Nothing like combining two fun themes--bridges and Halloween. In the background you can see the arch of the old Sava Bridge and just in front, Branko's Bridge, both of which I've featured several times before. I was lucky to be able to capture these Halloween guys who were only to happy to pose for me. The cat gave Bibi the evil eye, so she didn't chase it...
I liked the composition that Mother Nature made, and she even included some reflections for me. I also like the 'smoking kills' warning on the ashtray. New laws are coming into effect forcing cafe and restaurant owners to make non-smoking sections in their places of business. I've posted 'smoking' photos several times, like here, and can only hope Those In Power will enforce the law.
I'm always amazed at the number of statues around town. This one is to the memory of Alexander Pushkin, who appears to have had a great interest in Serbian traditions. That alone, but especially along with his reputation as a great poet, was reason enough to erect this statue in his honor. There's also a street named for him, too!
This dog looked after Bibi and me so forlornly as we passed by him, all locked up in the 'hoosegow.' If you're not familiar with this word, which my grandfather loved to use, check out its meaning right here.
This lady is enjoying breakfast of hot burek that I explained to you on Obama's inauguration day. I couldn't resist snapping her photo quickly; she has the most wonderful face. Later I noticed that there are sort of O's on the bus behind her, too. And maybe the snaps on her jacket count as O's....
Well, I didn't know when I published this photo last June that the 'fountain' I'd shown was really the bare bones of a fountain that had been removed for technical reasons and recently replaced, as you see above. It is called the DNA Fountain, and represents a double helix. The fountain was returned to its original location just off of Republic Square where young science students often meet. And yes, true to its name, the DNA fountain is an exact copy of its predecessor. :)
Definitely not Desperate Housewives, these ladies. This wall art beckoned me down a passageway where I expected to find pots of simmering, home-cooked dishes. Instead the menu bore only names of cocktails, wines, and beer. I can see why these 'Vesele Domacice' (VEh-seh-leh do MAH cheet-seh) are happy: lots of drinks and no cooking to do! If you read Serbian, here's their site!
These flat rectangular links on one of the bridges over a now dry moat in Kalemegdan Park recall the shape of the bricks on the wall behind. I might add that this chain along both sides of the bridge is really low; perfect tripping height. Watch your step.
How time flies; a cliche, but so true. The older I get the more I realize you have to treasure each and every moment. Today is my daughter's birthday and much time has passed since this photo was taken of her with her big brother. I get all teary and nostalgic when writing posts like this, so I'll just end before I start, with a Happy Birthday to my (always) little girl. I love you.
Taken a few days ago before the rains came.... I went for a walk in the drizzle this afternoon and nary a soul was around to watch the sunset, which you couldn't see..... ;)
Belgrade's High School No. 3 was founded in 1859 and because of its architectural and historical value it became a cultural monument (while still a high school) in 1964. Pretty place, no?
Has this lady bought a new guitar for herself or is it a present? I do not play any musical instrument...how about you?
Across the street from Belgrade's New Cemetery and actually part of its complex lies the Liberators Memorial, a tribute to the Russians and Red Army soldiers and Yugoslav Partisans who liberated Belgrade in 1944. The sculpure seen here and the relief in the background are the works of sculptor Rade Stankovic, whose work I showed you (although then unknowingly, and thanks to reader "Knez," who told me!) last August.
Bet you never even knew chickens had buttocks! The 'buttock' in question here is an inaccurate translation of 'batak,' which is a chicken (or any fowl) leg. If you don't like smoked chicken buttocks, you can perhaps order an Uno Burger with 'union' and mustard or a smoked 'ramsteak.' I've had lamb and mutton, but never 'ram'... :)
Gustave Eiffel got around. He traveled to many cities around the world, often creating a bridge here and there. This is true for the town of Zrenjanin, a little over an hour's ride from Belgrade. The bridge he created over the Begej River was later torn down and made into a pedestrian bridge. I did see it, but it was much less photogenic than this one, which reminds me more of something Gustave would have created. You can read about the bridge he built here. On this page you can see the bridge that has now replaced Eiffel's.
Passed by this store being renovated and the 'still life' with the coffee cups caught my eye. I also caught some reflections, including my own. One person didn't eat his cookie....
A 'fingernail moon' is what I called this tiny silver sliver last March. Same moon, not aligned the same way!
I hesitated to name this photo as I did, and I in no way mean for it to be disrespectful. I have tremendous admiration for blind persons in general, and especially for those who maneuver their way through busy streets in a city like Belgrade where there are, unfortunately, few accommodations for persons with handicaps.
Serbs are BIG meat eaters. This window display shows you several kinds of dried and smoked meats, along with a small selection of fresh meat below. The stuff hanging in the plastic bag is a kind of shredded 'cracklings', or 'cvartci" (CHVART-see) or fried pork rinds. You can buy them in small pieces or shredded, the latter being called 'duvan cvarci" (DOO-van CHVART-see) or 'tobacco cracklings', since the shredded meat resembles shredded tobacco.
These little pins, or 'znacke' (ZNACH-kay), used to be so popular to collect. When I first came here in 1977, you could find people selling them or trading them on the street. I came across a fellow selling these Tito-era pins, along with all kinds of others, on Knez Mihailova, Belgrade's pedestrian street. I asked him if I could take a photo, and he said, "Okay, as long as you're not an inspector," which of course I was not. Many street vendors don't pay the tax to have a stand and often just conveniently pack up and disappear when they see or are told an inspector is coming.
Yesterday a Gay Pride parade was held in Belgrade. A few years back, things turned very nasty, with several participants being beaten up by indignant citizens (a euphemism I'm using for 'huligani' or hooligans, as they're called here.) Last year when members of the Gay Pride movement wanted to march, they were told that the police could not ensure their safety...lame excuse. This year, the City of Belgrade made every effort for a peaceful parade to take place, with the aim to tell the world that all minorities are respected here, and assigned around 5000 police to make sure things went smoothly. The parade itself did go smoothly. However, since in every society there are people who are just waiting for any excuse to smash windows, overturn garbage bins, create general unrest, and provoke the police into using tear gas, some such incidents did take place. In the above photo you see part of a cordon of special police who have blocked off two main streets to vehicle traffic. (taken from my window)
The shadow of the wooden footbridge over Kalemegdan's tennis courts, a photoblogger's shadow, and that of her little dog's head.
If there's anything worse than returning to your car and finding a ticket, it's finding two tickets. Downtown Belgrade is divided into several parking zones. If you live in one, you can pay a monthly fee to park for unlimited hours. Otherwise, you need to pay per hour. Zones are one hour, two hours, or three hours. If you don't pay, apparently like this Deux Chevaux owner didn't, you'll find a parking ticket or two...or three....tucked under your windshield wiper... 
Stefan Lazarević (1374 – 19 July 1427) was ruler of the Serbian Despotate between 1389 and 1427. He was the son and heir to Prince Lazar, who died at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks in 1389. Despot Stefan was a poet and a moderniser and his reign and personal literary works are sometimes associated with early signs of the Renaissance in Serbian lands, and he is credited with having introduced knightly tournaments, modern battle tactics, and firearms to Serbia. The title 'despot' has the meaning of 'Byzantine prince and ruler,' and does not carry the negative connotation it has in English.
This statue to him stands in Kalemegdan Park.
Check out other skies on SKYWATCH.
So, can you tell me the story behind these two gold slippers tossed aside next to this tree, with a chain that leads to....?
Sometimes you look through your lens and something or somebody's staring right back at you. In this collage you see (and they see you!) a billy goat, a woman looking out her window, Prince Michael as wall art, and a praying mantis....not sure where her mate is, but I think he might not be around anymore....
This elderly lady was walking in Tasmajdan Park last Sunday and I was intrigued by her shoes. They seem to have heels and soles which are atypical of what older ladies usually wear; they looked quite stylish to me.
Last Saturday I joined a group of teachers and students from the school where I work on a hike near Valjevo, a town about an hour and a half south of Belgrade. We hiked for twelve kilometers through the woods, over hill and dale, and finally reached an ethno house where we were served local specialties, including homemade cranberry juice as you see above. Hiking a little further brought us to the Celija (CHEL-lee-ya) convent, located on the bank of the River Gradac, and its new church, seen above, is nearly completed. The nun is hauling water to a nearby garden. According to one legend, King Dragutin (1276-1282) was its benefactor, but others say it was built in the late 14th or 15th century at the time of King Stefan Lazarevic.
Had lunch on a houseboat (next to this one) the other Sunday and snapped this photo of the main support for the new bridge that will connect two distant areas of Belgrade. I showed you the access road a few weeks ago.
Walking back home the other evening I came across these gilded mirrors in a store window. For once I managed to stay out of the reflections!
This monument to France, a longtime friend of Yugoslavia/Serbia, stands in Kalemegdan Park.I bought the Rubik's Race game several years ago for my granddaughter when she was around nine. Now she is still playing and honestly, u...
