Bill's Blog

The Bridge On The Drina – Ivo Andrić

January 18, 2009October 18, 2009billkralovec

I just finished reading “The Bridge on the Drina” by Bosnian writer, and former long-time Belgrade resident, Ivo Andrić. He won the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature.

UPDATE: I visited the bridge on October 17, 2009. My blog post on the experience is here.

Andrić lived a full life and he is a great example of the idea of Yugoslavia. His parents were Croats from Sarajevo, Bosnia. He spent his childhood in Višegrad, a small town on the border of Serbia and Bosnia. He studied in Sarajevo and Zagreb, Croatia. He was imprisoned during WWI by the Austro-Hungarians as a revolutionary. After the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes gained independence Andrić began a career as a diplomat for the new government. He held posts in Hungary, Austria, Italy, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and finally, in his peak position on the eve of WW II, to Berlin, Germany. All during this time, Andrić was writing and publishing poems, essays, and short stories. When Hitler occupied Poland, he tried to resign, but the Yugoslav government rejected it. When Germany bombed Belgrade in 1941, he retired from the foreign service and lived the rest of his life in Belgrade. During the war, he wrote three novels that would earn him the Nobel Prize. He donated the prize money to build libraries in Bosnia. You can read more about him at Ivo Andric Foundation web site.

I highly recommend the book, “The Bridge on the Drina.” The Drina is a river that separates Bosnia and Serbia. The bridge he refers to in located in the town of Višegrad, Bosnia. The novel is an epic historical fiction beginning in the 1500’s with the construction of the bridge by the Ottoman Turks and ending with its destruction during World War I. I love history and as all good historical fiction does, it brings alive the facts of history. It got me to think more about the legacy of the Ottomans. They had a large empire for many years, but are not that well known or studied in the US. Andrić tells of the Ottoman’s blood sacrifice, in which the Turks would raid Serbian villages and kidnap young Serbian boys to raise them as Turks in Istanbul. He also describes the public “staking” of a man caught vandalizing the bridge during its construction. The Turks were here in Serbia for a long time. As the novel progresses through time, it is good to have a bit of background of Balkan history. Besides the historical stuff, he tells good stories of people and families. My only criticism is he slides into a bit too much of “magic realism” and I got burned out on that by reading Garcia Marquez and other Latino writers.

The picture above is of the Hotel Moscow which I took in August of last year. Ollie is pictured in front of the fountain. A friend tells me it was one of Andric’s favorite hangouts here in Belgrade. I will go visit his museum soon. The apartment where he lived is now a museum and it will give me a better idea of the man and his works, and I will do another post on the visit. I will also most likely read some more by him. I am especially interested in reading his essay on Simon Bolivar. If any of my blog readers have a copy of that, preferably in English (I am now at the stage in my Serbian language development which I call “early caveman” – for example, Danas lepo toplo i kizovo (today very cold and slippery).

Ice Covers Belgrade: January 14, 2009

January 14, 2009January 14, 2009billkralovec

Icy Morning, originally uploaded by bill kralovec.

Nadia struggles to stay on her feet this morning with the boys. We awoke this morning to a layer ice on everything outside. The temperature was hovering around 0C, and it was a mix of rain and ice. We decided to walk to school this morning because of going down the hill to the school. Oliver getting out the door, fell on his butt. We heard many people with slips and falls, and there were many late arrivals to school this morning. Owen loved the slippery streets and skated to school.

I learned a new Serbian word: KLIZAV which means slippery. I’ll be using the word again in conversation tomorrow as the forecast is for the same. Today we discussed procedures for checking the conditions of the roads and contacting our school community. We’ll be testing these tomorrow.

We made it to school albeit a bit late. We held classes as normal. Tonight I am watching the Partizan vs. CSK Moscow EuroLeague basketball game. With a win, Partizan will qualify into the round of 16.

Update: Partizan Wins!!!

Family Journal: Sunday January 11, 2009

January 11, 2009January 11, 2009billkralovec

I spent most of the morning getting ready for school tomorrow. After a late pancake breakfast, we went shopping in the afternoon to Merkator in New Belgrade, at the Kalenica Market, and then a late dinner at Pizza Hut downtown. We developed some photos also to complete Oliver’s and Ocean’s babybooks. We have a case of first child syndrome where are oldest, Owen’s book is chockers with tons of photos and information and then Ollie’s and Ocean’s are a bit sparse. The kids love looking at them and I think it is important that they see their history. Owen loves looking at his baby photos and wants to hear about his birth.

Tonight will be more prep work for tomorrow. It will be another busy semester.

Announcement for Boys’ Basketball: We will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday evening, Thursday, and Friday this week. Times will be announced tomorrow.

I posted the photo above and below for Grandma Kralovec who loves to see her little granddaughter.

Ocean is starting to feel herself again.

Family Journal: Saturday January 10, 2009

January 10, 2009January 10, 2009billkralovec

Great day today! We lounged about in the morning as I made a delicious breakfast of toast and eggs for the kids. We cleaned up around the house while the boys played Wii. I then took Owen and Oliver to the sledding hill. Owen was awesome on the jumps and Ollie liked rolling down the hill. It has been foggy the past few days in Belgrade and the trees are covered as if it was a hoar frost. It is thicker and snow-like and it makes the trees absolutely beautiful. I hope it continues tomorrow and I’ll take some pictures at school.

I had basketball practice in the afternoon. I came home exhausted and I fell asleep while the family was watching the latest Harry Potter movie. We then played a game of Candyland and the kids ran around the house.

Heating Crisis in Serbia

January 10, 2009January 10, 2009billkralovec

Serbia is never boring and one of the reasons I really enjoy living here! This week the dispute between Russian natural gas company Gazprom and Ukraine temporarily cut off gas supplies to Belgrade. I had a couple of parents call me to see if we were to have school on Monday because of this. My friend who manages an internatioanal business in the city said he had to send workers home this week because the office did not have heat. On of the school employees in the business office also had the heat turned off in her building. Several students said their families got electric heaters in case of their gas being shut down.

The school uses oil and was not affected. Our home had heat so we didn’t have to worry either. Serbian officials were working to counteract the shortage of natural gas supplies. Happily the dispute was resolved yesterday and natural gas supplies will soon be back to normal.

Many Belgraders use coal stoves to heat their home. A pile of coal was dumped on the street near the exit of our house. Ned, one of the tenants above us, ordered the load. Yesterday, a worker hauled it up to his apartment. With the rising costs of natural gas and oil, it may be the cheapest way to heat a home. Very few Americans burn coal in their homes, mostly in the Pennsylvania anthracite mining area. My father remembers burning coal as a kid in their home and I’ll have to ask him about it when I call him tomorrow. Back then and in the early days of coal in the home, smoke was a problem. I noticed the odor right away and was wondering what that chemical smell was in the air. My sister-in-law noticed the smell also during her visit, recalling the winter odors of Istanbul where she used to live.

I would assume the stoves in Belgrade are not very modern and use clean technology. Fortunately, not everyone burns with coal and I don’t know the percentage of Belgrade homes and apartments that do. Our neighbor and a couple that lives in our building do however, so we smell it often. It doesn’t bother me. I would like to hear from readers who know more about it. I also can’t identify the types of coal. It probably not is the high quality, hard anthracite coal. Belgrade doesn’t feel polluted and we have clear views to the Sava River from our house.

Family Journal: Thursday January 8th, 2009

January 9, 2009January 10, 2009billkralovec

Belgrade received about 3-4 inches of snow on Thursday morning. We took advantage of the snow and went to Kostunjak Hill. Oliver is shown above in a video of going down on his cool Norwegian toboggan we bought in Slovenia. We invited the Moynihans to come along and we all had a great time! Nadia even went down the hill and made it all the way. She vowed never again to do it, but it is a long winter and we’ll keep working on her. Owen absolutely enjoyed the speed. Oliver was a bit cold because he didn’t have winter boots and the poor guy was with tennis shoes.

Janna loads Ollie in the toboggan while Eve looks on.

Today I worked most of the day at school. We interviewed a teacher candidate via skype. I met with the admissions counselor to discuss the new students for the second semester. In the afternoon, I coached the boys basketball team.

Family Journal: Tuesday January 6, 2009

January 7, 2009January 10, 2009billkralovec

We are enjoying the week off from school. Due to the Serbian Orthodox Christmas being today, we have an additional week of school off. It gives us a chance to do things around the house we have been meaning to do, take care of family paperwork and business, and spend heaps of time together as a family and Nadia and I alone.

Yesterday morning we drove over to New Belgrade and walked along the Sava River until it meets the Danube. As you can see from the photo above, it was coooold! Owen and Oliver enjoyed smashing the ice along the shore of the river. It was sad to see so much garbage caught in the trees and frozen mud. We ran around the park, I identified a new bird (Eurasian Coot), and finally Nadia headed in because of the cold. This is a common theme in our outdoor family excursions.

Ocean is finally feeling herself again. Her appetite is back, her stools are normal, and she is showing her usual level of energy.

View Across the Sava River to Kalmegdan Fortress

Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve

January 7, 2009January 7, 2009billkralovec

Parishioners Gather Collectively Burn the Badnjaks

Yesterday we participated in a Serbian Christmas tradition. The Serbs celebrate Christmas today, January 7th, because they still use Julius Cesear’s originally calendar. It was replaced by the modern Gregorian calendar because the Julian calendar required too many adjustments through the years to keep it accurate. One of the remnants of the old Slavic religion is the custom of the burning of the “badnjak” on Christmas Eve (January 6th).

In earlier times when most Serbs lived in the countryside, the father used to head into the woods and fell a young oak tree. The badnjak was a big log that was then thrown onto the fire in the hearth of the home.Today, most Serbs live in the cities and the tradition has changed a bit. The log (kind of like a yule log) is represented by these thin branches arranged like a bouquet of flowers. They sell them all over the city and that is what first got us interested in the custom. We were wondering, what were these dead leaf arrangements?I took the photo below while we were running errands. We bought a couple and found that attached to the bottom was a plastic bag of sunflower seeds and corn kernels with a ribbon.

A large badnjak market in downtown Belgrade, near the Kalenica Market. — A large "badnjak" market in downtown Belgrade, near the Kalenica Market.

Another change in modern times is the badnjaks are burned collectively in a church yard instead of the family fireplace. Our nanny Vera, invited us to attend the mass and ceremony at the St. Trifun Church located in Topčider Park near our house. It was a bitterly cold night but we managed to get all the kids out. We first lit candles in a little side house next to the church. The bottom shelf where the candles were placed in sand was for souls of the dead and the top shelf for the living. The boys said a short prayer for their all of their grandparents. The church was too full to attend the mass. I was raised Catholic and am very curious to attend an Orthodox service. We did see the interior of the church and it was much different than a Catholic church.

We did join in the procession following the short service. It wound its way around the church and then into the front yard. It was led by the priest and several altar boys and men carrying banners and incense. After a few words, the bales of hay were ignited and people began throwing their badnjaks on the fire. It is supposed to bring health, wealth, happiness, money, etc. in the upcoming year. Owen and Oliver were thrilled with the large fire and the opportunity to throw in their badnjaks. Owen and I hung out by the fire as we are both pyromaniacs. Nadia, Oliver, and Ocean were cold and went straight back to the car.

The ceremony for me had a greater significance than just experience Serbian culture and an Orthodox church ritual. In the old Slavic religion, trees were sacred. The Serbs today hold a great reverence for trees as I do. It harks back to original Slavic religious thought. In burning of the log,it represents a sacrifice to the gods, and the fire also represents sunshine. With today’s temperature of -7 C and icy fog limiting visibility, I can understand the Slavic tribes reliance on the spring sun. I can also imagine what it was like for them before modern heating and home construction.

I facilitated a course last year for a student at my school in Venezuela (Evan Huff). He was interested in Vikings and we did a Teaching Company course on the history of the Vikings. Part of the lectures dealt with Norse religion. It made me wonder what the world and Europe would be like without Christianity. A part of me is disappointed that a Middle Eastern religion conquered the world. It would be interesting to see what would have happened if the Slavs and other peoples of Europe never converted to Christianity. The preferred tree for the badnjak is the Oak Tree, which is strongly associated with the supreme Slavic god, Perun. Perun is similar to the Norse god Thor.

: Saint Trifun Church

Family Journal: Saturday January 3, 2008

January 3, 2009January 3, 2009billkralovec

It is 10:30 PM on Saturday evening as I write this. Nadia has just returned from soothing Ocean and we are both on the couch blogging. Ocean has been ill the past several days and continues to battle it. She is shown above yesterday receiving an IV. Bel Medic, the private hospital here in Belgrade, sent over a doctor and “medical sister” (the Serbian term for nurse) to get Ocean’s fluids back up. Since our last day in Slovenia, Ocean has had diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. Her diarrhea has stopped as well as the vomitting, but she still is irritable and running an occasional fever. She tested negative for the roto virus and we are awaiting results on the bacteria cultures.

Nadia is a champion for the amount of attention she has given Ocean during this ordeal.

Family Journal: Holiday Trip to Slovenia December 27-30, 2008

January 3, 2009January 3, 2009billkralovec

We took a few days and drove to the former Yugoslavia republic, now independent country of Slovenia. With young children, the drive of 350 miles takes about 7 hours. There are two international borders one crosses as left Serbia through Croatia and into Slovenia.

Slovenia is a tiny country that borders on Italy, Austria, and Croatia. It is about 1/2 the size of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (or the same size as Massachusetts) and has around 2 million inhabitants. The Slovenes are Slavic and their language is very close to Serbo-Croat. They differ from the Serbs in that they have been under Austro-Hungarian and German cultural influence. It shows in the organization of the country and the more formality in the people.

The reason people come to Slovenia is to enjoy the Julian section of the Alps. I have spent much time in the Rockies and Andes, and the Alps rank up their as one of the great mountain ranges of the world. Oliver is shown above tobogganing down one of the many mountains in the country.

We stayed at the Savica Hotel in the small town of Bled. The hotel caters to families by having a childrens’ playroom, planned activities, and “Raki” the Swan, a mascot in a swan costume. Although it did backfire at breakfast, as Raki scared the living daylights out of one little girl. Imagine eating your cereal and looking up and seeing a huge swan coming at you! The Savica was not designed for children in its architecture and it got me thinking about someone should open a hotel built and designed with children in mind. I could do a great one, with all phones, towels raised out of toddlers’ reaches, all sharp edges taken out, etc. Anyway, there were heaps of kids there, and the kids really enjoyed it! We chose Bled because it is close to the mountains and it has a beautiful lake, castle, church, etc, that makes it a perfect Christmas wonderland.We took a hundred photos around the lake, it was so beautiful. You can see all of them on our flickr.com account. Just click on the photos on the right of the blog.

The highlights of our time there:

Nadia’s father, :”Popa” had a difficult time in the cold weather. After his neck accident a couple of years ago, his muscles stiffen up in cold weather as he painfully found out. I was impressed that at age 69 he came to Serbia and visited us.
Sebey almost killed himself on his first run on a sled, as he narrowly missed a steel support pole for a ski lift and then an amazing diving tackle/catch by Brad stopped Sebey and his sled from either hitting another pole or going over a steep precipice.
We drank a lot of hot wine and ate well in the restaraunts of Bled.
The kids experiencing snow – icicles, sledding, snowballs, etc. All the winter things I had growing up!
Getting to know our possible future brother-in-law, Brad Woodruff.
Being charged 55 Euros for a “vinjet” by Slovenian officials. This is a sticker that gives drivers permission to use the major highways of Slovenia. If a driver is caught, even tourists, without a sticker, they are fined from 300 to 800 Euros. These are purchased at service stations After stopping for lunch at a nice cafe attached to a gas station, we were warned by a fellow tourist that the police were stopping cars without the vinjet. We then learned all about it and bought one. The gas station had run out of the 3 month permission (35 Euros) and we were forced to buy the 14 month permission. It is basically a tax or toll to pay for the high way construction. We noticed two toll stations that did not charge cars, but possibly had cameras to catch drivers without the stickers. What a weasel way of raising funds for infrastructure! It left me with a bad impression of the country. Croatia had a toll fo 14 Euros for one section of high way. They did give us the temperature every few kilometers on signs above the high way down to the tenth of a degree, which I guess they try to justify taking 14 euros from every car that uses the high ways. I could go on and on, perhaps I’ll give a separate post for this topic.

Overall it was a great time and it was nice to make some family memories with Alejandra, Sebey, Brad, and Popa. They were here for only a short time and we’ll miss them. We are not sure the next time we’ll see them, so it was especially sad to see them off yesterday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my blog readers!