Gladiators: Roman Arena in Pula

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All this week I will be blogging about our recent trip to the Istria Peninsula in Croatia. We stayed for 4 days in the old “Venetian” city of Rovinj, Croatia and toured the entire peninsula. The best part of the trip was all of the family time we spent together. We experienced Roman ruins, truffles, delicious food, and breathtaking views of the Adriatic.

One day we visited the Roman Arena in Pula, Croatia. The Arena is the “little brother” to the more famous Rome Coliseum. I was amazed to have read so much about the Roman Empire, to finally see one of the bigger ruins. I was most moved by how much modern US sports is like the Romans did 2,000 years ago. The Arena (named after the sand in the center pit) seated 23,000 people and they had a variety of spectacles, including gladiator fights, Christian sacrifices, etc. The stadium had its luxury boxes for the noble Roman families and a complex underground network of rooms to house wild beasts and gladiators. As you can see above, we are simulating one of the gladiator fights from ancient times.

Today, Pula is a city of around 20,000 people and the city is built up around the arena. It is used for concerts, although loud music is now banned because of the damage it causes to the rocks. I can imagine what it must have been like so long ago. Pula was just “around the corner” from Rome and as the empire was expanding, it was a strategic port on the southern tip of the Istria Peninsula.

It also got me thinking about the idea that professional sports is a distraction to our society. The amount of attention, money, and energy spent on the professional games is distracting society from the real problems and issues. As I get older, I am less into sports, but still keep a rooting interest and listen to podcasts while running or doing household chores and watch highlights of games. I think doing sports is very beneficial for children but too much of following of the games and wasted time in front of the TV is bad.

The kids had a blast climbing the walls and running around the arena. There was no blood spilled in our gladiator spectacle and we declared the fight a draw.

Weekend Journal

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Ollie and Owen, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We had a nice two days as a family. It was busy with birthday parties and we took the kids to three of them in the two-day span. The last was a disco party at the Continental Hotel that Owen and Oliver really enjoyed.

Above is a video of Owen and Ollie playing catch in front of the Kalamegdan Fort. We were killing time before picking up Ocean and Mom from a party. It was the first cool weather we’ve experienced this fall and the grey skies and coldish breeze felt invigorating.

Below is a photo of some apartment blocks (Blok 23) in New Belgrade. New Belgrade is the result of a planned city by Tito’s Communisty Party. It creates a fascinating and unique landscape and vibe. I found an excellent scholarly work on New Belgrade by an English professor. I am definitely going to blog more about part of Belgrade on the other side of the Sava River.

Serbia Ties Italy

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Last night we attended the Serbia versus Italy in a Euro Cup Qualifying Match at Red Star Stadium here in Belgrade. It was exciting to see one of the greatest soccer teams in the world, Italy, live with great seats at almost mid-field. It was an entertaining game but Serbia only managed a 1-1 tie. The extra point did help however as next week is the final round of group play. The Serbians are 2 points below Estonia and in third place. They play at Slovenija Tuesday and have to win to get second place in the group. The second place team then enters a playoff. The Euro Cup is this summer and hosted by Ukraine and Poland and it would be nice to have Serbia in the competition.

The stadium had a great atmosphere, but Italy quieted the crowd with a goal in the second minute of play. The Serbs fought back however, and with aggressive play, got an equalizer mid-way through the second half. They continued to play hard in the second half, but Italy shut them down and dominated the last 20 minutes. Serbia had no options but long passes to their 6-8 forward, Nikola Žigić. I can see why the Italians are so powerful, Serbia desperately needed a goal to secure the second place finish, but they couldn’t do anything.

Best of luck to the Serbs as they take on their former countrymates in Ljubljiana. I would like to thank Eric and Luiz for the tickets.

Marakana!!!!!! Srbjia Navija!!!!

Oliver’s Presentation

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Oliver is pictured above with his buddies Oskar and Mihailo at the “Who We Are” Museum. The students were as to make posters and bring objects that were important to them. Oliver brought in his shark stuffed animal, a painting (in front of him) and you can see one of his posters in the background.

The little guy did a good job of typing captions for all of the photos and explaining what was important to him. The first graders had two tables of toys and it really brought home how important toys are to 6 and 7 year olds.

Baseball

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Ollie & Owen, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Oliver is pitching to Owen in the entrance road to our apartment building yesterday morning. Both of the boys are practicing baseball as part of the school’s after school activity program. They are also following the Tiger’s run in the MLB baseball playoffs. The Tigers have Game 5 tonight in NY against the Yankees. They have to win to move on to the American League Championship Series. I am worried about the Yankees $200 million payroll of hitters, but with one game, anything can happen.

I feel good about passing my interest of baseball to my children.

Weekend Fun

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The sunny warm weather continues here in Belgrade and we took advantage of the weather to have a sporty weekend. We are pictured above at the Lokomotiv Tennis Club in the industrial suburb of Želiznik. We invited our friend Nemanja to play and had a great family outing.

On Saturday we went to Ocean’s School picnic and to her friend Mark’s birthday party. We wrapped the day up with a nice dinner at our house with our friends, the Fureiras. We used the balcony in our apartment for the first time. On Sunday we ran down at Ada Ciganlja and I played soccer, baseball, and basketball with Owen and Ollie. We then finished the day with the tennis and a pizza at Brodic. A really nice weekend with perfect weather – I hope it continues being warm and sunny.
Ocean and Owen at the INSB Picnic

Kralovec Boys Join New Soccer Club

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In an explosive European Soccer Transfer, Owen and Oliver Kralovec moved from the Atacante Soccer Club to Poscico “Little Posco” Club. The 3,000 RSD move was announced this week at a Press Conference at the Kralovec Apartment in Dedinje.
The headline is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but we did put the boys in a new soccer school. The club is closer to our home and the times are more convenient. The club is owned by former Serbian professional soccer player, Rade Bogdanović, who has quite a story as you can see on his wikipedia page. He is a really nice guy who actually helps out at the trainings. Owen is flourishing at the practices because he is the oldest member of the club. Oliver is also much more focused this year and a heck of a player, although he is struggling with the team play. He demonstrates much more abilty in the back yard where he has the freedom of movement. I’ll be blogging more about the club as the season progresses. The facilities are great, reasonable costs, and good coaching. I highly recommend it.

Ocean Turns Four

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Monday we celebrated Ocean’s fourth birthday as a family. She had a party at school and then we had a small celebration at home. I didn’t go back into work after returning from Vilnius that day and spent a bit of extra time with her. She had a great day and loved her presents. The kids are into legos right now, so most of the gifts had something you could build with. She also got a couple of Barbie ponies.

It is amazing how fast she is growing up. When we first came to Belgrade, she was just a baby. Now she is going to school and is such a sweet little girl.

Of course Oliver had to pull the jealous brother routine as you can see from the photo below. Congratulations to Ocean and Mama!

KGB In LIthuania

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I visited the Museum of Genocide Victims in Vilnius, Lithuania last week and really learned a lot. Above is a photo of Lithuanian Resistance Fighters in the cold woods of Lithuania. They first fought against the Nazis and then the Soviets, and continued fighting for 20 years after World War II ended! They were waiting for the Allies to come and take on the Russians, but they eventually lost hope and were either killed or escaped to the west.

What happened to the Lithuanian people last century is tragic and the museum documents many aspects of it. Stalin might be worse than Hitler. He exiled whole families to remote work camps in Siberia. Those were the lucky ones that were not executed. There are many stories of families trying to stay together in those harsh conditions.

The building is where the Gestapo and then eventually KGB were headquartered. I took the tour of the cells and execution room. What a horrible feeling that would have been to be carried away in the middle of the night and locked away in the basement of the secret police. One of the cells in particular struck me. As you can see below, there is a small, metal pedastel in the center of the cell. The floor was flooded with water and the prisoner’s only dry area was that little space. What cruel bastards they were!

It was strange to see eventually that Lithuanians replaced the Russians as KGB officers. I can imagine the effect of all those conspirators, informants, and spies on a society. It will take probably as long as the communist regime was in power to take away the effects of mistrust and hate sown in the people and structures. I can see why the Lithuanians are very closed and withdrawn to foreigners today.

It was a moving and informational experience and I highly recommend a visit if you are in Vilnius.

A real Molotov Cocktail

Bill’s Take on Lithuania

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Central Square in Vilnius, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

I’ve been in Vilnius, Lithuania for the past several days attending the CEESA Secondary Principals’ and Athletic Directors’ Conference. Due to the few flights leaving Belgrade, we had a couple of extra days in the city. This is my second visit to Vilnius and I got to know the city and culture better. Below are my thoughts.

Lithuania is where the Baltic States meet the Slavic world. The Poles and Lithuanians have a long history together and undoubtedly had a profound influence on each other. The languages however, are much different. Lithuanian is an ancient language which is related to Sanskrit of all things. It is one of the most difficult languages to learn.

Vilnius does have a beautiful, historic old city. We stayed in the heart of it and walked around the tiny streets, admiring the ornate architecture and quaint plazas. The Lithuanians are much more reserved than the Serbs. They are just as tall however, and they are a good looking, thin, race of people like the Serbs, although with blue eyes. Basketball is very popular here, dating back to before World War II. I wonder how it got started?

Basketball is King in LIthuania

The highlight of my trip beside the gorgeous walks around the city and a round of golf, was the trip to the Genocide Museum. The museum is housed in the former headquarters of both the Gestapo and KGB and documents their activities in Lithuania. The Soviets were very cruel to the Lithanians, deporting entire families to Siberia. I can’t imagine the impact of the war and two invading armies (Red Army and Nazis) on Lithuanian society. The Russians and eventually Lithuanian communist party members controlled society through informants and spies. It must have been horrible to live with that. The most impacting for me was the basement cells and interrogation rooms. The amount of suffering, fear, and sadness that passed down there! Tragic! I don’t understand why the Russians would want to basically occupy and enslave the Lithuanians. I also can’t believe that only 20 years ago, it was Lithuania S.S.R. and not an independent nation. It has come a long way and they are making stronger relations with their fellow Baltic countries and other north eastern European nations.

Birdie Putt

Achoo Vilnius!