WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--Kolarac Restaurant

Kolarac (KO-lahr-ahts) Restaurant is one of the oldest restaurants in Belgrade, established in 1870. I like to go there but of course have not been  in ages because of the virus. They do also have a lovely garden in the back where you are totally unaware of the often crowds on Belgrade's walking street, Knez Mihailova.

Read more about the restaurant here, and see some more pictures in addition to the vintage one posted above right here.

Also, see more reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--Twilight Time

 The ever-changing face of Belgrade.  That hideous tower on the left is only  one part of a city project entitled Belgrade Waterfront. High-rise and high-price apartments that will benefit only a chosen few. Even the walkways have been, in my option, poorly laid-out. Bike and pedestrian lanes too close....and I'll stop there.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

MY BELATED BIRTHDAY PILLOW

 Every now and then  one receives a really special birthday present, albeit a teeny bit late.

This beautiful pillow was HAND-EMBROIDERED for me (except the bands on the top and bottom) by my soon-to-be 89 year-old Irish former colleague and India travel buddy, who's  lived in 'Yugoslavia' since 1958.  This woman is amazing in many, many respects, and this pillow is only a small proof.

Many thanks, Gillian.  I love it.

MONDAY MURALS--too cold to sit

 A bit too nippy now to sit outside, even though our temps here have warmed up over the last week.

But pretty to look at from the comfort of your own home computer screen!

See other murals on MONDAY MURALS.

JUST ME AND MY SHADOW AND MY DOG

 A late-night walk with the pup.

See other shadows  on SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY.

HIDDEN BEAUTIES

 Another fine from roaming around the city. There were six of these lovely frescoes hidden from the crowds on the sidewalk along one of Belgrade's main streets.

COLONEL TADIJA SONDERMAJER

 This morning while walking the dog I came across this sad little park a few streets over. I rarely go this way, and have a vague memory of seeing the bust of 'someone'. Today I took the time to look and read.

Tadija Sondermajer (the J is pronounced as a Y) was born on February 19th 1892 and died on October 10, 1967. He was a Serbian and Yugoslav Royal Air Force Reserve Colonel, a decorated fighter pilot in WW I, and one of the founders of the first civil aviation company inn the then-Yugoslavia, Aeroput.

Here's a cut and paste from Wiki: "Born in Belgrade, he was the first engineer of aeronautics in the country and the only fighter plane pilot from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to fight in the French Air Force during World War, I on the Western Front, most notably against the German squadron of Manfred von Richthofen. In between the wars he flew a record intercontinental flight between Paris and Bombay, India, and back to Belgrade. He received the highest, Serbian, Yugoslav and French decorations for his war service and numerous peacetime decorations. Sondermajer is undoubtedly one of the most striking figures in Yugoslav civil aviation and a major contributor to the development of civil aviation in the region."

Thought it fitting I should post this today on his birthday.

ALL I HAVE IS...

 All I have today is this photo of my shorkie (Shih Tzu/Yorkie), Madhu.  The reason is mainly because two days ago I received my night table from IKEA.  Despite their near-perfect illustrations (instructions in languages are apparently a thing of the past for them) I have not managed to get the blankety-blank thing together correctly. I took a breather to have a snack and fume.  

Madhu was sympathetic, I think, but imagine she was just interested in a tidbit.

Trying again today with a peaceful mind.

LIBERATORS OF BELGRADE MEMORIAL PARK

 Part of Belgrade's huge New Cemetery is the cemetery honoring the liberators of Belgrade, which lies just across the street from the New Cemetery.  It contains graves of 2,944 National Liberation Army  soldiers and 961 Red Army soldiers and the mass grave  of 1,381 National Liberation Army soldiers and 711 Red Army soldiers who died during the Belgrade Offensive.

Belgrade was liberated at the end of WWII through a military operation  from the German Wehrmacht  through the joint efforts of the Soviet Red Army, Yugoslav Partisans, and the Bulgarian Army.   Above you see the eternal flame.

STUCK TIGHT...

 We've all done something like this.  Usually we back into a pole and are greeted with a horrible metal-to-metal sound, stop backing up, and move forward.

This fellow didn't have a chance. The top part of this pole is wedged under part of his rear bumper. Try as he might, he couldn't get the bumper to give a little, nor of course could he do much about the pole, which has been leaned forward a bit. 

This is right downstairs from me and I was in the parking walking my dog. Heard the screech....  I'll go back later and see if he managed to get loose.

MONDAY MURALS---URBAN COW

 Came across this mural totally by chance while taking a shortcut between two buildings. I couldn't step back far enough to capture the whole thing, but there are buildings of the world in the background and a river between them and the man and cow.

See other murals on MONDAY MURALS.

SKYWATCH---UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SVETOZAR MARKOVIC

 Sunny skies when I took this photo and today, too, although it is minus 10 Celsius.  This is the facade of the Svetozar Markovic library of the University of Belgrade, named after a 19th century political activist, literary critic, and socialist philosopher. Markovic died as a result of having been jailed under very poor conditions and he died on February 26th at the age of 28.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

RETURN OF THE JEDI?

 Two days ago I showed you a man sleeping on a bench in this park. Today we haven't got a snoozer, but  a Star Wars wannabe. He fascinated me with his twists and twirls. Some kind of martial art, I imagine.  Anyone? Anyone?

SOUR GRAPES

 Actually, they may be sweet grapes, given that they are last year's grapes, but I didn't try them. 

A WARMISH WINTER DAY...

 Almost like spring....  this fellow was snoozing away on a park bench across from the Faculty of Philology downtown.

I was seated on a bench a bit farther away, with my little dog beside me. I pretended I was taking her photo, but I wasn't....

MONDAY MURALS two quince

 Does quince have a plural? "Quinces" sounds funny.  Anyway, this lovely mural graces the wall next to a restaurant/bar here in Belgrade.

See other murals on Sami's Colourful World.

THE WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE--dog walkers

 A familiar scene to me every day in the park where I go for my morning dog walk.  Big dogs, little dogs, dogs, dogs play...and their owners chat.

See other BWs on The Weekend in Black and White.

WEEKEND REFLECTION=St. Marko's in a puddle

 Rain the other night made a  bit puddle, but not large enough for the entire cathedral's reflection.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

THE DINOSAURS ARE HERE TO STAY

 Kalemegdan is one of my favorite places to walk. Full of history, well laid-out, great views of the confluence of the rivers Sava and Danube.

A number of years back this exhibit of dinosaurs was set up. I thought it was temporary, but it has expanded.  Kalemegdan Park is becoming Jurassic Park. 

It was foggy...

 'twas foggy the other night....and a bit mysterious....

Looking up

 In general, at least for this Pollyanna, things seem to be looking up, at least here. Vaccines are being distributed, I got my first dose, so maybe there is a teeny-tiny glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

More literally, however, looking up is good. You find some beautiful facades, made easier to see now because the trees have no leaves yet. 

Click on photo to enlarge and see the detail.

THEME DAY--SMILES

 Flashback to Jaipur, India, 2010... Three friends and I caught the night train from Jodhpur to Jaipur one chilly December night. Do to a mess-up, the first-class tickets we had reserved were non-existent, for reasons we never figured out. It was either Unreserved General Class (below second class) or wait for morning and try to sort it out.

We decided to go Unreserved General Class, which is usually taken by workers and poorer folk traveling from city to city. We were a motley crew: one of us was tall and  thin with red hair, another plumper with long, curly blond hair, one with darker short hair, and me, who at the time had short brown hair and was the oldest.

We ran down the platform and boarded the train just in time. No one was in the first compartment except these six guys, who were whooping it up and at first didn't see us. Suddenly, one of them saw us, and the shocked expression on his face made the others turn in our direction. We smiled, and settled ourselves down in one open compartment with very hard wooden benches which would be our beds for that night. All six came and sat just across, commenting in their language I can only imagine what, and still grinning sweetly ear-to-ear.  One friend had some sweets and they gladly accepted.

Then I pulled out my camera, which brought more comments. Like most Indians, they seemed to want their photo taken for nothing more than just seeing themselves on the screen.  Of course I obliged, and they were thrilled.

What a sweet group they were.

See other Smiles on City Daily Photo Theme Day.