Sunday, September 30, 2012

SUNDAY BRIDGES---a different version

A different version of Belgrade's newest bridge....this city has only so many bridges, but I have some new ones from some excursions coming up.

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

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

No more star

Spire on the city parliament of Belgrade. On top once stood a star, representing the communist government.  It was removed during protests of the last decade.

See other skies at SKYWATCH.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

From the past....

Relics of the past.  Three manual phones (yes, of course some of us still have them), and a SKJ Yugoslav Communist Party flag. (Some people still have those, too!)  The only things on this photo that are present-day are the crocheted doilies, sold on Knez Mihailova street by the ladies who make them.  The phones were for sale, too; not sure about the flag...

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

ABC WEDNESDAY - "K" is for "Kalology"

Kalology is the study of beauty, and the ways in which beauty influences society.  You never know when a shot will appear, and seated in a trolley bus, I snapped this photo of the young woman eating an ice cream.  When I uploaded it, I saw that it echoed the advertisement for Breakfast at Tiffany's, which originally starred a famous beauty, Audrey Hepburn.  "Audrey" is eating a croissant. (The woman in the advertisement is a local actress.)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so they say.  Do you agree?

See other K's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Forced labor?

One of these kids has a (toy) gun and he looks like he's being told to make that guy work or else!

Do children play with toy weapons where you live?

Monday, September 24, 2012

Sunday, September 23, 2012

SUNDAY BRIDGES--goatherd beside the bridge-to-be

 Another photo thanks to my friend Marianne (bottom one is from the Internet), who snapped this goatherd riding along the embankment near another one of Belgrade's new bridges, due for completion at the end of 2013.  You can read about this Chinese-Serbian project on this link.
This is what the new bridge will look like.

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

Saturday, September 22, 2012

WEEKEND REFLECTION--twisted

Twisted architecture....or so it seems, reflected in the windows of still another building in Nis, Serbia.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Friday, September 21, 2012

SKYWATCH --clouds and clouds?

The clouds in the sky echo the clouds on the wall...but actually I think the 'clouds' on the wall are stylized something else, but they look like clouds.

Anyway, whatever they are, for SKYWATCH there's a sky!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Roman days in Hrtkovci

True, there is nothing Roman about this Serbian girl, except that her village, Hrtkovci celebrates Roman Days every year in September. Near the village of Hrtkovci (HURT-kuv-tsee) lies an ancient Roman excavation (Gomolava). I went to the celebration this year, with lots of people in togas and even more folk dancing from various regions of the former Yugoslavia.

It's the custom here for people (men/men, women/women, men/women) to kiss three times when they greet each other, and someone got her!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

"Un fort des Halles" in Belgrade

My first thought upon seeing this man hauling a leg of beef to nearby Kalenic Market here in Belgrade was that he resembled one of the  strong men (les forts), of the now gone Les Halles market in Paris, who were licensed to carry inspected merchandise to and from the daily auctions of fish, fowl, meat and vegetables.  Due to heavy congestion in the city center, Les Halles were transferred from the center of Paris in 1971 to a location outside the city. I feel fortunate to have visited the real Halles many times before that, watching the comings and goings of masses of produce and meat. 

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Pink Lady



This lady, whom I snapped from the hip, is someone I often see on my street.  Sometimes she's not dressed in pink, but always some bright color like fire-engine red or vivid orange. Sometimes she even does her hair in a matching shade.

Seeing her brought to mind another Pink Lady that you see below, and that I saw in Malibu Canyon, California,  before she was deemed a traffic hazard and painted over.  You can read the whole story right here.



Sunday, September 16, 2012

SUNDAY BRIDGES: old building, newer bridges

I've often admired this old house below Kalemegdan Park and wonder how it looked and who lived there in its heyday. See other bridges on Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Friday, September 14, 2012

SKYWATCH FRIDAY--nighty-night!

The sun slipping down under a blanket of trees.

Thanks to my friend Marianne for this photo.

See other skies at SKYWATCH.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

ABC WEDNESDAY''"I" is for "ill-fated"

Yes, it's Serbia, and yes, that's a statue of Rocky Balboa, immortalized on screen by Sylvester Stallone.

But how did a likeness of the Italian Stallion get here?  

Briefly, the little town Zitiste (ZHEE-tee-shtay), about 55k (33 miles) north of Belgrade, said the statue of Rocky was needed to give the village a more positive image because the town Zitiste had suffered serious damage from floods and landslides, earning it a reputation for being jinxed.And so, in 2007, up came Rocky.

You can read more about the statue on this link.

I am not superstitious, but believe that Zitiste, despite Rocky, still brings bad luck. When I pulled over on the main road (entirely deserted) through town, and then pulled away, a policeman stopped me and threatened me with a traffic violation, because I was 'parked' on the intersection.....  I managed to get away with a warning.  So maybe Rocky brings good luck after all.

See more I's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Sunday, September 9, 2012

SUNDAY BRIDGES--vertical....

Lots of verticals here, among which are the spire from Belgrade's newest bridge, the Bridge on Ada, and in the foreground, the old Nazi concentration camp watchtower that stands on Belgrade's Old Fairgrounds.  The dilapidated buildings of the former camp are now home to Serbian refugees from the wars across the former Yugoslavia.

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

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Friday, September 7, 2012

SKYWATCH--random roof at sunset

A building along Knez Mihailova Street, photgraphed from Kralja Petra Street.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Christmas countdown...

Red and green are traditional Christmas colors, even sported in September.  110 days until December 25th....


Monday, September 3, 2012

Plums=fresh, jam, juice, dumplings, brandy.....


Plums are Serbia's pride and joy. Aside from being eaten right off the tree (I like mine crisp and slightly sour), they're made into juice, jam, dumplings like these I've shown you before, and of course, plum brandy.

The happy plum in the second photo is my doing. That's what you do without Internet in the village where these were photographed.

How do you like your plums?

Sunday, September 2, 2012

SUNDAY BRIDGES--sleeping.....

End of summer...but not for some backpackers who chose to sleep in Kalemegdan Park, as did some others before them.

Branko's Bridge and the old Savski Bridge are in the background, as is the tower of Belgrade's newest bridge, the Bridge On Ada, just right of center in the distance.

It's been a long, hot summer...  Let's see what lies ahead.

Check out other bridges on  Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

THEME DAY--people watching: No GPS

Remember the days before GPS when you actually had to stop and ask people for directions?  I've used a GPS on a trip from Seattle through California a year or so ago, and while it was easy to get from Point A to Point B by myself, the GPS was really handy in a city.

But here in Serbia GPSs exist, but I don't have one, so I have to stop and ask for directions. This fellow in a village outside of Belgrade was all too happy to explain to me the route I should take. And of course I sneaked a photo of him...camera on lap.

Check out other 'people watching' photos at CDPB THEME DAY SITE.

URBAN GOAT

  Perhaps not a sight you'd come acroos within city limits, but a family of Roma live in the woods on this lot with chickens, geese, and...