Family Journal: Surprise Snow in Belgrade

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Video of “Grumpy” Morning Walk, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Yesterday morning we awoke to a winter wonderland. We had a wet snow overnight. Everyone is looking forward to spring and the recent warm weather had me watching my tulips. Instead, winter gave us one last show. I am a morning person and as you can see by the video above, am the only one who was happy. Our car came back from the shop yesterday afternoon so we had one last walk to snow.

That is one of the nice things about working at an international school. The school maintenance department took care of all of the car repair. They found a good mechanic, ordered a tow truck, explained everything, and picked it up. I could concentrate on my work and family, and magically on Friday afternoon, Eidelweiss (we named our car after the sticker on the front hood), was as good as new.

The snow was melting a bit in the afternoon and I think it will be gone by Monday. We cancelled our hike Sunday, so I’ll have a day around the house. It is the big Davis Cup weekend, with Serbia playing the USA. Nadia and I are going to the doubles match today with free tickets from friends. I’ll have a full report.

Unhappy Faces Walking to School

Family Journal: Walking to School

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This week our car has been in the shop and we’ve been forced to walk to school. It is very nice. The boys walk much faster as they are now older and it is easier for us to go. It is also a good family time and we can talk and laugh. When the car comes back today, we might decide to walk instead of ride for now on. The only advantage is that it gives us 10 minutes extra at home. Nadia is shown above on the road to school. Behind them is one of the typical old mansions that fill the neighborhood. 

Monday I took a rare sick day. I had a fever and felt miserable. It was nice to watch Ocean play in the yard with the nanny and later the baby sittter.

Ocean with Ivana in the Yard

Third Place in Sofia, Bulgaria Tourney

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Showing Off the Medals

This weekend the ISB basketball team finished third out of six teams in Sofia, Bulgaria. We were short-handed as you can see with only 7 players making the trip. We also had 4 freshman on the tourney squad. The kids really played well and we lost to the eventual tourney champion in overtime. They played five games in two days. They used the same format as in CEESA events with a running clock, only stopping for free throws and dead balls in the last minute.

We all had a great time. It also gave me a chance to see an old friend from my village in Michigan who lives in Sofia. Overall a fantastic weekend.

Andre Agassi “Open: An Autobiography”

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I finished reading Andre Agassi’s autobiography, “Open” over the weekend. It was the first book I read from start to finish on a Kindle, an electronic book. It was well written with the help of ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer.

I didn’t begin playing and following tennis regularly until Nadia and I moved to Australia in 2000. I only caught the tail end of his long career, but I do remember him from the 90’s.The book is quite complete, starting with growing up in Las Vegas, through his playing career, and finishing with his marriage to Stefanie Graf and building a charter school for poor children in Las Vegas.

He is very honest or “open” with the book and describes the good times as well as his lowest times. I couldn’t relate to having a father so obsessed with something. Andre played so much tennis in his yard with his father. He resented being forced to do this, but where would he be without it? Being a tennis professional brought him so much. I am not going to push my children into any one thing, but I do want them to experience as much as possible and become an outlier at something. I want them to strive to get ahead in life.

The book made me think about professional tennis players and life on the tour. It is funny that these young people travel all over the world, but don’t really get to do the sightseeing because they are so engrossed in tennis. There is a lot of pressure in tennis, it is an intimate sport, almost a dual. I would love for my sons or daughter to have the opportunity to be a professional athlete.

He takes rips at Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, his father among others in the book. One strange omission is not much on his mother. It seems like she was silent and working all the time and didn’t really have much of an influence on him. I would like to hear her, as well as Andre’s siblings points of view.

Adolescence and young adulthood are a difficult time for almost everyone. Tennis players experience this very publically. The book follows his maturation and making peace with himself and finding out what he wants to do in life.

The most controversial part of the book was his drug use and lying to ATP officials. This was the low point of this career and he went on to reach #1 again. It was not a performance-enhancing drug and I don’t see the big deal of admission of taking speed.

The final part of the book that interested me was the entourage. Every player has their people in the box that support the player. Parents, friends, brothers, coaches, trainers, etc. all can be part of teams. Andre really relied on his “team” and spends a lot of the book describing how they helped him.

Andre is a really nice guy and decent human being. Tennis would benefit by having more players like him.

Home Sweet Home

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Owen’s Slalom Run, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

It felt like spring today being back in Belgrade after the cold Austrian Alps. Above is a video of Owen’s silver medal performance in the slalom course of his ski school. We are back in Serbia mode and all looking forward to getting back to school tomorrow.

Below is a photo of Ocean at the train out of the Gastein valley. She loved putting the car on the train.

Holidays Ending

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Go!, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Today we say goodbye to Austria and our Ski Week holiday. It was a lot of fun and we’ll remember the good times we had for long to come. On our final full day in Bad Hofgastein, we returned all of the equipment and prepared the car for the way home. We concentrated on cross-country skiing and Oliver and Owen are shown above starting their third race. Yes, the Kralovec boys are competitive like most brothers. Oliver cried when he lost the second time in a best of 3 competition. They both took to it quite well and it is something we hope to pursue in the future.

Ollie Attempting to buy a pack of Marlboro Lights

It was funny to commonly see cigarette vending machines in Austria. They are pretty much banned in the USA due to age restrictions, only being found in some bars or casinos. The Austrians like most Europeans, smoke more than Americans. The machine above was in the hotel lobby. By the way, the Marlboro Lights are 4.80 Euros which is about $6.50 a pack.

We also took the boys for a haircut. Ollie looks like such a little boy. He was sad yesterday when he dropped his skiing medal down the elevator shaft while exiting. He carried around the medal for two days.

Bill’s Thoughts on Skiing

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I rented skis and spent a day on the mountain with friends. We watched our children’s races and had a day of skiing for ourselves. It was a long time since I went downhill skiing and by the end of the day, I felt more comfortable. The runs in Europe are marked blue for easy, red for intermediate, and black for difficult. We mostly went down red and I could handle them. I did feel a bit out of my league on the steeper reds. On our final run from the top to the bottom, I felt the “buzz” of skiing and really was having a great time. To get to the top, one takes a train, then two chair lifts. We skied all the way down to the ski school for the award ceremony. It is amazing how long the runs are. Being from Michigan, with hills and not mountains, I am always impressed with the length and variety of slopes in the Alps or Rockies.

I am not sure however, if the joy I felt on the slopes outweighs the cost and hassle of skiing. Renting the equipment (36 euros) and a lift pass (50 euros) are crazy expensive. The day felt crowded, as there were lines to get on the train and chairlifts, lines for lunch, and lots of people all around. I think there are too few ski areas for the number of people that want to ski. I prefer the solitude and ease of cross-country skiing. It is also a better workout. Downhill skiing is a nice family day outdoors. Nadia will never downhill ski, however. Owen loves it and Oliver I think will like it once he is a bit older. I am still not sure if we will have a ski holiday in the future. Once again, I don’t think the costs and hassles outweigh the fun. I do have a newfound respect for downhill skiing in the Olympics. The speed they attain is amazing. The Austrians are organized the week of skiing was as easy to organize as it could be. We all received lessons (classic cross country, skate cross country, and downhill) and got on the slopes or trails immediately upon arrival.

My lunch on the mountain was great without kids and the wheat beer and “Jagr Tea” was delicious and motivating for my afternoon ski down.

Kralovec Boys Take Gold and Silver in Austria

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Yesterday was the final day of Ollie and Owen’s ski schools. Oliver is shown above with his gold medal. Each group of students did a timed giant slalom course. There was a big awards ceremony at the ski school to wrap up the week. Both boys were in the Schischule Schlosssalm with the crazy mascot, Bobo der Penguin. Ollie came first in his group and Owen came second in his group. Owen’s slalom course was a real one up the mountain. I love it when the Austrians yell that “yup, yup,yup,yup” when the skier begins the course.

Ollie’s Award Ceremony
I’ll post Owen’s slalom run video later when I get a chance.

Family Holiday Continues

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Tired Papa, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Nadia and I really had a great day together on the cross country ski trails. As you can see, our little “ball & chain” (a cute one however) keeps us both busy so we need to swap watching her so the other can ski. We were doing time trials around the 2.5 kilometer loop near the village. Cross-country skiing is a great workout and fun. We watched the races last night from Vancouver- we have a long way to go to beat them.

Heading up the mountain with Owen this morning as both boys have their races in their respective ski schools.

Ollie is getting good

Europeans Love Their Spas

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A classic Euro photo in the hotel spa sandals and robes. With our hotel stay, we have access to the Alpentherme water park. It has an outdoor pool with views of the Alps, water slides, and a children’s swim area. The kids love it. I like walking through the hotel in robe. They even have a “Sauna World” in the water park and in typical European style, it is complete nude. I haven’t mustered the will to visit that part yet. In the Puritanical USA, this would be scandalous.

View of Bad Hofgastein from slopes above the village

Bad Hofgastein is a small town (around 6,000 inhabitants) near Salzburg. It is a major ski resort area and with all of the 278 connecting ski lifts and 860 kilometers of slopes, it is a skiers paradise. Owen is really taking to skiing and I am going up with him tomorrow. Very pricey however, and a two-day ski pass for Owen and I costs 126 euros (ouch). This is definitely a vacation we won’t be doing alot as it is very expensive. We are having a great time however. Nadia and I did some more cross-country skiing today.