Hike in Fruska Gora National Park

billkralovec

Last Sunday the ISB Hiking club went on our first hike of the spring season. We left from the village of Bukovac in the Fruska Gora National Park. This is an area of small hills outside of Novi Sad. Owen is pictured with his friend Ognjen at a cross at Vilina Voda (Nymph’s Spring) where we stopped to fill our water bottles. We were walking through the rolling hill woodlands of the park. They are not huge mountains or anything super impressive, but just really pleasant on a beautiful spring day.You can see my Serbian nature blog for some of the wild flowers and animals we photographed.

I was surprised on how much the boys remember from our previous hikes and camping experiences. The fresh air, tall trees, and green life really refreshes my soul. It reinforced my goal of developing an appreciation and longing for wilderness in my children. Below the I showed the boys “wigglers” or larval mosquitos. There were thousands of them in a small pool on the base of a tree. It led to a discussion of DDT and poisons in the environment. They are catching my enthusiasm for identifying plants and animals.

Family Journal: Backyard BBQ

billkralovec

Our landlord put in a new BBQ oven in our back yard. We’ve been spending more time outside since the weather has improved and we’re loving the “mini-šuma” (forest in Serbian) the extra space has given us.

The black worm-shaped objects on the ground are the flowers of the Walnut Tree (Juglans regia). It is a very common tree in Belgrade. In Serbian it is known as the orah and besides collection of the nuts, the Serbs make a nice rakija (distilled spirit) with them. It is one of my favorites, along with the honey spirit.

We hope to use the BBQ although I am not that big of a “griller.” I still consider it cooking, even though in popular culture men brag about their BBQ skills. I think women encourage it because they like to see the men cook! I do have pyromaniac tendencies however, and do enjoy the fire aspect of it. I’ll try to get better this spring just because I like being outside more than in the house.

I’ve finished quite a few books lately but have not had time to blog about them. My most recent was “Blood River: A Journey to the Broken Heart of Africa” by Tim Butcher. He is an English journalist who tries to retrace the steps of the famous British explorer, Henry Stanley of “Dr. Livingstone, I presume” fame, and his mapping of the Congo River. It was an interesting book as he mixed Congo history and culture with his travels through the country. Butcher does not give a nice picture of the country. Since the Belgians left in the 1950’s, it has deteriorated to the point of going back to the stone age. Where there were roads, industry, and hotel resorts, there are no foot paths, thatch huts, and misery. It made me sad and angry that in these modern times, there are societies that live like this. Butcher gave the impression, especially in the rural areas, of being the most dangerous and backwards country in the world.

I’ve been extremely busy at work with the end of the school year rush. There is so much going on and with a construction project on our campus, it just complicates things even more. I hope to maintain my balance of family and work and health during the run up to June 21rst.

Great Night Out!

billkralovec

We had a rare evening out this past Monday in Belgrade. We had tickets to the Shakira concert at the Belgrade Arena, so we decided to go out to dinner first after work.

I finally got to enjoy one of the “splavs” in Zemun. These are the floating restaurants, bars, and cafes that are moored along the banks of the Danube in the suburb of Zemun. It was quite peaceful and elegant to be having a dinner and drinks with the Danube slowly flowing by. We ate at Žabar’s, which is a nickname for Italians here in Serbia as well as žaba which means frog. My buddy Claudiu and I had the fish while Nadia and Vesna had the turkey. Excellent meal and cool atmosphere – I highly recommend it. We are pictured out front of the restaurant and you can see the river in the background. You can go to my flickr.com account for more photos. I definitely be back to the splavs again, as there are many in Belgrade.

Shakira Performs at the Belgrade Arena

The concert was pretty good. I am surprised at the appeal to a wide range of ages Shakira has. Her costumes and dancing were quite racy. I have a special bond with Shakira because I lived in her hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia when I first started teaching overseas. She didn’t play any of her old stuff, but she did sing the words, “Barranquilla” during one of her songs, but I don’t think many in the audience caught it. I was pumped to here the World Cup song, “Waka waka hey hey – This time it is for Africa” and I’ll post the video a bit later. I wouldn’t go see her again. I think she was lip-synching some of the songs and I got bored of watching her belly dance. Maybe I’m getting old…

My Neighborhood: The Presidential Residence in Dedinje

billkralovec
Presidential Motorcade, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Our little street in Dedinje serves as one of the entry/exits for the President of Serbia. The official residence is just down the block from our apartment and has several entrance routes. One of them is also our street and as you can see from above, secret service guys in black Mercedes occasionally come through with the President.
The residence is not like the White House in the US, where it is also an office and tourist attraction. The President works downtown near Parliament. The home is set back from the street quite away and with the high walls and trees it is difficult to see from the road. It is not the same Presidential residence that was used in the 90’s by Milosevic, which I blogged about earlier.
It is not like having Barak Obama living down the street. Serbia is a much smaller country than the US and people are generally not awed by the celebrity of the office. It is a bit annoying because of my children use the street for riding their bikes and skateboards. The motorcade sometimes comes out of there quite quickly, like they are on an emergency escape.

Billy Kralovec – circa 1972?

billkralovec
Memories, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We went to the US Commissary in the Embassy last weekend and bought some US processed cereals for the kids. We usually have pancakes, eggs, or porridge and not cold cereal. Growing up in the 1970’s, my brothers and I ate a lot of processed cereals. My favorite was Cocoa Puffs, and I also fondly remember eating Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Count Chocula, Booberry, Cheerios, etc. People seem to have more of a health conscious today and are eating less processed foods, but in the 70’s, it was acceptable.

When Oliver asked for his second bowl and started reading the box while slurping his Cheerios, I had to laugh. It looked just like me over 30 years ago.

Belgrade’s Cultural Opportunities

billkralovec
Belgrade Philharmonic Performs “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Mussorgsky, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

It is one of the things I most appreciate about life in Belgrade are the boundless opportunities to enjoy the fine arts and cultural and intellectual stimulation. Belgrade is a city with high percentage of “cultural elite.” There are loads of book stores, lectures, art exhibitions, music concerts, theater, etc. that one can experience.

Last weekend we attended a performance of the Belgrade Philharmonic. Nadia and I are season ticket holders and I’ve blogged on them before. The video above is a snippet of the Russian composer, Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” It was originally a piano piece, but Ravel expanded it to an orchestral work. While listening, I couldn’t remember where I heard it before. Nadia reminded me of the “Baby Einstein” video series. Yes! Mussorgsky wrote it shortly after the death of a good artistic friend. He went to an exhibition of his works and was inspired to write this piece1874.

Last night I convinced Nadia to go see a film in the International Documentary Film Festival, “Bel Docs 2011.” The documentary film festival features international and Serbian films showing in various locations in the city for the next week. I would love to see many of them as I love documentary films, more so than regular movies. However, with three young children and a busy job, I have to pick and choose my spots. We got a babysitter last night and headed down to the Dom Omladine, one of the venues of the festival. The Dom Omladine, which means “youth center” in Serbian, is a government-owned building in downtown Belgrade that is a “center hat promotes programs for youth in the sphere of contemporary art and culture.” The building has been refurbished and we were impressed with the theater and lobby. I’ve made a link to the website on the blog because they hold many events.

We watched “An African Election” a film by Jarreth Merz. It is about the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana. We have family living there so it was interested to see the life there in Accra. I loved the character of Jerry Rawlings, who was the long-time dictator and president of Ghana. He ruled 12 years as a military dictator (’81-’92) and  another 8 years (’93-’01) as the elected president. His party lost power peacefully in ’01 and it was nice to hear of a change in power in Africa without violence. I won’t spoil the film’s ending, but his party ran again in 2008 and he played a big part in the campaign again.

I’ve always been interested in the lives of dictators. In the countries I’ve lived in or visited, there always seems to be a historical figure who ruled the country for a long time. It would make a great book – comparing the lives of various strongmen in different countries. I would have a section for how many people they killed, jailed, exiled, along with subjective biographies looking at things that are not usually covered in standard histories.

Skateboard Fever Hits the Kralovec Boys

billkralovec

New Belgrade Skate Park, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We are entering a new stage in the life of the boys. Owen has become interested in skateboarding. He goes out just about every night to skateboard down our street. He is shown above at the New Belgrade Skate Park. I took the boys over there during the Spring Break holiday. We had a wonderful afternoon of biking through Friendship Park and then boarding at the skate park. If you go to my flickr account, you can see videos of the boys in action.

Oliver is shown below. He always tries to keep up with his older brother. Ollie is getting quite good with the bicycle. He is almost ready to ride to school with us. A couple of more weeks of practice and he’ll be on his way. Ollie is not yet ready for the skateboard as you can see.

Ocean is also getting into the act with her tricycle and no-pedal bike. She always asks me to carry her bike back up the hill on the street near our apartment. She then races next to me up the hill.

The only issue with our street is dodging the secret service vehicles leaving from the back entrance of the Serbian President’s residence. They come out of there like there is an emergency of national concern every time.

Weather has taken a turn for the cool side. It felt like winter yesterday.

Happy Birthday Oliver!

billkralovec

Oliver’s Birthday Party, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

We celebrated Oliver’s Sixth Birthday on Saturday. Below is the video of us singing happy birthday and Oliver showing off his birthday gifts. The little guy is so cute! He loved his “spiked” soccer shoes, bicycle, and set of plastic army men.

Visit to the Karadjordjevic Family Mausoleum

billkralovec

St. George’s Church, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

In the spirit of Britian’s Royal wedding this week, we visited the Serbian royal family’s Mausoleum and museum complex in the small town of Topola, Serbia. Topola means “poplar tree” in Serbian and is located in the heart of Šumadija, the forested center of Serbia. This is the place where the founder of the Serbian Royal Family,  (Karadjordjevic), the famous “Black George,” started the first uprising against the Ottoman Turks in 1804.

A later descendent of Black George, King Petar I, began construction of a church in 1910.  The project was interrupted by World War I, and he died before it could be finished. His heir, King Alexander II, oversaw its completion. The church was dedicated to St. George in 1930. The church is on the peak of a small hill called Openlac near the original homestead of Black George. Masses were held there until 1947, when the Yugoslav government declared it a cultural landmark. Underneath the church is the Karadjordjevic family mausoleum. There are 19 members of the royal family buried there, including Black George himself.

It is an amazing building! There are 725 mosaics on the walls with a surface area of 3,500 square meters. The 40 million pieces provide the whole continuum of color, and the scenes depict either Bible stories or Serbian history. We were in awe walking through the place, with light striking at different angles. I highly recommend visiting the church.

The area surrounding the church is also beautiful and a perfect place for a picnic. Openlac in Serbian means the wooden pieces of carts. The wooded hill was used for centuries for wood collection by the locals. It is all preserved, including the vineyards of the royal family. It makes an ideal day trip from Belgrade. We also made the obligatory stop at the Aleksandrovic Winery, located 5 kilometers south of Topola. We tasted and purchased some of their wines, although we were a bit disappointed in the higher costs of the bottles. They used to be half the price of what you could buy in the supermarket in Belgrade. They are now 2-3 Euros cheaper and not worth the drive.

Ric Elias: 3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed

billkralovec

I was truly inspired after watching this short video by Ric Elias. He was in the front row of the plane that crash landed in the Hudson River, New York a few years ago.

The three points he makes in this talk were as follows:

  • Have a sense of urgency on what you want to do in life. “It can all change in an instant.”
  • Eliminate negativity from your life. Your main mission should be to be happy and spread that to others.
  • Be the best father you can be!

Yesterday I also listened to a podcast interview on the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) with Paul Cox, an Australian filmmaker. He survived cancer with a literally last-minute liver transplant. Both Paul and Ric’s near death experiences brought out much of the same feelings. The possible ending of their lives, brought to the forefront, the beauty of life and instead of religious feelings, feelings of sadness at the loss of being able to experience life. It is the daily small things that we have to appreciate. I agree with Paul – believe in the clouds,  family, friends, trees, etc. How wonderful life is!