Saturday, October 31, 2020

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.

Friday, October 30, 2020

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.


See other skies on SKYWATCH

Thursday, October 29, 2020

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...?
 

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

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.

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

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, October 26, 2020

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. 

See other murals on Monday Murals

Sunday, October 25, 2020

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.

See other shadows on Shadow Shot Sunday

Saturday, October 24, 2020

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....


See other reflections on James'  WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

Friday, October 23, 2020

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.


See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

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.

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

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, October 19, 2020

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...


See other murals on MONDAY MURALS.

Saturday, October 17, 2020

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--church in a puddle


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

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS

Thursday, October 15, 2020

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.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

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.


Tuesday, October 13, 2020

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, October 12, 2020

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.

See other murals on MONDAY MURALS

Saturday, October 10, 2020

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.


See other reflectionns on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

Friday, October 9, 2020

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.


See more skies on SKYWATCH.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

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. 

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

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.

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

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, October 5, 2020

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.


See other murals on MONDAY MURALS

Sunday, October 4, 2020

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.

See other shadows on Shadow Shot Sunday

 

Friday, October 2, 2020

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.

See other skies on SKYWATCH

Thursday, October 1, 2020

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.

MOTHER AND SON PIZZA

When hunger strikes...