Košava Winds

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Đerdap National Park, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

The past two days here in the Belgrade the famous Košava winds have been blowing through the city. The winds are caused by a air pressure gradient between the Adriatic Sea (low air pressure) and southern Russia (high air pressure). Air moves from high pressure to the low pressure. In between Russia and the Adriatic are the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. Above is a photo of the southern Carpathians that form a steep gorge on the Danube River. It is the famous Đerdap National Park, or Iron Gates. It is about an hour’s drive from Belgrade. As the air moves from Russia westward towards the Adriatic, it is funneled through this gorge. On the other side of this gorge is Belgrade.

I can sure feel when the Košava is blowing! It is good that they clean out the city of pollution. They are bad in that they significantly lower the temperature in the non-summer months, especially winter.

When I took this photo in 2009, I was only admiring the beauty of the park. Now I realize that it causes a focus and acceleration of the cold northerly wind known as the Košava.

The locals claim it either blows for 1,3,5 days and they all believe it. It sounds like superstition as it doesn’t make sense for the cause of the winds, massive air pressure systems, to move out of the area in increments of an odd number of days. If a meteorologist can give me some background on this, I would appreciate it.

So far this time, it is the third day as I write this. The Košava is strongest in the morning, so I’ll see if this is the last day it blows.

Yugoslavia’s Alcatraz

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Update February 3, 2014 – A list of 16,101 prisoners who were at Goli Otok from 1949-1956 was released on a Croatian website this week. It listed 413 people that died while serving time on the island from 1949 – 1956. 

The death of Momar Ghadafi last week has me thinking of dictators. His 42-year reign did not end well with “rebels” finding him in a storm sewer under a road and beating him and then executing him. This is much different than here in Serbia with the end of their Yugoslavian Dictator, Tito. His 37-year reign ended with a state funeral and honors. Many still regard him as hero, not only for his exploits in World War II, but also for keeping Yugoslavia together and more prosperous than its Warsaw Pact neighbors. Does he qualify as a dictator?

For anyone to keep power that long however you want to look at his time as Prime Minister/President. Tito did have his repressive measures to keep control. During my trip to the Adriatic last week, I read the book, “Goli Otok: Hell in the Adriatic” by Josip Zoretic. Goli Otok is an island off the coast of Croatia that for many years during the Communist period of Yugoslavia was a prison for political dissenters and for ordinary criminals. It is notorious for the harshness of the conditions for prisoners.The book is written by Zoretic, a Croatian born in Slovenija, who served 7 years on the island from 1962-1969. He was sent to “barren island” as it is translated to English for fleeing Yugoslavia. (note- Please help me Serbian readers, I learned that the word for island was “ostrvo”, why “otok?”

Zoretic was captured in Austria and sent back. He writes in the book that he fled the country because he could not find a job. According to him, his father refused to join the Partizan army during the World War II resistance. He also didn’t join the Chetniks, the other resistance group. Zoretic’s father was executed and tossed into an infamous deep cavern called “Jazovka” near the Slovenian and Croatian border. He was one of the lucky ones, because many Croatians taken there by the Partizans were tossed in alive, only to die slowly hundreds of meters below the earth on the remains of the dead. Zoretic didn’t know the full background of the story if his father was a collaborator with the Ustaše or just an ordinary civilian who didn’t want to participate on any side in the conflict. Recall that the Ustase were the Croatian Nazi collaborators in World War II.

Because of his father’s background, Zoretic couldn’t start a career and find jobs or enter training programs in the Partizan-controlled Yugoslavia. Talk about suffering for the sins of your father. He eventually got to leave Yugoslavia after serving out his sentence.  He wrote the book while in exile in Canada and I read where his son is raising money to produce a film based on the book.

The photo above is not the island of Goli Otok, but of Lokrum Island, located just off the coast of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is a similar island and we visited Dubrovnik last year. It will give the reader a sense of what the place looked like.We didn’t get over to visit the island, which I don’t think is a tourist attraction. It would be good to restore the island. It is not as famous as the American island prison Alcatraz. Unlike Alcatraz, prisoners occasionally escaped but it was dangerous and difficult. I hope they do preserve the island as it has been left to ruin and an important part of history is being forgotten.

The book was an engaging read, as Zoretic described daily life in the prison. I was a bit put off by his “Greater Serbia” conspiracy theory. The Secret Police Chief under Tito at the time was a Serbian named Aleksander Ranković. He was the top Serb in Tito’s regime and was accused by the author of unfairly favoring Serbs when it came to sentencing.The guards were quite sadistic and cruel and I don’t understand how anyone could act that way towards another human being. Zoretic mentioned that some of them after leaving employment on the island were attacked on the mainland because people heard of the conditions on the island.

Goli Otok is a sad chapter in the history of Yugoslavia. It is a reminder to us all that humans can treat each other cruelly and the opression of the Tito-led communist Yugoslavia. I recommend the book anyone interested in learning more about Yugoslavia.

Family Trip to the Istria Peninsula

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The family is pictured above on our street in Rovinj, Croatia. We stayed in the old city in the ancient city of Rovinj, on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. It is about a 6 hour drive from Belgrade. The Croatian coast is magnificent and reminds me of my graduate study in Mallorca, Spain. The European Mediterranean has a special feel with the architecture, light, sea, and culture. It is such a relaxing holiday destination.

The kids loved the concept of the walled city. The apartment we rented was once part of the fortifications and our back yard was the Adriatic. We were throwing pieces of bread to the seagulls right out of our window. There is something to be said about walking to the market from the apartment, buying fresh bread and cheese, while a Hemmingway-esque fisherman is having a glass of wine and cigarette at 8:00 AM next to you.

Nadia loved the shopping in the little shops and everywhere you turned, there were postcard views and quaint little corners and streets. Magnificent!!!!!

Enjoying the Tastes of Istria

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We went to the truffle capital of Istria, the village of Lipave, the hometown of Giancarlo Zigante, who ten years ago discovered the world’s largest truffle. He went on to start a truffle company and we went to the Truffle Festival last weekend. The entire area is now famous for truffles.

Truffles are mushrooms that grow underground on or near the roots of trees. They have a very strong odor and are found with the help of trained dogs. They are also one of the most expensive foods in the world and we wanted to see what the big fuss was all about.

We went to Zigante’s Restaurant try it for ourself. The truffle expert in the restaurant, shown above letting Nadia smell the truffle, was explaining that his trained nose can discern when a truffle is “interesting” and ready to be served. Truffles are kind of like wine, a palette of great adjectives is all you need. He selected a white truffle (shown below) and brought it over to our table. He sliced the truffle into thin pieces over our dishes with a special truffle “slicer.” They are served raw lightly over the dish. The guy said simple dishes are best to eat with truffles so the taste can come out. I had noodles with cheese plate and Nadia had pumpkin ravioli.

What did the truffles taste like? I thought it was like a strong, pungent, taste and smell, kind of cheesy or like garlic. Nadia and I both agreed that it wasn’t worth the cost and we don’t see why this mushroom is so sought after. I wouldn’t have them again.

We did enjoy sampling and buying the local wines that were also at the festival. We bought several bottles of the Istria grape varieties, the Malvazija (white) and Teran (red), and both were very palatable. I would especially recommend the “Ana Antonija Teran 2010, from the Benazic Winery. The prices were great, too. Owen and Oliver loved the glass rinsing machine that we used between sampling the many wines on display.

Nadia with her two little wine helpers

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