SKYWATCH--I'm off again...

I'm US-bound again... The very, very short story is that I have decided to bring my aging mother over here to be closer. Health care is so expensive in the US, and here in Belgrade there are very nice 'homes' with 24-hour medical, home-cooking, and other amenities and they cost a fraction of what they would in the US. And there's cable TV, for non-Serbian speakers!

I'll be posting again from Belgrade in the second half of October. In the meantime, you'll see more photos of Seattle.

Have one last look for the moment of these airplane trails in a Belgrade sky.

See other skies at SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

NEWS FLASH: a baby on the ground!

Maybe this baby on the ground wouldn't make you look twice, but here it would...and did. As a rule, Serbs do not put crawling infants or even very young children on the ground no matter how clean it may be...even usually in their homes. So, I was somewhat shocked to see this little guy, all dressed in white, too, make his way along the ground in Tasmajdan Park. His grandmother (yes, grandmother, whom I thought would not do this) watched him as he crawled.

Do mothers or grandmothers where you live allow babies like this to crawl along the ground?

ABC WEDNESDAY--"K" is for "Kin"

I showed you Baka Jelka's hands before. Here they are again, holding her great-granddaughter Mila. Baka Jelka (Yel-ka) is my daughter-in-law's grandmother, and she is so, so proud....

See other K's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Bubble-lips

Bubble-lips is what I called her in this photo. Remember my granddaughter, Mila, whom you met last July here? Don't kids change fast?

Just you and me against the world

I can hear you saying 'Awww....."

I wish I had taken this photo, but I didn't. It was sent to me by my good friend, Jasmina, who captured these two pooches in Mokra Gora (literally Wet Mountain) in southwestern Serbia.

Thanks, Jasmina!!

SUNDAY BRIDGES--a looong way out there...

Not a recent photo, but I'm hard-up for a bridge. The Sava River occasionally rises and if you're in the mood for lunch or dinner on a floating cafe or restaurant, it's a loooong way out there.

See more bridges at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--a touch of Zen

Just pretty, nothing more.

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--Saint Marko silhouette

Saint Marko's Orthodox cathedral, silhouetted.

See more skies on SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Tiny red roses

On a Bibi walk the other evening I found these tiny red roses....what first attracted me was their yellow leaves... I don't know why the leaves were so yellow, and yet the roses were so fresh and red.

Is there a allegorical message here?

ABC WEDNESDAY "J" is for 'jewelry'

Another one of my hip shots. I love this lady....but she looks so forlorn as she seems to wait at the garage gate...wearing her jewelry and make-up.

Who is she waiting for?

See other J's at
ABC WEDNESDAY.

Art and graffiti....

Here's another cow, like I showed you here. Behind her is the now and for a long time already defunct "Beograd" department store, one of a former state-owned chain. I remember shopping for baby clothes there...long, long ago.

The restaurant with a heart

Not only is it a restaurant with the most flowers I've seen for a while, but Moj Šešir , ('moy SHEH-sheer'/My Hat), is owned by Vlado Ilic, who has recently received official recognition for his humanitarian deeds. Mr. Ilic has helped many people who have been in need of some sort of aid by giving them money or food, and in the case of ladies who dine at his restaurant in very hot weather, a fan! After a lunch, he regularly treats guests to a dessert. He's given money to other small business owners to help them get back on their feet after a hardship.

I haven't eaten here, but will, and not just to get a fan... I think it's admirable that business owners have such a heart.

His restaurant is located in Skadarlija, Belgrade's former Bohemian quarter, that I showed you here in the winter.

SUNDAY BRIDGES--New Belgrade highway bridges

I HDR's this a bit to make an otherwise drab photo look a little better...notice all the traffic seems to be heading toward downtown rather than in the direction of the airport. I took this photo when I was returning home one afternoon (by bus) and got off above. Glad I wasn't heading downtown.

Notice the new helipad on the building on the left.

See other bridges at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--the shoes that cost too much...

In Belgrade you can find the latest fashions; there are brand-name shops of imported shoes and clothing for all ages, and there are some excellent domestic brand names, too.

The shoes pictured here are most likely locally made, which is not at all to say they are not well-made, but in my opinion these shoes are really overpriced, even with the marked discount. As of this writing, the dollar is about 70 dinars, and the euro hovers around 100, so you can do the math for yourself.

How much do you usually pay for a pair of shoes?

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY--A room with a view

Not much of a sky at all here, but it is there! And what a view of the sky and the city the people in this 'spacecraft' apartment must have....I would love to go up there and have a look. It has to be better than this other room with a view.

See other skies at SKYWATCH.

Note: If you leave a comment on my posts and want a personal answer, please be aware that if you want a personal answer, you need to write me at my email address, which you can find under "About me"-"View my complete profile" under Bibi's photo on the right of this page. Otherwise, when I click on your comment, it comes up noreply@blogger.com!

Three on a Bench

Although Belgrade is a large, cosmopolitan city where older people (at least) still try to 'dress up' when they go out, you still see people in downtown areas rather casually dressed, as these three fellows. I love the ties on the man's pants on the left.

This was a hip shot, as was this one from long ago, of three ladies on a bench.

What do you think these three men are talking about?

ABC WEDNESDAY "I" is for "incognizant"

I'm not sure if this fellow was really incognizant of these puppies following him, but he was sure trying his best to ignore them.

See other I's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

More Turkish pastries...and a lot of food coloring...

Do these Turkish pastries, at least the colored ones, look good to you? I don't think I'd try them...too much food coloring..., but maybe they're just to attract your attention, as they did mine for this photo.

You can sample with your eyes much better pastries in this other shop that I showed you before.

Blue laundry

I think I have a laundry fetish. I have shown you laundry six times: here, here, here, here, here, and here. And today, we have a 'blue' laundry photo. I wonder if some of that pale blue shown was once white....

SUNDAY BRIDGES-biking on Branko's Bridge

Another biker, probably returning to Old Belgrade from some event, bikes over Branko's Bridge.

If you click here, you'll see another biker carrying a sign....

See other bridges at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Weekend Reflections--The Dove Fountain

Two doves in a fountain downtown...

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--One reminder, one monument

The title might seem redundant, since monuments do remind us of the past. One year ago last May I gave you this other shot of a monument standing on the site of a former WWII concentration camp for the extermination of Jews and Rom (gypsies), located on what was the the Old Belgrade Fairgrounds. Sadly, in this image, you can see that vandals have destroyed the plaque.

More importantly in the background rises the Fairgrounds' tower, which was used by the Nazis as a surveillance tower. Today the buildings, largely in ruin, of the Old Fairgrounds are occupied by refugees from the wars of the 90's over the territories of the former Yugoslavia, and several Rom families.

Sunny sky in this photo, but figuratively skies were anything but that back then.

See more skies at SKYWATCH.

My pirate....

Pirated cds and dvds are illegal here, but...... There's always a 'but' in Serbia. Cd and dvd pirates hawk their cheap but mostly good quality goods on the street for a fraction of the cost of the real thing, and will take orders, if they know you.... To negotiate, you need to follow them....

ABC Wednesday---"H" is for "Haphazard head of hair"

We've all held up our cameras high and pointed them at something we couldn't otherwise see. I did, too, but forgot to pan out to a wide angle, and got this young man's head of hair..and two little birthmarks. I wonder if he knows he has them.

See other H's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Note to readers: I get many comments asking for replies, but if you do not write me through my email link (see About Me/View My Complete Profile on this page), I can't give you a personal response, but rather just answer you on the post where you left the comment!

Ageless attraction

Kids and puppets...ageless....and their parents and grandparents were watching this little Serbian trumpet player and his audience...

Note to readers: I get many comments asking for replies, but if you do not write me through my email link (see About Me/View My Complete Profile on this page), I can't give you a personal response, but rather just answer you on the post where you left the comment!

Ingenuity Part II

I am always fascinated by Serbs' ingenuity, and if you remember this other post of mine, you'll see what I mean.

I watched this fellow in Tasmajdan (Tash-MY-dahn) park the other day. He had attached an elastic cord to a tennis ball, and the other end to the rear (now in front!) of his baseball cap. He batted away, and while I watched, the tennis ball got him only once.

Sunday Bridges...Trajan, no wait, it's Decebalus, is watching you....

I stand corrected, thanks to Nick, who commented below. I had originally written that this was Emperor Trajan, but it is is arch-enemy Decebalus, whom you can read about right here. I'd written about GTrajan's bridge that was and will be again previously.

And, although I visited this place a while back, you have my friend Nena to thank for this photo. You can see another one of her beautiful photos right here.

See more bridges at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Weekend Reflection--a glass of Chardonnay

Serbian Chardonnay...there's quite a wine industry here.

See more reflections at James' Weekend Reflection.

Skywatch--Big blue sky over big dead mammoth

Kind of a spooky sight, isnt it? This mammoth skeleton was discovered near Kikinda, Serbia, and stands proudly there!

See other skies at SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

THEME DAY-Perspective--a dog's eye view

I could say that my dog, Bibi, took this photo, and from this perspective, she could have. I took this with a little fish-eye attachment and stooped way down low, Bibi-level.

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