Owen, Ollie and I are playing our version of the World Cup in the back yard. We make a 32-team knockout version of the World Cup, similar to the college basketball championships. Each night we play a game. In photo, Owen holds the Algerian flag, who played the opening game against the USA. Ollie is holding the brackets. It is usually Oliver and I against Owen. Ollie getting quite good!
We are also collecting the Panini World Cup stickers, although with over 600 stickers to complete the album and the only option to buy packs of 4 at a time, I don’t think we’ll complete it. The boys are learning about the world and soccer and we are having a good time.
When I was visiting Estonia earlier this spring, I picked up a copy of one of the most famous Estonian writers, Jaan Kross. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize several times and received numerous awards. He passed away in 2007.
The Czar's Madman
“The Czar’s Madman” is work of historical fiction and it is set in 1800’s Estonia. It is the story of a Livonian noble, Timo Von Bock, who suffers from a slight mental illness. The Livonians are Germans who ruled over the peasant Estonians. At this time, Estonia was ruled by Russia and the Czar is friends with the aristocratic Von Bock. Von Bock writes a letter criticizing the Czar and ends up in prison for nine years. He married an Estonian peasant girl and the book is set in a journal format of the girl’s brother. The book follows the family into the next generation and was an exciting read.
The book helped me understand the plight of the Estonians and small ethnic groups in as a whole. The Estonians have been subjugated by larger groups for most of their existence and were treated as second class citizens. I am amazed that the language and identity survived. I wonder what effect that has on today’s Estonians. Is that why they are so quiet? The book was published in 1978 and it is a metaphor also, of the domination of Soviets. Kross really did his research and the book mirrors actual events with Kross, fleshing out the details and plot twists for us. Not only is it a good story, but it has insights on human nature and the brittle nature of life changes.
The biggest game for me this weekend was Sunday’s FK Atacante taking on FK Tempo. My son Owen plays for Atacante and he made his debut yesterday. He started the game very tentative and when the coach told him to play left defensive back, he stayed out too wide and did not get into the game. I was instructing him from the sidelines and he told me not to tell him everything to do. The second time in, he played much more aggressively and did very well. I learned the lesson to film his play and discuss afterwards or find a quiet time instead of shouting during the game.
They lost but the kids had a good time. Oliver played with Mihailo and Ocean kept diving into my arms. It was a great morning and the highlight of my weekend.
I have plenty of video and photos from the game on my flickr.com account.
Yesterday a group of us attended the Eternal Derby – the soccer game between the two biggest clubs in Serbian soccer. The game between Red Star and Partizan decided this season’s champion of the Jelen Beer Super Liga. Coming into the game, Partizan was 1 point ahead of Red Star atop the table with 2 rounds left in the season. There was a capacity crowd at the game and as you can see in the video, there is no stadium atmosphere like it in the world. Sadly, Partizan dominated play and won a 1-0 victory to most likely, ensure another championship. They looked faster and in better shape than Red Star, who was playing defense most of the game. I say sadly because I am a Red Star supporter. Red Star can take consolation with their victory earlier this week in the Lav Beer, Serbian Cup. The Cup is the knockout tourney that occurs simultaneously as the regular season. Red Star is in rough shape financially as are all of the teams in the Serbian league. The country is too small to have a quality league. I wish they could do the same as basketball, and form a regional league with the countries of the Yugoslavia.
The fans are fanatical, and it made the game better with all of the singing, flags, large banners, and fireworks. I don’t understand the passion however.
I enjoyed the game with my friends, a special thanks to Dan for getting us the tickets!
We really enjoyed the wedding we attended last weekend. Balkan cultures have similar traits and the party reminded us of the 2002 film, My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Bojana’s family really treated us well and we ate and drank to the point of bursting. It was a great atmosphere and the Montenegrins really know how to have a good time. There were shots of rakija as toasts and lots of dancing. The party carried on well into the night.
We were made to feel as part of the family and it was an honor to be treated so well. Nadia enjoyed the pork and the lamb melted in my mouth. It really was different from a North American or Australian wedding. We are very subdued compared to the Balkan cultures. It is more Latino than American. We want to thank Bojan and Bojana for their hospitality – it was an experience we’ll never forget.
The city of Pljevlja, just across the border of Serbia in neighboring Montenegro, reminded me of the Višegrad of the Ivo Andric’ novel, “Bridge over the River Drina.” We visited the city over the Labor Day weekend attending a friend’s wedding. It is the third largest city in Montenegro and is located in a wild, beautiful region of canyons, rivers, and forests.
There was a relaxed, dusty feel to the city. Most impressive were the two Islamic minarets and the old Ottoman cemetery next to our hotel. The Ottoman Turks ruled Pljevlja for centuries and these are their legacy. There name for it Taslidža, which referred to the rocky landscape. Owen thought the country should be called Rock Negro, as they are everywhere. In Andric’s novel, the novel starts in the Ottoman times and ends with the arrival of the Austrians to the dusty river town of Višegrad. Pljevlja felt like that city after the Austrians had left. We visited the large Hussein Pasha’s mosque which dates back to 1569. It had been beautifully restored, but looked abandoned with uncut grass and a street dog sleeping on the front steps. The old Ottoman cemetery next to our hotel also had very long grass and looked like no one ever visited it.
The city today is mostly ethnically Serbian, politically Montenegrin, and it looks Bosnian. It sounds like it should be part of Yugoslavia with this mix.
The renovated but empty - Husein Pasha's Mosque
This is my favorite part of the Balkans, the region of Tara as I call it. It encompasses the Tara River and has snow-capped mountains, river canyons, pine forests, and lots of wildlife. So far we visited Mokra Gora in Serbia and now Durmitor and the Pljevlja municipality. I hope to explore Tara more.
This past weekend we took advantage of Monday’s Labor Day holiday and visited Serbia’s neighbor, Montenegro. We went for my assistant’s wedding. On the first night, we stayed near the Durmitor National Park. This is a mountainous area in the far north of the country. The scenery reminded me of my time in the Rockies. It was a nice day so we decided to hike around Black Lake (jezero crno) which was about 1 kilometer from the town of Zabljak. The lake was full of frogs and there were several trout fishermen. The kids enjoyed catching the frogs and exploring the nearby forests and streams. There were many small waterfalls with spring run-off and it was a challenge to get the family through the streams around the lake.
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Owen Catches His First Frog
The area was used in World War II by Tito’s Partisan’s to evade and attack the Nazis and Italians. There were several monuments to the places of significance in the Resistance. The park is a long, 6 hour drive from Belgrade, but I thought well worth the views and fresh mountain air.
The land near the Tara River that encompasses southern Serbia, eastern Bosnia, and northern Montenegro is my favorite place so far in the Balkans. Our visit here as well as last fall’s trip to Mokra Gora, has whetted my appetite to explore the region more. You can visit my flickr photo site to see more of the photos of the trip.
I found this old picture of Oliver. He turned 5 yesterday and we celebrated with a party at school, a dinner at a restaurant of his choice, and he went to the store and chose a gift.
We reminisced on that frightful night 5 years ago when he was born. He was a month early and our doctor was not in town. Nadia ended up giving birth by emergency c-section in a clinic we never heard of before that night. We are thankful everything went well and today, we cherish our wonderful Ollie, who has brought so much joy, exasperation, and laughter to our lives. Happy Birthday Oliver. We love you!!!!!!!!
This weekend the second annual Serbia Open begins with qualifying rounds. It is an official stop on the ATP tour. The tourney is a minor event, as it is used by the players as a warm-up to the culmination of the clay court season, the French Open. It is squeezed between the Grand Slam French Open, and two Masters Series events, the clay court tourneys in Monte Carlo and Rome. Because of the length of the ATP season and the other events occuring simultaneously, most of the top players skip it.
I called it last year the Novak Djokovic Open and it looks to be the same this year. The field does look a bit stronger and there are a couple of players that could possibly stop Novak from defending his title. The top-ranked player after Novak is ATP #22 Tommy Robredo, who has eight clay court titles in his career. USA players John Isner and Sam Querrey will be playing. I guess those guys enjoyed Serbia for the Davis Cup and wanted to come back. There are a few other names I recognize in the draw, Ivo Karlovic, the 6-10 Croat, Frenchman Richard Gasquet, and of course, the other ranked Serbian players.
Djokovic this weekend is playing the quarterfinals in the Rome Masters series. He takes on Fernando Verdasco today. He is an emotional, inconsistent player so you never know how he will do. He is very patriotic and loves playing at home and will be tough to beat. I have a feeling however, that someone will manage to upset him and ruin the party. I hope to take the family to one of the games. We went to the finals last year but I’ll try for one of the earlier rounds this year. We shall see if Novak can do it again. I enjoyed watching big John Isner play in the Davis Cup last month and I hope he can advance far into the tourney.
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