hoping for some of the white stuff when I wake up.

A big thanks go to Damian, Susie, Michael, and Brooke for their help and Miloš and Boško from the school.

 

 

 

 

Family Journal: School Pictures

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Owen Grade 5

One of the nice traditions of school is the annual student photo day. It gives us a chance to reflect on how fast they grow. Owen above, is starting to look like a teenager, and in many ways is starting to act like one.

Oliver Grade 3

Oliver thankfully is still looking like a boy, although he is maturing rapidly. Ocean has been obsessed with reading and writing as she is learning how to do both in school. I loved the Things To Do List she made to assist her in the mornings. She is such a little busybody and has an incredible work output, whether is be planning a Spanish lesson for her classmates or sending Christmas cards. She was even putting money in the cards to give to her friend.

 

Remembrance Day & Marine Ball

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Last weekend we observed Armistice or Remembrance Day with a ceremony at the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Belgrade. Nadia participated in the ceremony as part of the International Choir of Belgrade. It was a good educational experience for the kids. It was sad thinking of the 453 lives lost when looking at the graves. Many of them young men in their 20s, killed in World War II. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission had a short history of the cemetery.

The cemetery was created to receive the remains of British and Commonwealth casualties brought in from more than sixty small burial grounds and from isolated sites all over Yugoslavia. The largest number from any one place came from Milna Military Cemetery and the Royal Naval and Harbour Cemeteries on the island of Vis (Lissa) which was our base.

The burials in the War Cemetery include escaped prisoners of war from Italy and Greece. The civilians buried here include a mining technician, a teacher of English, a newspaper correspondent, a member of the Embassy staff and the child of another member of Embassy staff. They were buried or re-buried in the cemetery by permission of the Army Graves Service.

The kids are shown above with a British military office in front of the memorial. Several Embassies were represented at the ceremony and laid wreaths at the foot of the memorial statue.

Also last weekend we attended the Marine’s Ball. It marks the 238th anniversary of the founding of the US Marines. It was held at the Metropol Hotel in downtown Belgrade. There is a small marine contingent that guards the embassy stationed in Belgrade. There were speeches and military ceremonies, and then our favorite Belgrade band, Makao, entertained everyone, military and civilians alike. We are pictured below with our friends, Kevin and Laura.

Welcome Air Serbia

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I have not been blogging much lately due to be very busy at work and other things.

Recently I saw the new desk at the Nikola Tesla Airport of Air Serbia. JAT (Jugoslav Airlines Transport) recently sold 49% of the airlines to Etihad Airlines, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates. JAT was 100% owned by the Serbian government and had debts of 170 million Euros.

Considering how hard it is to make money on any airlines, it is a big risk for Etihad. I understand why the government owns the airlines, but it is not a good idea to own one, and it is a drain on the Serbian taxpayer and government. Hopefully the expertise of Etihad and the extra resources will make the airlines profitable. The JAT planes were very old and in dire need of investment. In my opinion, they should sell it all off and get out of the business entirely, although that might be against EU law to have a foreign, non-EU company own a major airlines in Europe. Serbia has many state-owned enterprises and properties that need to be privatized and hopefully this is a trend that will continue.The sports clubs Red Star and Partizan are two that come to mind…

Another problem is market size. There are too many regional airlines in the Balkans as each small country has their own carrier. The market is just not big enough to support so many different airlines.

I like the new logo. The double eagle is homage to the Serbian Orthodox crest, and the lines below look somewhat like Arabic script. I am looking forward to flying on the new Airbus A 319, “Novak Đoković” and wish Etihad and the Serbian Government best wishes for profitability!

The Beauty of the North

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Last week we visited friends in Sweden and Denmark for our October Break. We stayed in Helsingborg, a small city on the southern coast of Sweden. Denmark and the beautiful city of Copenhagen was just a ferry ride away, so we also spent a day there.

It was a relaxing and interesting trip. Our hosts, Per and Maria Akkeson were beyond great, and they showed us a wonderful time. We got to feel how Swedes live and they showed us all the spots as only locals do. Ollie is shown above on the windswept cliffs of the Kullaberg Peninsula.

The area reminded me much of my native Michigan, especially the coast of Lake Superior. The only difference was a bit older buildings and many city buses. The socialized system of Sweden and Denmark have resulted in a clean and prosperous region.

Ocean at the canals of Copenhagen

We had an enriching afternoon at the Luisana Museum of Contemporary Art in Denmark. Other highlights included fine dining, bike rides and hikes in the fresh Scandinavian air, and many laughs with the Akkesons.

Owen in a Modern Art Room

I hope someday to return the favor and host them. We all enjoyed our visit to the north of Europe and want to return to explore more, especially further north towards the arctic regions.

Beautiful October Days

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Belgrade is so lovely this time of year. When the sun is shining in mid-October, with many of the leaves turning yellow,blue skies, and a cool breeze, it really doesn’t get any better than this for weather.

We have been taking advantage of this by getting out with the bicycles and going around the city. We are pictured above at Ada Ciganlija where we went for an 8 kilometer run/bike ride and then had a delicious late lunch at the Oaza Restaurant.

Owen and Ollie on the Zemun Quay

On Saturday we rode up from New Belgrade to Zemun along the bike path and had a wonderful day along the river. The kids complain a bit at first, but then they too get caught up with exercise in the gorgeous weather.