Cold, but happy.

When there's snow and ice, I am not a brave walker. I gingerly walk along on my porcelain legs, avoiding any kind of slippery surface when possible. Sometimes it's not, and just when I'm really grumbling about winter, I come upon something cute like this happy face, with little footprints on the right of its maker, no doubt.

SUNDAY BRIDGES--bridge of your foot

Unbelievable the lengths I will go to post a bridge for Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.
I saw these shoes advertised in an American magazine. Those 'coils' are on the inside, but get a load of the logo..... I think someone should have researched that a little better. Or are they saying a guy can run as fast as 'that little red guy' can swim?

P.S. The bridge of your foot is the part of your foot running from your ankle to your toes, sometimes known as the instep.

REFLECTIONS WEEKEND--the bookstore

"Where's the bookstore," you ask? You're looking at it, or rather at the reflection in its window. The bookstore is currently being renovated and its display is empty, save for this reflection of a fountain on Knez Mihailova, Belgrade's pedestrian street.

See other reflections at James' Reflections Weekend.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY--a bird, a tower, a cloud, and a plane

The title says it all. Actually, there are two clouds..or more, depending on how closely you want to look....

See other skies at SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Lemme in!

This pigeon has been hanging around my window ever since the snow fell....I think he wants in, but sorry, no chance.

ABC WEDNESDAY "B" is for '(make-) BELIEVE!

Caught this scene the other evening through a hairdresser's window. Her mother, I think, and two other ladies were enjoying an after-hours cigarette and coffee in the adjacent room, while this little girl enjoyed a moment of 'make-BELIEVE', fancying herself perhaps as a customer in one of the chairs or perhaps a stylist herself.

See more B's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Frosty

Last weekend we had about 9 inches of snow, leaving the city all pretty...until it starts to melt. This is a view across the Sava toward New Belgrade. Pretty, frosty trees!

Too late for mistletoe?

Mistletoe is really hard to get, since it grows so high up in the trees. Place your orders with these birds for next Christmas now!

SUNDAY BRIDGES--Trajan's Bridge will reappear

I couldn't believe this article when it appeared in the newspaper three days go. Serbian archeologists and engineers are working on a hologram to be projected over the Danube river about 260 miles southeast of Belgrade on the Romanian border to reproduce parts of a Roman bridge that once stood on the spot.

The original structure was built in 105 AD by Emperor Trajan as a supply route for the Roman legions fighting in Dacia province (part of present-day Romania), and measured 1,135 metres (3,724 feet) . Although demolished some 150 years later, it held the record for more than 10 centuries as the longest arch bridge to have ever been built.

The hologram will show a replica of the original bridge for a length of 150 to 200 metres (yards). Pumps will be used to spray a fine mist of water droplets, allowing a laser beam to project the image of the bridge. The article says this project will be finished before 2012, but like most things here, that may not be so. Anyway, I'll be one of the first to go see it!

The photo above, taken a few years ago, shows the area near which the bridge will 'appear'. On the right of the photo you see a Romanian monastery, and on the other side of the Danube, Serbia.

See more bridges, most likely those already in place, at Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

REFLECTIONS WEEKEND--art nouveau

Why don't they make facades like this anymore? Now it seems like buildings are all steel, chrome, and glass, which are also beautiful in their own way, but still to me this art nouveau facade downtown is much more attractive.

See more reflections at James' Reflections Weekend.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY-sunrise near Uzice

Yes, it is SUNRISE not sunset, and I have my good friend Nena, whom you may remember for her hospitality, to thank for this photo. I went over to her place the other day and she showed me many photos taken at and around her sister's place in Uzice (OOO-zheet-seh), about 3+ hours south of Belgrade. When I saw this one, I just HAD to have it! Thanks, Nena, and keep snapping.

See other skies at SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Out of paint? Out of money?

Not sure what happened here. Part of this wall of Belgrade's Philological Faculty has been painted and part of the sealed window smoothed over. Run out of paint/money? Nice colors, though! (The graffiti reads "Svi na izbor," which could be translated as "Get out and vote!")

ABC WEDNESDAY "A" is for "arch, antiqued"

Kalemegdan Park is full of archways, and here is one close to The Victor statue. I 'antiqued' it for you, too.

Check out other A's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Somehow, a bit short.....

I'm still not sure if this girl was wearing tights (i.e. footless stockings) or just tight pants. In either case, the blouse (and it was a blouse, not a skirt) she's wearing somehow didn't quite go...

A bit too short?

Those who cross and she who waits

Do you always wait for the little green man sign to cross the street? If there's no car (or policeman) in sight, I cross, unlike this girl who is patiently waiting.....

Red, red berries

A little something to brighten up your Sunday....dreary here, at least as I post this.

Reflections weekend....in a puddle

That's the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SANU) that you see reflected in this puddle of melted snow.... It's been balmy the past few days, but who knows when the white stuff will fall again? It's still winter....

Check out more reflections on James' Reflections Weekend.

SKYWATCH--The Victor, explained

I've shown you this statue in Kalemegdan Park several times, but I liked the contrast with the transparent explanation sign shown here. The statue is one of the most famous works of the well-known (now deceased) Croatian sculptor, Ivan Mestrovic. You can read a bit more about The Victor here.

See more skies on SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Not easy....

It's not easy being old, and I am always surprised at the number of older citizens here who get around as well as they do. More power to them.

ABC Wednesday ---'Z' is for 'zounds'!

"Zounds," though somewhat outdated, is an expression denoting surprise or anger. For me, it was 'surprise' when I saw this old typewriter in a bookstore window. Not because it was an older manual machine, but the keyboard is in Latin characters, while it appears to have 'typed' a text in Cyrillic! :) Surprising, for sure.

Check out other Z's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

I'm down and I can't get up...

How long does the average umbrella last? I'm not sure, but mine don't seem to last long....on second thought, perhaps they do, since I don't hardly ever carry the ones I have. I prefer hats.

There is still an umbrella repair shop here; I remember it from when I first moved here, so some people care about their umbrellas, but not the owner of this pretty red one.

Senior Fashion

I was hesitant (yes, it does happen to me!) to sneak a shot of these two ladies from the front, so you have here a rear view. They looked like very good, long-term friends, and were stylishly dressed in their soft woolen coats and matching berets.

I've added a new blog on my sidebar, though not a CDP one, and if you want to see some really, really fashionable elder citizens, check out Ari Seth's ADVANCED STYLE. You won't be sorry....

Sunday Bridges---desperate...

Back from India and things look awfully bleak here, after the colors of Rajasthan. I was also desperate to find a bridge post for today, and there is at least one bridge in this photo....see it? Apart from the obvious definition of bridge, the dictionary also states that a bridge is "an upper deck where a ship is steered and the captain stands". So there you go.

I say 'at least one bridge' because some of the ships featured are floating restaurants and aren't going anywhere. But they have a bridge if they do decide to launch!

See other bridges of all kinds at Louis' Sunday Bridges.

Reflections Weekend --"No smoking....."

Hmmm....irony of ironies. The sign on this smoke shop window reads "No smoking" and reminds potential offenders of the newly-adopted law about not smoking in public places....even in a smoke shop.

See other reflections at James' REFLECTIONS WEEKEND.

Skywatch Friday -Looking down the street

"Bleak" is the word that comes to mind here.... This is a view down one of Belgrade's main boulevards with the Saint Sava cathedral in the distance.

See other skies on SKYWATCH FRIDAY."

The intruder

These dusty bottles in this crate reminded me of those 'which one doesn't belong' games I used to play as a kid.

Muddy street in Jodphur, India

I had naively expected that this trip to Northern India would be a warm one, like the one I made last year to Southern India. Wrong I was. It's been pretty cool for the most part, and on occasion, rainy, though the locals say that is unusual for this season. In Jodphur it did indeed rain a bit, just enough to make everything mucky and to require skill in maneuvering one's way through the streets. This woman seemed to take it all in stride. Her flip-flops were hardly soiled, and don't you just love those silver anklets?

If I don't get stranded due to bad weather in Moscow, I'll be home in Belgrade tomorrow! It's been fun, and as soon as I get my entire photos up on Flickr, I'll post the link.

Qatub Tower

Section of the magnificently detailed detailed Qatub Tower and adjacent building in Delhi.

Sorry for the skimpy commentary, but I'm never sure of my Internet connection and gotta rush!

Udaipur, India

A view from my hotel rooftop restaurant in Udaipur, India....

Norbulingka Institute. Dharamsala

Jumping around a bit in my trip. This beautiful face of Buddha is from a statue made by artisans at the Norbulingka Institute in Dharamsala, India. The institute is for the preservation of Tibetan culture.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM INDIA!

Greetings from Mandawa, India, where I was last night for a bang-up Rajasthani New Year's celebration at the hotel we stayed at. Lots of fun, good food, and dancing, followed by fireworks.

Still on holiday for several more days and will try to keep posting, but not so sure of Internet connections.