My son, the mountain goat

On Saturday, JJ and I got up around 5 am to go with a few others in our neighborhood to hike to the top of Pfieferhorn. I'll post more pictures tomorrow night (got to go to bed!). JJ is CLEARLY in his element this morning. He is so good. Kicked my butt to the top AND the bottom. I love this kid.

My buddy, Zoran

Tons of thanks and gratitude to my kind friends in Belgrade. Zoran spent every night with me taking me to all of his favorite places, telling me history, but mostly telling me why these places were special to him. Thanks!

I didn't do it. No one saw me do it. You can't prove anything

Only a few handful of people know how big of a Simpsons fan I was BEFORE I had kids. As a college student I wore Bart Simpson t-shirts to class at least a couple of times a week. I STILL have a Bart Simpson doll above my desk in my office. Well, as the saying goes, "... I put away childish things" (more or less). But I couldn't resist when we took the kids to see Pirates III, I couldn't resist taking this picture.

Almost forgot

I took this picture last month in Guatemala. I just forgot to post it. Reminded me of the saying, "Here's your sign".

Extra Protein

Last week I was at my friend's home and having some lunch (soup, roast beast, potatoes, and salad). I was on my third helping of salad when I noticed a small worm on one of the lettuce leaves. Yum yum. I wondered how many worms I had already eaten. Oh well. I was polite and thanked them for a wonderful meal.

THEN, this morning, I thought I would have a bowl of cereal. A few years ago, I had cereal every morning. Now, my usual is toast, banana, yogurt, and juice. For some reason, cereal sounded good. I'm chomping away, and I notice what looked like a bug. Hmmm. Maybe not enough sleep last night. Maybe a bit of paranoia. After all, I was almost finished with my tasty bowl. I examined further. Yes, bugs. Not sure what type, but definitely bugs. So I got out the container of the cereal and did some further examination. FULL of BUGS! So I dumped the rest of my bowl down the sink and emptied the cereal in the trash.

Gross? Not really.

Shut that rooster up!

Here is where I had lunch every day this week. One of the guys I was working with would walk over with me, order for me and then leave to go do some work. I sat by myself each day eating yummy food. Steak or sausage with frites and a tasty salad of cucumbers and tomatoes with feta cheese on top. Not a lick of English spoken. Oh the rooster? Must have been part of the staff because he just walks around the place doing his cock-a-doodle-do thing the whole time.

Nice church!

This is the Temple Saint Sava the largest Orthodox church in the world. It is pretty darn big.

Zasto (Why)

During the bombardment Tomahawk missiles destroyed a Serbian TV station killing 16 innocent people. Pretty sad to see the remains and the memorial stone.

Bombardment

This "was" the building of the Serbian Ministry of Defense. A couple of interesting things. One, up close I noticed some pretty extravagant building materials. I learned that part of the building was built during the "times of good and plenty". The other interesting thing was the military folks on patrol around the building were getting a bit "excited" when they learned an American was taking pictures. "No more pictures" they said. Nema problema (actual Serbian phrase)

Say a prayer (or light a candle)

Next to Zoran's church is a small (who knows what you call it) cangle room. We went and lit two candles each. We put on in the sand above which represents a prayer for the living (wishing good luck) and one for the sand below (for those that have passed on). I'm sure that this all has "pc" names for this ceremony/token but it good to participate. Beyond the church and candle room you can see a forest. It is actually a military installation and supposedly this is where Milosevic was hiding during the bombardment.

Zoran and Snezana's Church

Here is the church they go to. It is small, with no chairs. You just stand. Orthodox of course.

Have I been here???

Have you ever gone someone for a few days and then not return for nine years? I must be getting old because it has been difficult to remember the places here in Belgrade. Some places, sure. I remember but others not. My first day here in Belgrade and my friends Zoran and Snezana came to see me. I went and hung out at their flat. Of course my luggage was "trapped" somewhere at Charles de Gaulle. I spent all of 20 minutes in that airport before boarding the plane to Belgrade. Well at least I got a toothpick sized toothbrush, a mini deo-4-b.o, and an undershirt. Such a lovely experience wearing the same clothes for 3 days straight. Oh well. It really doesn't bug me much any more because it happens so often. I just wish I'd throw an extra pair of garments in my computer bag and maybe a shirt. My hotel is decent enough. In the quite part of town. Nice. The first day we walked around downtown and stopped to see "The Victor" at Kalemegdan.

Yu-go-to-slavia

Nine years ago I came to Belgrade. It was a wonderful experience and I made friends from a number of countries with whom I still keep in contact with. When I first came here Jake was only 3 years old! That is amazing. Anyhow, the boys thought Yugoslavia was pronounced "you-go-to-slavia". It has been very fun to be back here and visit with people and see places that I haven't seen for such a long time. Shortly after I was here the first time, was when the NATO bombings of the country started. Their purpose was to oust the leader Slobodan Milosevic. I remember what a hard time I had during the bombings because of the many friends that I had here. Luckily no one I knew died or got hurt or lost any loved ones. Now, I'm hear again, nine years later working on a project to help clean up part of the mess what we caused. Lovely. More to follow!