Roasted peppers!

You haven't really enjoyed peppers unless you've eaten them Serbian-style. Especially around the end of September when they're at their peak, these sweet peppers, either green as above or red as below, are roasted on a grill or even directly on the burner on one's stove like I did above, until their skin is black. When they're cool, peel the burned part away, place in a salad bowl as below, add plenty of chopped garlic, oil, and vinegar, and enjoy! Yum. Serbs also make roasted peppers into ajvar (pronounced EYE-var) by adding roasted eggplant and garlic, and running it all through a meat grinder. Ajvar is then eaten as a garnish, spread on bread, or mixed with a kind of feta cheese. Yum again.

The Before and After of Branko's Bridge

This is a case of where the "before" definitely looks better than the "after."
Branko's Bridge is the second-largest bridge in Belgrade across the Sava River, connecting the city center with New Belgrade, visible in the background of the second photo. (New Belgrade did not exist until around 1965.) The bridge was built in 1957 to replace the former King Alexander I bridge that was opened on December 16th, 1934, and blown up in 1941. The bridge actually uses lower parts of the former bridge's pylons for its two secondary spans. It is crossed by nearly 90,000 vehicles daily, and traffic jams are frequent. Its official name during communist rule was " Brotherhood and Unity Bridge," but that name never caught on. It isn't certain whether the bridge was named afterBranko Radičević, a Serbian Romantic poet, or after another writer, Branko Ćopić, who committed a suicide by jumping from the bridge in 1984. (Such occurrences or attempts are quite frequent, actually.)

This post is dedicated to Marie at Vintage Postcards! Check out her blog at: http://www.cpaphilblog.com/

Cruising down the Danube...

For a number of years, interrupted only by the NATO bombing in 1999, tourist ships cruise down the Danube and pass through Belgrade. This one (and it's one big ship) is the Swiss Gloria, run by http://www.scylla-tours.com/dynasite.cfm?dsmid=1523, and she passes through Belgrade on her way to the Black Sea. You can see some tourists happily clicking away at Kalemegdan Fortress, which of course you can't see, since it would be behind you! The ship docks for a few hours in Belgrade, giving the tourists a chance to walk around, buy souvenirs, and take more photos. I helped a couple from New York find their way the other day while downtown....and was complimented for my excellent English!

Snoozing by the river

No comment, apart from "Sweet dreams!" And also to say that this was taken just a couple of weeks ago, when we were still in summer....

FLASH! The Flintstones Visit Belgrade!

I'll bet Fred and Wilma pimped their foot-powered car and drove it to Belgrade, where I had the great fortune to photograph it, though the Flintstones were nowhere in sight. This little eco-friendly beauty has it all: air conditioning, spacious trunk, great visibility, padded seats and headrests, plenty of headroom, and space for the family dog...or small dinosaur. Its easily-readable gas gauge tells you at a glance how much fuel you have left, and entering and exiting is a breeze (literally). Best of all, spare parts are never a problem, and I think Fred and Wilma were probably out shopping for headlights. (I was wondering if those green ropes are seatbelts... )



P.S. This actually is a car that is regularly driven by Romi, or gypsies, as they make their rounds throughout the city, picking up old newspapers, metal, or odds and ends.

The Family Founder

Went to a really interesting lecture the other night at the National Bank of Serbia, where a well-known Serbian archeologist spoke about the Lepenski Vir culture. Lepenski Vir is an important Mesolithic archeological site located in Eastern Serbia, consisting of one large settlement with around 10 satellite villages. The first excavations were made in 1965. Evidence suggests the first human presence in the locality around dates from around 7000 BC and reached its peak between 5300 BC and 4800 BC. Numerous sculptures and peculiar architecture are testimony to a rich social and religious life led by the inhabitants and the high cultural level of these early Europeans. It was only in 1967 that its importance was fully understood when the first Mesolithic sculptures were discovered. The excavations ended in 1971 when the whole site was relocated 29.7 meters higher to avoid flooding from a new artificial lake created in the Iron Gorge, where the Danube flows between the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains. This little guy is called "The Family Founder."

ABC Wednesday: "J" is for "Just snoozing?"

Kind of a weak "J" this week... This photo was taken not long ago in Vranje, a city not far from the Bulgarian border about 3-4 hours' drive from Belgrade. (5+ hours if you take the intercity bus as I had...never again.) The sign says "Beware of the dog," but this guy hardly raised his eyelids when I snapped the shutter. However, maybe he is interested in tasting fingers through the gate if given a chance, since he's chained, rather than running loose. It's a dog's life.

Bad marketing strategy?

Being in the right location is a key ingredient in a business's success. To me, it looks like this fellow who's selling nationalistic souvenirs would do better on one of Belgrade's downtown streets rather than beside a corn field just next to a toll booth on the Belgrade-Novi Sad highway. On the other hand, if he's willing to sit there in the hot sun, I imagine he must have some sort of steady clientele! Note: took this photo a couple of weeks ago before the rain, which has somewhat dimnished, but it's coooold...!

Picnic Time!

I've joined Muse-swings' (http://muse-swings.blogspot.com/) cyber picnic to celebrate the first day of autumn. This is my contribution, a photo I took a short while ago at a History of Bread exhibit downtown. My favorite roll is the one on the left of the basket, which has the same taste as a soft pretzel. There's a pretzel there, too. There's still time to join the picnic! What will you bring?

Romeo, oh Romeo!

A blushing bride on a balcony, perhaps waiting for her groom. Actually, I think she is going to wait a while. She looks kind of scary...

Happy Brush

Wikipedia says that the occupation of chimney sweep "is considered to be one of the oldest in the world," along with, I guess, the other obvious one that comes to mind. Wikipedia also says that in parts of Great Britain it is considered lucky for a bride to see a chimney sweep on her wedding day. It is also considered good luck to shake hands with a chimney sweep or to be blown a kiss by one. Here it's considered good luck to rub one of your buttons if you pass one in the street. This fellow was selling little key chain brushes (100 dinars=$2.00), so I bought one. And he let me take his photo, though he didn't blow me a kiss, darn.

Note: "Srećna" means both "happy" and "lucky" here, so I think his shirt should really be translated "Lucky Brush," since chimney sweeps bring you good luck...or maybe he really is just happy when people buy a keychain brush from him...

Sky Watch Friday--gray sky, orange houseboat

I have a fascination for the houseboats that dot or sometimes even line the riverbanks here. Owners express their individuality without having to strictly adhere to building codes like condo owners often do. This is a pretty spiffy little houseboat, complete with an additional terrace. Cute. I'd like to live here.

Gray rainy days...

It's been so cold and rainy. I don't like to drive downtown from my side of the river, so I often use public transportation. Bus tickets cost 32 dinars each (roughly 54 dinars - $1.00) and there's no system of transfers here, so you need a new ticket each time you change buses. Those who work, elderly, and students qualify for a reduced fare. Anyway, I digress...this is a "camera-placed-on-knees-and-snapped-photo" shot, but I think it turned out rather well.

ABC Wednesday--"I" is for "Ivo Andrić"

Ivo Andrić (1892-1975) was a writer of Serbo-Croatian novels and short stories whose literary career spanned some 60 years. He was awarded the awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961. A Croat by birth, he became a Serb by choice. Ivo Andrić lived and died in the former Yugoslavia, and after his death and the collapse of Yugoslavia, a squabble developed about to whom Andrić belongs. Andrić was of Croatian origin and in young adulthood declared himself a Croat, and the bulk of his early work was written in Croatian. However, the majority of his later works were written in Serbian, and he was influenced by major Serbian cultural icons as Vuk Karadžić and Petar Njegoš. At any rate, Andrić's work is now in the official curricula of Croatian and Serbian literature programs.


To post an ABC Wednesday photo, go to: http://mrsnesbittsplace.blogspot.com/

A dog's life

For the last ABC Wednesday I posted "H" for houseboats. Here's part of a boat/cafe along the Sava river in New Belgrade. The pipe you see supplies the boat with fresh water. The boat's guard dog seems happy since his owners were considerate enough to cut another hole in his dog house on the end opposite his entrance door so that he could watch passers-by on the quay. Click on the photo to see him closer; he won't bite.

Where'd the hot weather go?

This past weekend was downright chilly! Yesterday the weather widget on my blog read 10 degrees Celsius, a 20-degree or so drop from this summer's high temperatures. I bundled up and headed for the flea market near me where I had to do some shopping (main flea market here is usually all new stuff), and covered my camera with a plastic bag....

Welcome to Airport City!

Airport City Belgrade, located in New Belgrade, is a complex of 12 glass buildings used for office and retail space. I live not far away. The complex is situated on the site of the old Belgrade airport, which was built before WWII, and later destroyed by the Germans in 1944. Because parking is so difficult in the older parts of the city, many foreign and local businesses like the pictured UniCredit Bank and Telenor are seeking office space across the Danube in New Belgrade.

Note: I was checking out USElaine's http://willitsdailyphoto.blogspot.com/ yesterday, as I often do, and saw that she has been blogging for a half a year. More power to her. Then, since a little bell went off in my head, I checked "Yankee" and see that my first post was on March 14th, so I am also a half-year blogger!

The fungus among-us

Mushrooms or toadstools? The term "toadstool" is nowadays usually used in storytelling when referring to poisonous or suspect mushrooms, so I guess these could be either. I photographed them in late July while visiting "Little War Island," one of the islands on the Danube here. (There's a 'Great War Island', too.) The island used to be significantly larger before WWII, and when construction of New Belgrade began in 1948, the sand from the island was transported to the mainland by large conveyor belts to cover the swamp on which the new city was to be built, and of course therefore reduced the size of the island. What's left of the island is basically a thin strip of land, less than 300 meters long and 60 meters wide. The island is an ecologically protected site, but tours are available and there is also a small beach for swimmers and sun lovers.

Sky Watch Friday--the road to Belgrade

Belgrade, or "Beograd," as it is known here, means "white city." Here is the White City under a lavender sky, viewed from the Belgrade-Niš highway as we returned from a trip the other week.

For more Sky Watch posts, check out: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Have faith.

"Have faith!" is what I thought when I saw this fellow repairing something under his truck. I sure hope he has a good jack or a super-strong guardian angel. This photo is from last fall, but he still parks his truck near our apartment building.

ABC Wednesday---"H" is for "houseboat"

Many Belgraders have weekend homes, small or large, in the nearby countryside, or perhaps a family home in a village farther away. Those who don't often opt for a houseboat, which provides escape from the city especially during the summer, even though you don't have to go far at all. At the present time, there are regulations (safety, sanitary, docking fees, etc.) but like many other laws here, they're often ignored until someone really checks. Not sure of the status of these very different riverside pieces of paradise, but they're second homes to some people! Which one would you like?

To post an ABC Wednesday photo, see: http://mrsnesbittsplace.blogspot.com/

Ouch!

Took this photo about a year ago in Novi Sad, a city 70 kms to the north of Belgrade, where my husband grew up. Recently my kids and I took a trip up there in his honor a few days after his funeral. Ivan (my husband) and I had laughed hard at this sign, and we remarked that it didn't seem to be worded to bring in business. But the tattoo and piercing parlor is still there, so I guess that shows how much we knew about advertising! (This sign is in English, and the one behind it is partly in Italian; signs in foreign languages here are "in.")

Another protest

This photo dates from the end of July during a protest held by the Serbian Radical Party to protest the sending of war criminal Radovan Karadžić to The Hague. Aside from the actual protestors, these events are often attended by groups of unruly young people looking for a "good time," i.e. wreaking havoc and causing millions of dinars in damage to public property. Indeed, the terra cotta feet I'd posted on August 27th and similar art creations which were on display on the pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova, made handy projectiles.

Sit on a slice

A cool slice of watermelon is indeed refreshing, but I'm not sure that it would be refreshing to sit on this bench (indentation for sitting on side facing the river), at least in the heat. This bench is one of many that appeared along the Danube on both the Old and New Belgrade sides. Some are shaped like feet, some like hands, and some cute pink ones like little ears.

Eight heads

On Thursday I mentioned that the facades of many of Belgrade's old buildings are deteriorating, and this is a case in point. This is a detail of what must have been a wealthy family's home over a century ago, for this head is one of eight that appear to represent the home's owners, now long gone. They're not the ordinary stylized heads for decorative purposes that one usually sees. After WWII, private homes were seized by the communist government and, for example, the original owners were forced to live in reduced quarters and the other living spaces given to others. Nowadays, descendants of many such formerly private home owners are trying to have the property returned to them.

Sky Watch Friday--Against the itch

In New Belgrade especially, mosquitos can be quite a problem. Several times each summer the City sprays areas along the Danube and Sava against these pests. From my porch I have an excellent view (?) of the planes used for this purpose and their approach. Personally, pesticides scare me, and I really don't like to think about breathing in what they're spreading around, so I stay indoors and hope that somehow the spray's effect on me will be less when I venture out.

For more Sky Watch participants, check out: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Hidden beauty

In downtown Belgrade there are many modern buildings and also many old ones. The facades and stairways of the latter are either well maintained if the owners have the money to do so, or else are left to slowly deteriorate. I amuse myself by peeking through doorways of the more dilapidated buildings to see if it's worth a closer look inside. Often it is, as you can see by this treasure of a ceiling I found. Click on the photo to enlarge and appreciate the artwork more.

ABC Wednesday "G" is for "girl"

This little girl was out for a Sunday walk with her parents and ventured onto a lawn with her lavender balloon. She's wearing a typical little Serbian vest, skirt, and white blouse. Serbs dote on "little princes and princesses" and indulge them to what must of us would call spoiling the child. For the most part, however, they do also instill in them good manners and proper behavior.

What's my name?

Photographed this beauty the other week through a fence. I don't know the name of this flower or even if it has a scent, since I couldn't get my nose close enough! Anyone know?

Theme Day--Sister Cities "Belgrade-Chicago"

"Chicago, Chicago, that's my kind of town...." And I'm pretty sure it would be too, if I were ever to travel there. Thanks to Nesha of the Beograd Cafe and Meat Market in Chicago, I am showing you this photo today that he gave me permission to publish. As their site http://www.beogradmarket.net/explains, "Beograd Market is a family-owned, old-fashioned market and coffee shop...selling only the finest tasting beef, pork, and lamb....In addition to our meat products, we also carry homemade meals, groceries, and frozen foods." Check out their site for a glimpse of mouth-watering ćevapčići, pljeskavice, (check my April 14th post; go to Archives on the left), and their photo gallery for a picture of Vlade Divac, the basketball star, who visited the Market!