HAPPY HALLOWEEN

 Nothing original here....a black cat, my cousin's pet, for Halloween....

Don't eat too much candy, and save the peanut butter cups for me.

SKYWATCH--First Serbian Insurance Society

 This building is located on Belgrade's pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova. It was the headquarters of the First Serbian Insurance Society, but unfortunately I cannot find any information about it. It no longer functions by selling any kind of insurance. Note the Thai Massage parlor advertising to the right, haha.

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Unwanted bouquet

The questions are:  Who left it?  The girl who received it, or the fellow who was going to give it to her, and why...?
 

Disappearing

 So many of Belgrade's beautiful old facades are disappearing. I am afraid this may be one of them.

That's the minaret of the Belgrade Mosque in the background.

Hot pink

 A poor quallity phone photo on a dismal early evening. I was sporting my new hot pink rain boots (ankle high) and was carrying an umbrella and purse of that same color...with my dismal gray coat.

I thought perhaps I should hijack this car, too.

MONDAY MURALS--poppyseed roll

 Nothing like a good cup of black coffee and a piece of poppyseed roll, unless of course you don't like poppyseed roll. which I do not.  

Here's a recipe anyway. 

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SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--Iconic Restaurant

A 'kafana' is a restaurant often with live music that serves traditional Serbian food. Such is the case with Srpska Kafana, located not far from me. It was opened  in 1932, but had been closed for a couple of years recently due to restitution (property seized by the Communists and now being restored.)  

Its closest well-known neighbor is the Atelier 212, right next door, and many actors had the tradition of going there after a performance.

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--another shoemaker's elf

 Earlier this year, I had posted another shoemaker's elf, but for some reason I can't seem to share the link.

Anyway, here's another for you.  Look at all those 'fancy' heels....

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SKYWATCH--LOOKING WEST

 I have my son to thank for this photo taken from his balcony. We're looking west here, of course, at the disappearing sun.

I wish I could be a bit farther west today because it is my daughter's birthday and she is in the U.S.

Thank goodness for Skype. I'll eat some cake for her, too.

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Another part....

 Another part of the tiger mural I posted on Monday. I was attracted by these luscious-looking tomatoes that seem to be growing on the roof.

CHERRY, CHERRY

 Just gotta love this cherry red Volkwsagen. Unlike the VW in this previous post, someone is taking care of this baby.

SYMMETRY

 Have to admit I have a thing for symmetry.

I find this old building on Jovanova Street in Belgrade very beautiful. (Ok, one window has its roll-down shutter half open...)

MONDAY MURALS..tiger...

 Came across this big cat downtown in a tucked-away passage. This artwork is part of a larger mural but I couldn't get it all in, so...

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--church in a puddle

 The steeple of the small Russian church in Tasmajdan park is reflected in this puddle. 

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BIG, YELLOW, AND SOUR

 Big, yellow, and sour for sure. This lemon was growing in a large pot at a restaurant where I had lunch recently. Would make great lemonade...or some kind of cocktail, if I had any say.

BEAUTY PARLOR PUP

 He or she is not a fancy pooch, but he or she does hang out at this salon, where I assume his/her owner works.

Banatski Karlovac train station

 While on my self-imposed writer's retreat about 50 kilometers from Belgrade, I occasionally took a short car ride to clear my head. One such trip was to another small town close to where I was.  I got out to walk myself and my dog and wandered around. I came upon a quaint railroad station in Banatski Karlovac. Sorry I didn't take a photo of the front of the building. The building itself is abandoned, but I got various answers to if trains still pass. You can see a wagon parked ahead. If you find yoursel fin Belgrade and want to take a train ride (maybe...) I did find a schedule on the Internet and here it is.

MONDAY MURALS--soccer fan

 Partizan soccer club's colors are black and white. This fan has it all together, with his black and white clothes and with the team's scarf.

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WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--green and shiny

 I was almost going to save this photo for Saint Patrick's Day, but March is a long way off.

This emerald green is not a color usually sported by Mercedes automobiles. Eye-catching though, for sure.

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SKYWATCH--clear toys

 These are a candy I knew as a child in Pennsylvania and are called Clear Toys. You can read about them right here.   I found them here too when my kids were little, but they never seemed to enjoy them as I did. In Pennsylvania, they're popular at Christmas and Easter.

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Tiny house, tiny bird?

 No bird around now. I think there may never have been any to make a nest inside, because the house is hung very low. 

Don't climb me...

 ...or don't try to eat me either.  This is the trunk (and leaves below) of the honey locust try. Nasty, nasty thorns it has. I looked up the honey locust and it is a descendent of an ancient tree.  Here is what Wiki says:   "These thorns are thought to have evolved to protect the trees from browsing Pleistocene megafauna, which may also have been involved in seed dispersal, but the size and spacing of them is less useful in defending against smaller extant herbivores such as deer. "

So I imagine there are now hungry deer nibbling on the bark, since the megafauna is gone.  I thought the thorns might be pretty sprayed white or gold for Christmas decorations, but they are difficult to dislodge.  I tried...ow.

Garage Sale!

 Neither my title nor my photos would win any award for originality, but for me the photos did. I have never, in all my 43 years here, seen someone holding a garage sale, except for expat or dipolmat families.  I think the main reason only the latter do is because they live in houses,  not apartments, and have more space.

I ran across these enterprising ladies in the small town of Alibunar, population of around 3,000, while I was staying in a  nearby town for two weeks.

They were mostly selling kids' items and shoes, but I snatched the two Fu Dogs that are now gracing my credenza.

MONDAY MURALS---1998

 Another mural from the same school whose murals I showed you last week.

This one was done by the class of 1998.

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SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY: Magritte was here?

Rene Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist, who often challenged his viewers by presenting everyday objects in unusual settings.  This does  not hold true for my photograph of the lamp and trees above, nor for Magritte's painting below, but they are somehow similar. If you google Rene Magritte 'trees,' you will see what I mean.

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SKYWATCH--Romanian Church in Vladimirovac, Serbia

 On my recent trip about 50 kilometers out of Belgrade, I came upon this church in Vladimirovac which is getting  a new dome. You can see its old dome in the smaller picture below thatI took from the Internet, and I couldn't find anyone to tell me what happened to it.  The church dates from 1896.

There are quite a few ethnic Romanians living in thie part of Serbia and this is Vladimirovac's Romanian Orthodox Church. Overall, the Romanian Orthodox Church is the only Church in Eastern Orthodoxy to have a Romance language for liturgical use.

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Polenta and butter/cheese

 I'm back in Belgrade now, but I have just spent two weeks on a self-imposed writer's retreat in a small town in the country, where I could write without distractions. I got a very good deal on food and board, almost unbelieveable--three meals a day, room for only 15 euros...I was in heaven. The food was great, though typical Serbian fare:  yummy, but meat at every meal and enough for two.

This breakfast though has no meat, though some people add bacon to it. It is polennta, with two generous dollops of 'kajmak' (KYE-mak), which is layers of buttery cream skimmed off milk and used sometimes in place to butter.

My cholesterol is not happy. I added the smiley face.