Corn husk dolls

These dolls are made by wrapping dried corn husks to form their shapes. Depending on the artist, the dolls are made of natural color husks or combinations of natural and vegetable-dyed husks. Some have painted faces, such as these. These dolls are not very expensive, and are favorite souvenirs among Belgrade visitors.

Hurry, hurry! Get married now!

If you're single and live in Jagodina (YAH-go-dee-na), you might want to take advantage of the City's offer. If you get married by the end of 2008, you'll be offered a job, 200 euros for your first child (not necessarily before the end of 2008...), and up to 200 euros monthly for every fourth child until he/she is 18. Any takers?

P.S. The text written on the column supporting the billboard reads, "Please do not put posters on this billboard." Considering the billboard is at least 3 meters (9 or so feet) tall, that won't be easy.)

Skywatch Friday-Landmark Lineup

Still cold, but sunny now. This couple is walking in part of the vast Ušće park in New Belgrade. Visible behind them are several landmarks that I've shown you before. From left to right you have The Eternal Flame, then the Beogradjanka building, which used to house a department store and offices, the rounded dome of Saint Sava Cathedral, the Ušće Tower, which had been bombed in 1999 and now is a fancy office building (renovated!), and under the crane is the site of a huge new shopping center, which will feature IKEA, among other shops. WOO-hoo.

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Dogs on Thursday "Waiting for a bite"

It's getting cold....and I guess the fish are still biting. I think both the man and the dog are waiting for a bite here. And speaking of bites, Happy Thanksgiving to you who celebrate. I do, but only this Saturday, since I don't have off today.

If you'd like to join Dogs on Thursday, click on the icon in the left column. Woof.

ABC Wednesday "S" is for "Street Art"

Found this on a wall downtown the other week. Yes, on a wall, and that little yellow leaf was just hanging there, probably blown onto the wall when one or the other was damp, and it just stuck there. Street art loves you, but do you love street art?

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Unintentional art

I'd kind of like to have this abstract on my wall. In fact, it could actually be the wall. I found this piece of serendipidous art not long ago down by the river at a construction site. It's a large metal fence/wall panel that had been probably used flat at one time, since it bears traces of rust and paint that form abstract patterns. I actually have a whole series of these photos, and can't make up my mind which one I like best!

Slaving away

Not easy even being a bush these days, especially a lovely topiary creation like this one. Seems as if the statues behind him had other plans for this little guy and didn't want him just standing idle. Water those petunias! (Can you believe this photo was taken just three days ago in nearby Pancevo? It was a freezing cold day, with a major wind...I wonder if the flowers survived.)

Fish Soup

From time to time I do restaurant reviews for a local English-language newspaper and a column on places foreigners may want to visit around Belgrade. It's getting pretty cold, and people may not want to go far, so yesterday I visited the nearby town of Pancevo (PAHN-cheh-vo), about 16 kilometers away. While there, my friend and I stopped in a restaurant and had some spicy fish soup. We even had some extra red pepper on the side, as you can see, some warm bread, and shared a salad, topped with feta cheese. Fairly light meal, since I had to do another review that evening at the Hyatt...oh, la belle vie.

"Lying down" policemen

What do they call them where you live: sleeping policemen, policiers couchés, speed tables, speed cushions, road humps? Here in Belgrade, they're called "lying (down) policemen," and they're basically of three kinds:

1) the "just-keep-speeding-no-damage-will-be-done-to-your-car" type as shown here in front of a school; (?!)
2) the "if-you-don't-slow-down-your-wheels-will-be-knocked-off" type;
3) the "gently-rounded-hill" type;
4) the "obstacle course" kind that are scattered across the road at intervals.

I have heard that in some cities there are even "dynamic" speed bumps, activated only if a vehicle is travelling above a certain speed.

According to a local news station, 7 pedestrians are struck by motor vehicles each day in Belgrade. Some say speed bumps don't prevent accidents. What do you say?

Protective hand gear?

At first I thought this skater was wearing shoes on his hands to protect his hands in a fall. I mean, perhaps he didn't want to invest in protective gear, since other than those shoes, he's not wearing any. But then I thought it's just because he had no other way to carry his shoes to put back on when he's finished skating! Then again, both my guesses might be correct!

Dogs on Thursday: Let sleeping dogs lie.

That's what the proverb says, and it's probably true most of the time. These dogs have settled themselves down on part of a cast-off couch not far from where I live. The black one is looking at me rather ominously, but we are friends, so I passed by unscathed. Stray dogs here are a big problem, and only fairly recently have there been campaigns to get people to spay or neuter their dogs, and to not abandon their pets when they "don't want them anymore." If you'd like to join Dogs on Thursday, click on that box in the left margin.

ABC Wednesday "R" is for "red" facade

My bedroom is painted red, almost a blood red, and I love it. If I owned a house rather than an apartment, I just might paint it red too, like this one in Vršac (VUR-shots), about an hour and a half drive from Belgrade. Click on the photo and admire the ceramic tile grapes above and below the windows. Vršac is known for its vineyards, and you can read a bit more about the town

here .

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Branislav Nušić

Branislav Nušić (NOO-sheech; 1864-1938) was a Serbian novelist, playwright, satirist, and essayist. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant. When he was 21, Nušić fought in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885. After the war, he published a controversial poem for which he spent two years in prison. The poem ridiculed Serbian King Milan's decision to attend the funeral of the Serbian-born Austro-Hungarian general's mother instead of the funeral of the war's hero, Captain Mihailo Katanić, who died as a result of wounds sustained while saving the regimental flag from the hands of Bulgarians. Nušić's plays in particular are still appreciated today. My favorite is the comedy Gospođa ministarka (The Cabinet Minister's Wife), in which the minister's wife's goes to great lengths to try to be cultured, as befits a woman in her position, which recalls Monsieur Jourdain's ridiculous attempts to do the same in Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Reflected in the building behind this statue you can see the National Museum.

Kissing Carrots

Well, I thought I'd heard it all until I read in the paper the other day that there had been stipulations on the size and shapes of certain vegetables and fruits sold in the EU. Although certain ones of these standards have recently been revised, a cauliflower used to have to be at least 11 centimeters in diameter and a wreath of garlic had to have 16 heads. Worse, small carrots couldn't be any lighter than 8 grams and large ones had to weigh 50 grams with at least a 2 centimeter diameter, and could not display more than one root! So, if even in the fruit and vegetable world, if you weren't good looking, you just weren't going to make it to someone's table. Now that's been changed, EXCEPT for bananas, which have to still be at least 14 centimeters long with a 2,7 centimeter waistline. All I can say is I'm glad I live outside the EU, since I frequently browse the markets for odd fruit that reminds me of artwork....

A present from JFK

Josip Broz Tito was a towering figure in Yugoslav politics for more than 30 years and even after his death his legacy is still felt in each of the former Yugoslav republics. He is largely credited, and rightfully so, for keeping Yugoslavia together for so long, for better or for worse. Tito is also famous for his policy of non-alignment during the Cold War. There's a museum in Belgrade called The House of Flowers, where Tito was laid to rest. I had never gone, but a friend and I dropped by not long ago. I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting it was---you can see his famous blue suit and white suits, massive desk and bookcases that stood in his office, his Mercedes, over 200 batons, each more elaborate than the next, carried by runners during various celebrations, and hundreds of presents received from local and foreign dignitaries. Above is a stationery set received from John F. Kennedy. Well worth the visit should you be in Belgrade...and so far, the museum is free!

The Sleeping Gypsy Part Two

Another "camera on my lap discreetly" photo from me. This poor young Roma or gypsy mother had just conked out while breastfeeding her baby. She slept all through the ride downtown, but the baby woke up as I took the photo. I'd taken another photo of a different Sleeping Gypsy (art lovers will know the painting I'm referring to) here .

Skywatch Friday---up and away!

I've been saving this one for a Skywatch. It was taken not long ago during Belgrade's Air Show. I didn't attend, but watched from our terrace...and snapped a couple of photos. I'm not good on names of aircraft, but you can click on the photo and see if you know what kind of aircraft was emerging from this cloud. If you'd like to join Skywatch, click on: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Dogs on Thursday--Don't give up the spotlight!

I've decided to participate in Dogs on Thursday (click on the little dog box in the margin if you'd like to join), and although all my future posts won't necessarily star a dog, a canine of some sort will appear somewhere in those photos. But today it's a real dog, a small star one from Belgrade's recent "Mutt Show." Most dogs couldn't wait to get out of the ring, but this little guy wanted to bask in the spotlight just a little bit longer...

ABC Wednesday--"Q" is for "Quite a hot dog!"

Hungry? How about a half-a-meter-long hot dog? For the metrically challenged, that's about 19.69 inches, a formidable challenge for even the most ravenous hot dog lover.

This places also serves another specialty, a Hamlet, a ham omelet served with or without a bun. Its advertisement that you can just partially make out on the bottom of the photo reads asks in Serbian, "To be or not to be in a bun?" Apologies to the Bard.

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Romania

Last weekend a friend and I went on a tour of two cities in nearby Romania, Timisoara and Arad, both of which have a large number of Serbs living in them, and are birthplaces of several well-known Serbian historical figures. I haven't been a fan of organized tours, but I must say this one was really well done. Aside from taking in a great deal of both cities in two days' time, we tasted some of the country's fine wines in two renowned wine cellars, and gobbled down lots of local specialties, including a very spicy (fine with me) goulash. The tour also left us lots of time to wander, which is what I did, photographing both cities' spectacularly beautiful facades and doorways. This doorway wasn't a particularly great beauty, but this little boy wanted me to take his photo so badly, I couldn't refuse.

Big-eared George

Just after I took last Friday's Skywatch photo in Kalemegdan park, I came across this "ancient" carving in a stone on a nearby wall. It says, "Big-eared George," and indeed this fellow with the nickname Djoka for George (Djordje) does have big ears, or at least one, as far as I can see. This carving reminds me of one you can see here that I posted not long ago. But that one is for real!

PUPU lingerie?

Well, if you have to come up with a brand name for lingerie or almost anything else for that matter, PUPU (poo-poo) probably isn't the best one you could think of. At least in English.

No fair pushing!

Of course this magpie didn't really give his buddy in front a shove, or did he?

Skywatch: An eye on the horizon

Not much of a gorgeous sky, but the sky IS most of the photo! In its long and tumultuous history, Belgrade had often changed names and rulers. When the Scordisci (a Celtic tribe) set uptheir stronghold Singidunum at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers in the third century, the city at the "crossroads of the worlds" had been already been conquered by the Byzantines, the Gepidae, the Sarmatians, the Eastern Goths, the Slavs, the Avars, the Francs, the Bulgarians, the Hungarians, the Ottomans, the Austrians, the Germans... each of whom gave the city their respective names: Singedon, Nandor, Fehervar, Nandor Alba, Alba Graeca, Grieschisch Weisenburg, Alba Bulgarica, Taurunum... However, its Slavic name Belgrade, meaning White City, has lasted the longest. The British Encyclopedia of Cities mentions that Belgrade has suffered the greatest number of battles waged for it, and is also the city with the greatest number of symbolic names: The Hill of Battle and Glory, the Hill for Meditation, the House of Wars, the Egypt of Rumelia, the House of Freedom, the Gateway of the East – the Gate of the West...take your pick!

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Barbie and Ken go Serbian!

I've seen many a Barbie and Ken in national dress of countries where I've traveled and now Serbia is no exception. (These actually are most likely take-offs of the famous couple!) They were proudly displayed in a shop that rents Serbian folk dance outfits. I like the handiwork on them all the way down to their intricate leather shoes called 'opanci," (OH-pahn-tsee). Check out more 'opanci' here .

ABC Wednesday "P" is for "Pig"

Recently I've been in a "look up and admire facades" phase, and have taken scores of photos of statues, decorative heads, and stonework in various states of disrepair. Sometimes a building's artwork is in good shape, as the little naked girls here who are fearfully looking down from their fifth floor ledges. But there's a pig up there, too. An unusal addition, to say the least, and I've asked around, but have no explanation for its presence on this apartment building. On the ground floor there's a pharmacy that's been there for ages, but who knows---perhaps long ago the building belonged to a prosperous pork butcher...except that the pig's floor looks like a relatively recent addition to this older building.

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MOOSH-moo-lay!

Bet most of you don’t know what these are, and I didn’t either before I came here. They’re medlars, locally called mušmule (MOOSH-moo-lay) and they grow on shrubs or small trees. They’re very hard and acidic and become edible after being softened by frost or in storage. Then the inside is reminiscent of apple sauce. They can then be eaten raw, or used to make jelly, wine, and medlar “cheese," similar to lemon curd. The medlar is native to Persia and was also grown by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Medlars were very popular during the Victorian era. Since it’s a fruit that is ‘rotten’ when it is ripe, the medlar was used figuratively in literature as a symbol of prostitution or premature destitution. One of Geoffrey Chaucer's characters laments his old age, comparing himself to the medlar. I never cared for them, but I tasted some of the ones I bought for this photo, and they're not bad after all.

Mutt Show!

Yesterday an International Dog Show was held at Belgrade's Fairgrounds. Classy pooches from all over Serbia and the surrounding area came to strutt their stuff and show off for the judges. But that's not the part of the show I went to see. Held at the same time in the same large arena was ORCA's (Organization for the Respect and Care of Animals) Mixed Breed Show, which has proven to be very popular over the years and gets better and better each time. There were categories for the shaggiest, the most dispobedient, the loudest barker, the most beautiful tail, the sweetest, and so on. I was asked to hand out the awards. Fortunately a panel of judges chose the winners; I'd have been hard-pressed to choose. Why me, you ask? Because I have written three children's books here (two editions of each; one English, one Serbian,) and two of them have to do with stray dogs. ORCA uses one of them in its education campaign in schools. But enough of tooting my horn. This is Tamara and her friend Andy. Tamara and Andy represent the Green Battle for Environment and Animal Rights. I have a weakness for dogs with a visible underbite.... Bibi thought he was cute, too. (Don't you just love the positioning of Andy's leaf?)

Hard times for many all the time.

With the world's financial crisis the way it is, many people are justifiably worried about their savings. But there many others who, for whatever reason, have never known what it is to save or even be able to save or live a comfortable life. I've seen these homeless fellows downtown for a long time. They're always in this same place, and for them it is their home. In the dead of winter they disappear, most likely to one of Belgrade's shelters, but always return.

THEME DAY--BOOKS: One of my favorite books

One of my best-loved books is Walden, by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author and philosopher. Walden is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and simplicity and self-reliance were Thoreau's goals. He made clear in this book that his cabin was not in the wilderness, but at the edge of town, not far from his family home. Mama Thoreau undoubtedly often brought him goodies, but that’s what mothers are for, after all! Thoreau did not intend to live as a hermit, but rather to live at a distance from society in order to raise his awareness of how one's life is lived, materially and otherwise, and how one might choose to live it more deliberately, mindful of the present moment. He put into practice the Transcendentalist belief that one can best transcend normality and experience the Divine through nature. Some say he was the precursor of American Buddhism, since he was perhaps the first American to explore the nontheistic mode of contemplation which is the distinguishing mark of Buddhism. One of my favorite quotes of his is: “Our life is frittered away by detail—simplify, simplify!”

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