One meter deep

This hole just appeared on a street leading to my friend's house. One meter deep, no pipes below, and it shows (not so visible here) that the asphalt is only about 6 inches thick.  Woe to the car or person that falls in. Fortunately, someone marked it, in a haphazard way.

Let's hope the city fixes it soon.

A dog's life: So what's wrong with that?

I seem to remember that the expression "It's a dog's life," was derogatory, alluding that dogs had a rougher life that we homo sapiens.

Not so, I think, since my Shorkie is truly enjoying cooling off on cold stone watered down by a fountain. An of course i had just washed her the day before...

A dog's life. Not bad.

Driving wild

Spotted (pun intended) this car the other day on a street not far from me. Wondering if this paint job would look good on my car, ha.  I posted it on Facebook, and a local friend told me that this beer garden, advertised on the car, is now occupying the premises of an old landmark fish restaurant here that I understood was to be restore to its former glory.  That locale is not far from me either, so I need to go by and see if this is so.

MONDAY MURALS-Zemun, Belgrade, recomposed

This impressive mural was painted on a building in the Belgrade municipality of Zemun. It is a composite of various well-known buildings and monuments of Belgrade and Zemun itself.

For other murals, see MONDAY MURALS.

Growing collection...

This is my mask collection so far. If I have to wear one (and I certainly do not mind), I may as well wear a pretty  one. I want to buy another black one to pimp up with sequins, buttons, lace, trim....  Evening wear, for walking the dog, my only social life now.  :(

SKYWATCH--chimneys and a steeple

Don't know which dwellers of this building the chimneys belong to, but the steeple belongs to the BITEF Theater 'church,' which you can read about right here.

A theater in an old church!  BITEF stands for Belgrade International Theater Festival, which takes place every September.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Take your pick!

Hot, hot, hot, but it's supposed to rain on the weekend.

While walking the dog this afternoon and trying to avoid hot surfaces for her tender tootsies, I entered an underground passage under two busy streets. I had been there before, but hadn't exited through the part where this fantastic sock shop is.

Socks galore.  I was tempted...the watermelon ones look refreshing.

Which pair/s would you take?  And look up that Youtube tutorial on how to make masks out of a pair of socks.

Desanka Maksimovic

Desanka Maksimovic (1898 - 1993) was one of Serbia's best-loved poets.  Wiki has this to say about her:  Desanka Maksimović was a Serbian poet, writer and translator. Her first works were published in the literary journal Misao in 1920, while she was studying at the University of Belgrade. Within a few years, her poems appeared in the Serbian Literary Herald, Belgrade's most influential literary publication.

"Give me a man who reads..."

While walking in the park yesterday, I came across this man. I thought at first he was texting, but no, by golly, he was reading. Imagine that...

This recalled the quote by author Anne Rice:

“Give me a man or woman who has read a thousand books and you give me an interesting companion. Give me a man or woman who has read perhaps three and you give me a very dangerous enemy indeed.”

Not sure which number of books this fellow has read, but at least he's reading...

As close as it's gonna get...

Facade of the Greek Embassy in Belgrade. I am afraid that this year, due to the coronavirus, this is about as close to Greece as Serbs will get, since our Hellenic neighbors have closed their borders to Serbs. Greece is the #1 vacation spot for lots of Serbs.

Not that I planned to go either, but since I travel on an American passport, I am a persona non grata for them, too.

Cleanliness

These tea towels were often used as kitchen wall hangings. You don't see them around much anymore, but my friend who is just as big a scrounger as I, found one at the flea market.

The embroidered text reads, 'When man doesn't clean, he's worth nothing.'  Hmmm...

Graceful in death

Oh, times are hard. I seek photos everywhere in my seclusion of green exile at a friend's.  She lives near a small wood, near a small road, and this rat obviously didn't make it across.  He was going across at a good trot, so it seems.

Still life

If my posts have not become pastoral owing to my self-imposed exile at my friend's in a green area of Belgrade, they will become artsy (?!).  Here is a still life of two pieces of fruit that are no more...

Thistle

If you're wondering why my photos are becoming pastoral and could be taken anywhere in the world, it's because once again I have been staying at a friend's in a green area of Belgrade, not far from the center, but in a different world.  With all the demonstrations, chaos downtown where I live, it's just more pleasant here now. And then, of course, I am more isolated from the coronavirus...  I hope you, Dear Reader, are staying safe, too.

April Cafe

Ventured out the other day to a deserted cafe terrasse, or almost, except for my friend and me.  I like this still life, curtain in the window, flowers...

The name of the cafe is April cafe, nothing to do with when I went there!

Bit of rain

A bit of rain last Sunday left these sparkling droplets on a bush in a nearby park.

MONDAY MURALS "I'm not giving up the sun!"

Took a small path between some office buildings and St. Mark's church, and found this. Reminded me a bit of a Matisse painting.

See other murals on Monday Murals.

Old Telephone Exchange Building

I very, very frequently pass by this building, but am ashamed to say I never gave much thought what it is, though I find it attractive. Last night, my dog stopped briefly to relieve herself, and I read the sign.

The building dates originally from 1908, two storeys, and the others were added later.  Read more about it here.

It is now used as an office building.

All was quiet...for a while...

Tranquil evening photo of the left side of the Belgrade City Hall last evening before all hell broke loose across the street at the Federal Parliament regarding new lockdown conditions.

Have a look at that right here.

COVER UP!

Not sure this lady is wearing gloves, but she has covered up her face...completely.

A friend sent me this photo taken in a bus...thanks, friend.

A knight in shining armor

Ladies,if you are looking for a knight in shining armor, here he is. And actually, there are two of them almost side by side here in Belgrade, so  bring a friend.

THE WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE : Nadezda Petrovic

This statue of painter Nadezda Petrovic stands in a park near my home downtown. Nadezda was a fauvist and impressionist painter, born in 1873. Her works appear in many museums in Serbia, and her likeness has also  been featured on Serbian postage stamps.

During the Balkan Wars, she volunteered as a nurse and was later awarded a Medal for Bravery and an Order of the Red Cross.

See other black and white photos on WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE.

An old beauty from 1901

If I had a spare couple of million dollars (real estate is sky-high in downtown Belgrade) I would buy this beautiful house, only a part of which you see here.  It dates from 1901, a bit younger than its older sister I posted yesterday.  

Right now, it is being used as a rather nice cafe, indoors (in inclement and cold weather) and outdoors when the weather is nice...and sweltering, as it is now.

I'll let you know if I can scrape up the couple of million....timeshare anyone?

Skywatch--the ghost house

No one calls the building in the foreground 'the ghost house' but me. When I first came to Belgrade in 1977, this building was a beyond-delapidated mess.  I had heard it had belonged to an owner who fled the country during WWII and had passed away, inheritors unfound.

The original building dates from 1884!

Not sure the current inheritor was ever found, but all the same, fortunately the building was not destroyed. You can see it has been made over (the tall building behind is 'just' an office building, no ties to this one.  The building is the headquarters for...something.

So there you go.  See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Three in the park

Early morning in Tasmajdan Park. I take Madhu (the tan dog) there every day to play with her best friend. The best friend is neither the dog in the photo nor the walker behind her.  Her best friend is a Bichon Frise, Maza, and they play so well together. You can tell she's on the look-out.

A clowder of cats

This photo almost was my choice for CDP's Theme Day yesterday.  Here you see a clowder of cats (betcha didn't know that's what a group of cats is called) patiently waiting for someone to throw tidbits out the window. I've never seen the person, but he/she must be a regular feeder, because I see the clowder every day.

THEME DAY-MY NEIGHBORHOOD

Today is City Daily Photo's THEME DAY, and this time the theme is "My Neighborhood'."

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you'll know I am always interested in street photos/people shots, so here is a neighbor across the street reading a magazine with the help of a magnifying glass.  Please click on the photo to make it bigger, andd you will see she's also wearing her glasses, sweet soul.

Lots of fun people in my neighborhood!