winter sports and fun

Whilst we were gallivanting around in Sarajevo over Christmas, they were busy updating the amenities in Tuzla. Most obviously is the new ice rink (on top of a rather nice clay tennis court) by Slana Banja park. It's proving to be quite a hit with the general population and at 5KM for an hour is great value for money. Adam is very keen to try it out, I'm less keen and have put off the moment of truth until the weekend when Daddy is also on hand to deal with bruised bottoms and tears. Yesterday, he was satisfied with watching some friends of ours, Amel and Ivana, have a go. Amel was a reluctant skater, most happy when clinging to the edge of the rink.

"Amel!" shouted Adam "you're not very good. I don't think your ice skates are working very well".

Next door to the ice rink they've put up 8 big trampolines. Oh my goodness me, how much do the boys love trampolines? Our daily routine has a whole new element to it. Now I pick the boys up from nursery, drive to the park for an hour of dragon fighting and exploring through the woods (otherwise known as a dog walk) which is then followed with a big long bounce. It's terrific. Who am I kidding - I love the trampolines too!

MORE ON GAS SITUATION
The temperature this morning when I dropped the boys off at nursery was -12C. There is still wrangling going on between Ukraine and Russia about the gas pipeline which has left about 100,000 homes in Bosnia without heating, mainly in Sarajevo, Zenica and Zvornik. I read an interesting blog comparing the situation in Sarajevo today to that during the 1992-95 conflict (click here). Fortunately for us, Tuzla doesn't rely upon gas supplies at all so we are toasty warm but watching the electricity supply carefully.