Happy Halloween...

Since Halloween isn't really celebrated here, I was hard-pressed to find a fitting image for today's post, until I came across this dilapidated building downtown. As if the building itself wasn't creepy enough, someone stencilled huge cockroaches on it....ewwwww.

Coffee at a friend's place

It's the day before Halloween. Here in Serbia like in many places in Europe, Halloween is not typically celebrated, except by some Canadian or American embassy personnel or ex-pats. In this photo, you can see some baked pumpkin cut in small chunks and usually served cold. My husband used to love to eat it this way, but I never got into it. For me, if it's going to be eaten other than in a pie, it has to be hot. (I don't like pumpkin soup!)

To be a kid again....

When's the last time you had so much fun that you lost yourself in the moment? This little boy was having a great time chasing away the pigeons that were being fed old bread by an elderly couple just off to the right.

He chased the pigeons madly for a few moments, then all of a sudden reached down, took a piece of their bread, and popped it in his mouth, much to the horror of his grandparents who, up until then, were enjoying the entire spectacle!

ABC Wednesday :"O" is for "Overdue"

I have admired this building, which was the Belgrade Insurance Association, for years and years. It's absolutely monumental, and is an architectural pearl, not just for Belgrade, but for all of Europe. It's been long overdue for a renovation, the last one having been in 1907, and there were speculations whether or not this would actually happen.

Sometime next year (Belgrade time...could be later...) the building is finally supposed to get a facelift, which will cost about 1 million euros. This will include restauration of the facade, a new roof (presumably in the same style), renovation of exterior carpentry and metalworks, as well as reinforcement of the structure. The statues too will be restored, as will the terraces. Two domes, destroyed during the Second World War, will be reconstructed.


Not foreseen is restauration of its interior. I found some photos on Google, and have written to the Tourist Agency here to see if it can be visited, for the photos of the interior I saw showed tourists, and the interior looks very, very well-preserved. If I get in, you'll see!

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Girl devours bird in bus!

Nothing like that title to get your attention. I snapped this photo on the sly the other day while returning from the doctor's in the bus. Nothing like a little white dove for a snack....okay, I confess. I have been fiddling with Photoshop again. If you look at the photo below, you will see that she's actually eating a "palačinka" or crêpe, wrapped in a napkin. (I showed you some yummy "palačinke" right here. ) In Photoshop, I just added a dot for the bird's eye, and then borrowed some yellow from her blouse and cloned to the napkin's "beak."

Check out the original photo below!

A plethora of boats

Whenever I hear the word "plethora," I think of Mel Brooks' memorable film The Three Amigos, where a dialogue between the Mexican bandito El Guapo and one of his men, Jefe, goes like this:

Jefe: I have put many beautiful pinatas in the storeroom, each of them filled with little suprises.
El Guapo: Many pinatas?
Jefe: Oh yes, many!
El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?

And so on.

In any case, there is a plethora of boats in this photo. How many do you see? I bet the one you're most likely to miss is the loooooong barge in the background....whoops....now I told you.

Saint Simeon afflicted again.

The still-being-worked-on Church of Saint Simeon in New Belgrade is still being afflicted by an adverse juxtaposition of posters, like the ones I showed you here. Now it appears that our simple minds have a graffiti soul, I guess. I guess this is some improvement on what the other posters suggested!

Reflections

The windowed facade of the Gorenje company's building in New Belgrade reflects windows of the apartment building across the street, a bit like a Fun House mirror!

This is for Jame's Reflections weekend on Newtown Daily Photo.

Railroad station and kiosk--Skywatch

Here's the top of Belgrade's main train station, finished in 1884, when the very first train to leave the station departed for Niš (NEESH), Serbia, on August 23rd, 1884.

It was at this station that I first arrived in Belgrade in 1976 to attend a friend's wedding, after a two-day trip from Paris.

Near the entrance now stands the locomotive of Tito's Blue Train, which you can read more about by clicking on the link.

Join SKYWATCH FRIDAY.


(Happy birthday to my newlywed daughter today!!! Mama loves you.)

Who wants Jackson?

I'm back on my feet again, though I still don't feel so hot and am still taking antibiotics. My son is helping me walk Bibi, but from time to time I take her out so I can get some air, too.

During one such short walk in my neighborhood, I noticed this little dog, who seemed to stay in one place, since from my terrace I'd seen other larger male strays chasing him. He's very sweet, and I felt sorry for him....so he is currently safe and sound on my terrace. Yesterday he got his first shots and worm pill. Jackson, or so I've named him, is about one year old, seems to like children from what I have observed, and doesn't growl when you pet him while he's eating. I'm placing some ads and using the grapevine, so we will see. I cannot keep him, since already one dog is enough for me now that I am working again.

Strays are a BIG problem here; most puppies are born and die in a short time, and those who survive are not always lucky.

Any takers for Jackson?? :) I'll keep you posted if, or rather I hope, when I find someone.

Jilly, who runs Riviera Dogs, this post is for you, as well as for Paula of Pensacola Daily Photo.

ABC Wednesday N is for Newlyweds

Another photo from a short while back, since I'm cautious about exposing myself to the elements now after having been sick/still am a bit.

This was taken downtown, and the garland above the door announces a wedding that has taken place. This is pretty much a village custom, and sometimes the garlands are quite elaborate, but you do see them in town sometimes, as in this photo.

Join ABC Wednesday.

Inside the antique shop....

Still homebound, so this is a photo of a short while ago, taken through the window of an antique shop one evening. It's times like this when I realize how much I appreciate old things, the kind I always think I'll get rid of, but never do. Seeing them here in an antique shop is sad for me. Did some of their owners pass away, and their children didn't want 'old stuff,' or have some of them had to sell their treasures to round out small pensions? In this photo I can recognize a wall clock very similar to one we have, and ditto for one fo the chandeliers.

See anything you like?

Fun and games at home.

Haven't ventured out much since I've been sick, and what to do for a photo? Can you guess what this is? You can now probably see the lemon slice below (I've been drinking a lot of lemonade...) that I jazzed up while fiddling with Photoshop filters. It could have just as easily been a photo of my window at night, since it's been raining a lot.

I'm getting better.

Have no fear; I'm still here. Went to the eye, ear, nose, and throat doctor yesterday, and he gave me two injections, one in a vein, and the other, as they say here in my 'debelo meso' (literally 'fat meat'), which is another way of saying 'my behind.' I have very shy veins and he had to search for a while, but there was no trouble giving me injection #2. He also gave me a hefty prescription, and I am popping pills. I'm supposed to stay home this week, which I guess I will, since there's no sense in going to teach when I can't talk.

In any case, this is a photo taken a few weeks back at the Fenek Monastery I visited a few weeks ago with some friends who had come over for my daughter's wedding. The skull and crossbones are on an old grave, but I am not sure who is buried here; presumably someone from the monastery, though when I Googled 'skull and crossbones,' no mention came up of religious figures using them. Pirates use the symbol, but in an altered form, with the bones well behind the skull, but it seems that Freemasons used them just as they are.

Anyone know?

Flat out.

Since Tuesday evening I have set foot outside just once, and that was yesterday, when I went down to get my visa renewed at the police station. It was pantomime at several points, since I've been laid up (or down, actually) with a major cold, cough, aches, and....laryngitis, and I was and still am to some extent, voiceless! I hurried home and went back to bed. Here is what I've been spending my time with the last few days. I am especially thankful for my little ASUS computer that is so handy. (How did you think I was visiting your blogs?) Only Bibi, who was lying beside me the whole time, is absent from this photo. Thank goodness my son is around to walk her.

Have you been sick this fall?

Skywatch Friday--Stormy skies over Kalemegdan

Our Indian summer weather has disappeared....I've been home with a cold, cough, and laryngitis for two days... It's cold and windy out there. This photo was taken when the clouds were still white, but with a hint of menace in them.

In this photo you see one of Kalemegdan Park fortress's walls. Kalemegdan is the most popular park for Belgraders and for many tourists because of its numerous winding walking paths, shady benches, picturesque fountains, statues, historical architecture and incredible river views (Sava and Danube.) The former canal which was used for water supply during the Middle Ages is completely covered. Kalemegdan is also known for its lemgthy long lagums, underground corridors and catacombs, which are still largely unexplored.

Why don't you join SKYWATCH FRIDAY?

New fad?

It's times like this that I really feel out of touch with fashion. I snapped this shot in a hurry while I was waiting for the light to change. This was a few days ago when the weather was still warm, but now it's gone cold on us; about time. Anyway, I have to admire the devil-may-care attitude this girl has.

This post goes out to Marie-Noyale of Larchmont Daily Photo, who posted a similar photo a short while ago right here.

ABC Wednesday "M" is for "mixed-up mounting"

This little girl was most surprised when she found herself sitting backwards on this pony. I watched her mount, with the help (!) of the man. She didn't seem to mind, and the man led her for one tour around, after which she opted for the traditional way to sit in the saddle!

Join ABC WEDNESDAY.

I have no idea....

....what this is. There was no text anywhere to be seen, and it seems to be a sign left over from a shop that was below it...nothing there now.

Any ideas?

Peeking over the fence

I love to scrounge through flea markets and thrift shops, and I also am a bit of a Peeping Tom (Tomasina). You won't find me leering through your window at night or armed with binoculars from my terrace, but if something is nearly within view over a fence, for me it's fare game!

Such was the case for this serendipitous find on an old street downtown.

But where's the artist...?

White hollyhock

It's still very warm here...warm enough for flowers to keep blooming. Near where I work I saw masses of yellow crocuses.... Here's a hollyhock for you, and a little ant that is still around to walk over it.

Pancakes....or crepes....or 'palacinke'

Another yummy photo for you. Here are two palačinke (PAH-lah-cheen-keh), or Serbian crêpes that I enjoyed with a friend (we had two each....) the other day at an outdoor cafe.
Palačinke are traditionally rolled with jam and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. A variety of different fruit sauces chocolate sauce, hazelnut-chocolate cream, walnuts, fresh fruits, sweet cottage cheese and raisins, cocoa powder, poppy seed, or any combination of can be used.

These palačinke are different from the traditional ones in that they are not rolled, but arranged like little sacks. They're filled with a cooked apple filling, seasoned with cinnamon, very similar to an American apple pie filling. They were good...

Skywatch Friday---Saint Sava

Not a fabulous sky, but I like this photo, since it is a hand-held one that turned out! This is a statue of Saint Sava, standing in front of the large Serbian Orthodox church which bears his name. Please click on the link for more info about him!

Join others at Skywatch Friday.

Gotcha.

I wonder how many of you saw this "naked lady" on the portal and clicked just to see what it was. This painting, along with many, many others, is part of an exhibit of One Hundred Years of Serbian Art at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, one of the most eminent scientific and art institutions in Serbia. It is also one of the oldest (founded in 1886) and largest academies in South-East Europe.

I attended the exhibit, which is free to the public, and was very impressed by the paintings, especially those of the Impressionist period.

ABC Wednesday "L" is for "Lonely and lugging."

Where are your friends when you need them? I was really puzzled by this poor guy, who had some sort of cast/brace on his foot, who was limping (another L) along, lugging something obviously heavy in that black bag. What's inside? Water skis that may be responsible for the cast/brace? I'll never know.

Join others on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Gimme that chocolate!!!

Snapped this shot the other day while in the bus going downtown. It's another ad like this one for Milka chocolate, and the ad reads, "One bite and you're there."

At first I was tempted to crop the photo so that it would really be a trompe l'oeil, but then I realized you can see not only one but two of my previous posts off to the left.

Red, red, red.

Some of you are probably going to think I have a 'red' fetish, since I've often photographed, for example, several women here who have brilliant red hair. It's now fall, and in Serbia it is the season for making ajvar , (EYE-var) which you can see in the jar and on the plate. It's made from roasted ground, eggplant, sweet red peppers, and garlic, and is eaten as a spread, an addition to roast meat, or just by itself. Yum. If you like it hot, add a hot pepper or two when you grind it.

And the red tablecloth has been in my family since I was a kid, and that's a long time ago...

So...which one was it?

This sign that advertises an outlet center says, "Every second person at this bus stop didn't know what to wear this morning."

So....was it the guy or the gal?

Bad bubbly, but who cares!

Since I've given my blog a new banner with glasses, it's only fitting that one of the first posts be one with a glass...of Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. While my 'kids' were on their honeymoon, I opened a bottle of this champagne that my daughter and son-in-law had bought at the duty free shop on their way here. I wanted to share this bottle with some dear friends who'd flown over for the wedding, both of whom are wine connoisseurs.

"Cheers,' we wished each other, and took a sip. My tastebuds told me that something wasn't quite right, but it wasn't so wrong either...I just imagined I was in a wine cellar drinking champagne, for there was a distinctive musty scent and taste. My friend was sniffing the cork, and I knew what was coming: "Cork taint," she announced. "It happens now and then."

Although she decided not to drink anymore, her husband's first question was, "Will it hurt me?" Upon receiving a negative answer, he and I finished off the bottle....

Wiki says this: "Cork taint is a broad term referring to a wine fault characterized by a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. Though modern studies have shown that other factors can also be responsible for taint – including wooden barrels, storage conditions and the transport of corks and wine – the cork is normally considered to be responsible, and a wine found to be tainted on opening is said to be "corked". Cork taint can affect wines irrespective of price and quality level. The chief cause of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine. Corked wine containing TCA has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, damp cloth, or damp basement."

I'm none the worse for it...

Skywatch-- Black Crows, Gray Sky

It's been fairly sunny recently, but it is now October, and gray skies may not be too far off.

Take a look at other Skywatches.

Theme Day--Contrast

Too common a scene in major cities. An old woman, who has fallen asleep while begging, sits in front of a fashionable window display.


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