Water-related

It's been a hot summer, so I am ending the month of August with a water-related post. Going clockwise from the top left: a statue in New Belgrade; a small artwork called "The Sava and the Danube" (two rivers kissing!); a mermaid (though I think those look like feathers...) door handle; and one of the fountains on Belgrade's Bohemian District, Skadarlija.

A 'grate' work of art

I can see this hanging somewhere in an art gallery. "Such lines....such composition....," people would exclaim. However, this 'grate' work of art is just that....a grate on the sidewalk that hasn't been cleaned in a loooooong time.

SUNDAY BRIDGES: Not a bridge, but related

First of all, my apologies to Louis La Vache, who is hosting the Sunday Bridges meme.

I was all set not to post a bridge today, since I don't have one. I chose instead this mushroom that I fiddled with, using inversion. A little voice inside me whispered, 'Google mushroom and bridge; who knows?' and sure enough, I found this link!

So now I have a bridge post, or sort of.

Check out other bridges at Louis' link above.

Reflections Weekend---Cooling off

This of course is a statue, one created for BITEF, Belgrade's summer arts festival, but many humans (and dogs!) also often cool off in Belgrade's public fountains.

Check out other reflections on Newtown Daily Photo.

UPDATE: Do you know that yesterday Belgrade recorded the highest temperature in Europe? 38 degrees C.

SKYWATCH--from my friend's window

Chimneys in the setting sun are reflected in the lace-curtained windows of an apartment opposite my friend's apartment.

See other skies around the world at SKYWATCH.

Overlooking New Belgrade

Hot summer afternoon, taking a break on a park bench, and smoking a cigarette. Not my idea of enjoying the fresh air, but....

ABC WEDNESDAY "F" is for "Found"

On another ABC WEDNESDAY not so long ago, I posted these shoes and wondered who would wear them. Now I know. I saw this young saleswoman in a doorway of a dress shop wearing none other than those very high heels.

Found 'em, and now I know who wears 'em!

Check out other F's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

P.S. Someone asked about the bottle and the pipe. The pipe comes from the air conditioner, which drips into the pipe and then into the bottle, which is placed there and occasionally emptied so the sidewalk doesn't get all wet!

Coincidence

I did a double-take the other day while cruising the portal at our mother site when I saw this door, located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. It certainly is a coincidence, for this door that I'd photographed a few days before in Belgrade's nearby municipality of Zemun looks very similar.

Two years ago....

Two years ago my husband passed away unexpectedly at the age of just 61. Yesterday my son and I and close friends gathered around his grave in remembrance, and my daughter paid homage to him, too, in Seattle.

The day after his funeral my son and daughter and I returned to the grave, where we found a little gray squirrel who stuck around for a while. On the one year anniversary, just as the Orthodox priest began his service, a pigeon flew down and landed on the cross which bore his name and stayed the entire time, seeming to listen attentively. Yesterday, before we gathered at the grave, I stopped off at my son's place. I was sitting with my back to the window when my son's wife said, 'Oh, look!' There was a colorful butterfly trapped between the curtain and the window. I carefully caught it and let it go.

Signs? I kind of like to think so. The butterfly in my photo is not the one I caught, but since I didn't have my camera with me yesterday, this photo will represent it.

It's a cliche, but I can't believe he's gone....

SUNDAY BRIDGES -The bridge to Lido Beach

It's nearly the end of the summer, but it's still hot here. Many people who could not get away to a big beach this summer (or even if they did) like to spend a day on one of Belgrade's riverbank beaches. Lido Beach is located on Great War Island and every summer the Municipality of Zemun sets up a pontoon bridge across this section of the Danube for sunbathers to reach the island.

Did you cross any bridges to reach a beach this year?

Check out more bridges at Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

REFLECTIONS WEEKEND--Harley, Harley, Harley!

All decked out and ready to go. This Happy Harley rider was waiting at a red light and I didn't hesitate to snap his photo. Love his shirt...

And if you want a good har, har, turn on your speakers and check out this Youtube video.


See other reflections at James' Reflections Weekend.

SKYWATCH --The Bayrakli Mosque

I've been past the Bayrakli Mosque downtown many times, but never bothered to learn much about it. Here's a paraphrasing of what Wikipedia says:

"The Bajrakli Mosque ('bayrak' is Turkish for "flag" ) is located in the Dorcol neighborhood of Belgrade. It was built around 1575, and is the only mosque in the city out of the 273 that had existed during the time of the Ottoman Empire's rule of Serbia.

During the Austrian occupation of Serbia between 1717 and 1739, it was converted into a Roman Catholic church; but after the Ottomans retook Belgrade, it was returned to its original function.

It was damaged after being set on fire on March 18, 2004, during that year's unrest in Kosovo in response to the burning of Serbian churches in Kosovo, but was repaired later."

See other skies at SKYWATCH.

Aero Klub Restaurant

These are the stairs leading up to the Aero Klub Restaurant in the center of Belgrade. The link I've given will take you to the site, which, despite an English flag to click on (nothing comes up in English!) is in Serbian, but you can see additional photos. This Club is a beautiful place; was at a wedding reception there once.

ABC Wednesday "E" is for "erotic"

I can see a couple of items here that would fall into the 'erotic' category. Maybe you would like to buy something to combine with the sandals I showed yesterday....

See other E's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Sexy Sandals

This type of 'boot' sandal was all the rage here this summer. Some have high heels like these and some are flat. I didn't like them at first, but now I do.

Enjoy the moment

The alternate title for this post could have been "Before Take-off," since my friend is leaving Belgrade today for NYC where she lives. I took this photo when she and I were having a (very) cool drink in Zemun, one of Belgrade's adjacent municipalities.

Unlike the dragonfly I posted here a short while back, this fellow stayed put a long time, as if enjoying the view.

I think we should all do this. I do now. Today, 5 years ago today, I finished an eight-month chemotherapy treatment here in Belgrade for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which I never suspected I had until it was fortunately detected early through my yearly physical. So far, so good.

One never knows how many days one has, so I try to take advantage of every single one.

Sunday Bridges- "Walls and Bridges"

Here it is Sunday again and I am without a real bridge. What's a girl to do except think really hard?

As you see, the spirit of the fabulous John Lennon inspired me with the cover from his album Walls and Bridges. And two of these pairs of glasses are sitting on the bridge of my nose or close.

Long Live John Lennon.

Check out other bridges, the regular kind and the maybe not-so-ordinary at Louis' Sunday Bridges.

Reflections Weekend--The Yellow Fiat

I came across this car in a gallery window downtown. It is a Fiat, year unknown to me. There were a couple of other cars inside, but I couldn't go in since the gallery was closed. I like the contrast between the old Fiat and the newer cars reflected in the glass.

See more reflections on James' Reflections Weekend.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY--twilight over New Belgrade

Aside from its overall beauty, Kalemegdan Park offers a splendid view of the rivers and the plain on which New Belgrade lies. In the summer, retired people, lovers, and families vie for a bench to watch the sun go down. Or some just sit and eat ice cream and ignore the view...!

I got a bench and watched the people, too.

Check out other skies at SKYWATCH.

Birds of a feather...

...flock together. Only one real flock here, and a pair of cranes on an electric pole. I hope they watch where they walk.

The sepia one is of a young sparrow who seemed to be desperately calling for his mother while I was having lunch in the country a couple weeks ago. The gull I caught by using a new telephoto lens.

ABC Wednesday--"D" is for "docker"

The tall, dark, and handsome type. I had never, ever seen this statue before until I went to catch the cruise ship along the Danube the other week. The sign below the statue was well worn, so I couldn't read much about this dock worker, or who the sculptor was.

Check out other D's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

No smoking, PLEASE!!!

Yugoslavia (all of it) used to be ranked third in number of smokers in Europe. I'm not sure where Serbia stands, but there are still lots of people puffing away....but not in this photo. The 'smoke' is actually mist that is sprayed to cool off diners on this restaurant on the Danube. I took this photo while on a river cruise. I must say I did a double-take before I zoomed in on this scene. I thought it really was smoke...

Stinging Nettle Soup

I can't even count how many times I used to walk through a field in France and get stung by nettles. I finally learned how to recognize them. None of my French friends made nettle soup, but it's quite popular here in Serbia. Above is nettle soup, served with thick yogurt and warm bread. I've ordered a side of grilled hot peppers, too....

A recipe for nettle soup can be found here.

SUNDAY BRIDGES--the one not used

This may not be a bridge in the true sense, but it did help something get across an area to another space. I believe it is a 'bridge' that swiveled, allowing containers from ships to be loaded and unloaded. This building down by Belgrade's river port on the Danube has been abandoned for years, but I was able to photograph this side of it during a recent river cruise.

Check out more bridges, real ones and perhaps others, on Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

REFLECTIONS WEEKEND-the sky off the pier

With my 'kids' and their spouses, I took a little trip north of Belgrade (2 1/2 hours' drive) to Palic," a popular resort about 18 kilometers from the Hungarian border.

I liked the reflections on the water off this pier.

See other reflections at James' Reflections Weekend.

SKYWATCH--the big orange moon

This big orange moon hung over Belgrade a little over a week ago...

Check out other skies on SKYWATCH.

Entomologist needed

I have no idea what this bug was (it is now deceased, though it appears to have just passed on while on my curtain; I had nothing to do with its demise) and so I am appealing to all you (?) entomologist bloggers out there.

In any case, I liked the patterns on its wings, which resemble those on the curtain.

ABC Wednesday--"C" is for 'controller'

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch, but for many people in Belgrade, there has been a free ride. For a long time, many commuters risked their luck (read: cheated) by not punching or even buying a bus ticket. There were plain-clothes 'controllers' who occasionally confronted passengers and fined them, or at least attempted to, but this was often unsatisfactory and unsafe for the controllers.... Now new controllers are on the prowl, clearly identified with their fluorescent green vests and traveling in pairs if not packs.

It looks as if the gentleman on the left was thinking, 'Thank goodness I had my ticket', but he's really just wiping his face from the heat that plagued Belgrade when I took this photo.

See other C's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

A ride in the country

Nothing like a ride with your sweetie in a convertible on a hot summer day, just the two of you...and your cell phones.

(Don't worry...the driver was stopped at a red light...)

126

This old mailbox on a garden gate in a town not far from Belgrade caught my eye. The number 42 seems to have been painted/etched on three times, hence the title for this post.

Theme Day - Bright Colors--Painting the poles

This fellow is painting white poles with red stripes on Venecija (Venice), a restaurant in Zemun. I think he'd have done well to use some masking tape...

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Normally I'd be posting a bridge today for Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges, but it is Theme Day. Check out Louis' blog anyway!