detail from: KRK Art dizajn

EINSTEIN IN PRINCETON

SIMO JELAČA, Ph D

In March 2008, the snow in Ottawa had not yet melted. That winter, it was attacked by a total of over 4 meters here. And when the month of May came, the weather improved and the real spring arrived.

Before the end of May, when the sun was already quite warm and everything around was green, we traveled to our relatives Zoran and Vesna in New Jersey. Stasha was driving, and Grandma Bosa was sitting in the back seat and entertaining Aleksandar. We passed through different landscapes, from Toronto through the state of New York, and all the way to New Jersey, to the town of Madison, where we arrived in the early evening.

Upon arrival, we seniors, grandparents, walked the surrounding streets, to stretch our legs, while Alexander stayed in the house, to play with the dog "George". For the boy, his age, he was still almost a baby, pets were his favorite pastime.

After spending a day with Zoran and Vesna, and visiting New York, where he worked in those years, we all went on a one-day visit to the city of Princeton.

Princeton, a small town for American occasions, is very beautiful and pleasant for walks. It was full of greenery, with clean streets. Numerous fruit trees were full of flowers, and countless bees were buzzing wherever we passed. We had a nice time in the park around the university. The park is quite large and there are a lot of walkers in it, and most of them were young students. University buildings of ancient architecture and monumental material, on one board with a dedication to Albert Einstein. Einstein immigrated to America in 1933, and has worked at Princeton University ever since.

I was interested in where he lived, so I went for a walk through the surrounding streets to look for his address. And I found her, she was at 112 Mercer Street. Albert Einstein came to America together with his second wife, Elsa (1876-1936), whom he married after the divorce from Mileva Marić, and Elsa was his sister from his aunt and uncle. Namely, their parents were their two mothers, sisters, and their fathers were uncles. Among Jews, marriages of such close relatives are common. Albert and Elsa bought a house in Princeton in 1935, and Elsa lived in it for only about a year; she died in 1936. Elsa was also a physicist by profession, although there is no record of her doing any scientific research. Some allegations claim that she was quite a rude person. Before marrying Albert, she had her first marriage in which she had three children. For Albert during his life and work at Princeton University, there is no information that he published anything significant, only that he suggested to the President of the United States F.D. Roosvelt that America make an atomic bomb, in order to prevent Germany from doing so.

Princeton remained in our memories, as a very beautiful and decent city, for life, with lots of flowers and a lot of small restaurants. During the walk, we enjoyed the chirping of birds from the surrounding trees, as if they also wished us a visit and a happy return. That same evening, we returned to Madison, and two days later, we continued to Pittsburgh, where Stasha had a business conference, while his grandparents drove Alexander through the local parks. We took the cable car from the train station to the elevated part of the city, where we found a Greek pastry shop with good ice cream. From there it was a beautiful view of the whole of Pittsburgh, so we stayed walking through those streets, in the evening, until the sunset, bordered by beautiful orange colors.

While traveling through Pennsylvania and on our way back to Toronto, we saw several deer killed on expressways in the woods. Roads are not fenced, and many drivers drive at high speeds, so deer crossing the roads are killed.

Albert Einstein House in Princeton

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