OLD SILK FACTORY RESTORATION!

 Last one from my recent excursion to Pancevo.  This is part of the old silk factory, which was an industry begun in 1733 and that you can read about by clicking here.  This building (much bigger than shown here, was opened in 1900) seems to be in the process of renovation and my friend and I feared it would become a ritzy hotel or something of the sort....but, lo and behold, it really is being renovated as the factory it once was (as a museum, of course). I couldn't find any info in English on this, but I will keep track and update you later on.

Here is my post from 2016 of the entire building.

SPRING BREAK?

 Well, probably  not, but these young girls may be thinking of warmer weather in Miami or  on a nearer coast.

MONDAY MURALS--dentist and eye check-up

 A mural from the town of Pancevo, reminding me to 1) make a dental appointment for cleaning; 2) get my eyes checked for glasses. 

No feet here, but I am getting a pedicure today.

See other murals on MONDAY MURALS.

WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE--last snow, I hope

 It is supposed to be spring and colorful. I am cheating a bit here, and if not acceptable in this meme, I will remove the post.  Sadly, this photo is nearly  black and white, taken a few days ago....oh, sadness.

We all really need some color now. Took this out my kitchen window on the high floor where I live.

See other BWs on BLACK AND WHITE WEEKEND.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--where's the ladies' room?

 Yesterday I told you that I'd driven with a friend (female) to the town of Pancevo.  All cafes and restaurants were closed, which we knew. We found a hotel that was open and managed to order two take-out coffees, which we drank in the sun in a nearby park.

But.....Nature called and we needed to find a ladies' room. No public ones anywhere, so we asked back in the hotel and of course they let us use it. In this photo I am waiting outside for my friend to return and amused myself by taking my photo in the ball on the post holding a cordon.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH ---PUFFY OVER PANCEVO

 Just had to travel somewhere, so my vaccinated friend and I drove to the town of Pancevo (PAHN-cheh-vo) about 15 kms from Belgrade to walk along the Tamis (TAH-meesh) river. Cold and windy, but nice. Am sure much more will be in bloom next time.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

GAETZ KOHN BOOKSTORE

 This bookstore, as you will read below, has been around a long time. It is located on Belgrade's pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova where I often walk. A couple of months ago, I noticed there was a sign that said they were renovating...which is more often than not a sign of impending doom for the original shop.

Fortunately, such was not the case, and I am happy to say that the renovation is completed and done without major modernization. Just spiffed up!

Here's what Wiki says about the person for whom the bookstore was named (In Serbian his name is transcribed as Geca Kon): Geca Kon also spelled Gaetz Kohn (Serbian Cyrillic: Геца Кон; 2 August 1873 – 1941) was a Serbian publisher.

His father was a rich rabbi and was the director of an elementary school. Unable to complete school, Kon moved to Belgrade in 1889. In Belgrade, he found work in the bookshop owned by Frederick Breslauer. He worked in the shop until 1894, then moved to Novi Sad, staying there for a year.

In 1901 he established a bookselling and publishing business which soon became the largest in Yugoslavia. From his premises in Belgrade he published over 3,500 books before his business was closed in 1941 with the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia.

He was attacked for being Jewish in the anti-semitic journal Balkan and arrested when the German army arrived in Belgrade.

UROS PREDIC LIVED AND WORKED HERE

For many years and in many cities I have seen plaques on walls commemorating a notable person.

I am truly surprised I never saw this one  before, since it is on a wall that I very frequently pass by.

 Here is what Wiki says about the painter Uros Predic (OOR-ush PRAY-deetch) and his very well-known painting, the Kosovo Maiden:

"The Kosovo Maiden or Maiden of the Blackbird Field (Serbian: Косовка девојка / Kosovka devojka) is the central figure of a poem with the same name, part of the Kosovo cycle in the Serbian epic poetry. In it, a young beauty searches the battlefield for her betrothed husband and helps wounded Serbian warriors with water, wine and bread after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. She finally finds the wounded and dying warrior Pavle Orlović who tells her that her fiancé Milan Toplica and his blood-brothers Miloš Obilić and Ivan Kosančić are dead. Before the battle they had given her a cloak, golden ring and veil for the wedding as a promise of safe return, but they were slain and Pavle pointed to the direction of the bodies. The poem finishes with;

"O wretch! Evil is your fortune!
If I, a wretch, were to grasp a green pine,
Even the green pine would wither."

The poem became very popular as a symbol of womanly compassion and charity. Uroš Predić took up the theme in 1919 with an oil painting of the same title. In 1907, the sculptor Ivan Meštrović created a marble relief of the subject as a part of his Kosovo cycle. Another Croatian artist, Mirko Rački, painted a version of Kosovo Maiden."

Here's the painting. And today marks the beginning of another dark era in Serbian history, the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

 

KITTY AT #14

 Cats kind of freak me out. They either sneak up on you or else just sit and stare....  As you know, I am a dog person, but I have met some cats I like. Not sure about this one.

MONDAY MURALS---loong mural

 Took this with my little Minox Mini and the quality isn't so great because of lack of lighting. I think this is supposed to  be a mural of Belgrade, but I am not sure what the spired church on the far right is...

See other murals on MONDAY MURALS.

MARCH IS BUSTIN' OUT ALL OVER

 Wait....that should be "June is bustin' out all over," as goes the song from Rogers and Hammerstein's 1945 musical Carousel. Be that as it may, the blossoms beside St. mark's cathedral impart beauty to an otherwise gloomy series of days. It is still cold, wet, and cloudy.

Personally, I don't care if it stays that way until August, if only this virus would go away....

PAVLE STILL SITTING ON AIR

 I've shown you this statue before last December and explained the story behind it. That last post wasn't such a clear photo, and this one is more colorful and clearer. Note that the tram was a present from Switzerland....in 2015. There are spiffy new ones now, too...not just these oldies. 

SORT OF SYMMETRY

 Today, like yesterday, was a miserable day. Today so far is worse. Started out ok, then it got really cold, rained a little. I literally just made it back from a dog walk when the sky broke and rainy slush poured down.

So, with this weather and not in a great mood, I snapped this photo out my back window. Not a beautiful view, but suits the weather at the moment.

COME LIVE AT THE US EMBASSY

 These are the buildings (foreground, not the higher-risers in the back) of the former US Embassy in Belgrade. Years back a stipulation came into vigor that US embassies have to be a certain distance from the street, so its present location is much farther away and set back....surrounded by a seemingly impenetrable wall. Little chance of getting a photo of that.  I tried to find a photo online, but they are non-existent or else blurred out.  Sign of the times, maybe, but most other major embassies I googled have photos.

Anyway, now the old embassy is a luxury apartment building...

ALIEN ATTACK

 Maybe I should have saved this for April 1st Theme Day. But I am running out of photos...

LAST SUNSET BEFORE HOME...

Last sunset from our stay at Mount Pancic in the Kopaonik Mountain range. See other skies on SKYWATCH

LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG

...even on the slopes. Spotted on a recent getaway from Belgrade.

KOPAONIK MOUNTAIN RANGE

Yesterday I wrote we are currently at Pancic Peak of the Kopaonik Mountain Range (2017 meters). Here is a view of part of the Kopaonik Range from where we are. We have snow, of course.

Green Stomatolite?

Here I am skiing (well, not me, but friends) at Pancic Peak in the Kopaonik Mountain Range here in Serbia. This is a popular resort and we are avoiding crowds, restaaurants (yes, they're open....) and rented a house on the outskirts. My days are spent walking my dog and theirs and enjoying the scenery. I am not a rock hound, but do like to pick up pretty ones, like the one in the photo. A friend who is a rock nut tells me that it is some sort of stromatolite abd could be around 2 billion years old. Makes me feel young. Anyone know for sure what it is?

SKYWATCH--light play in new belgrade

 

Looking across the river from Kalemegdan Park again toward New Belgrade.  I liked the atmosphere and the lights.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

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. 

YOU SHOOT THEM, I SHOOT YOU...

 Yesterday we saw that spring is in the air, and apparently so are weddings. I imagine this was a pre-wedding informal shoot.

I shoot you, you shoot them.

SPRING IS SPRINGING

 It had to happen, whether you thought it would or not, given the sad state of world affairs.

Blossoms!  They seemed to have popped out of their branches overnight.

Keep 'em comin'.

THEME DAY MARCH: Mirrors

 Ah, what to do for mirrors? I thought of going surreal, inspired by Man Ray et al. but been there-done that.

Then inspiration hit me!  I believe I am going to downsize....tired of lugging my one or two DSLRs plus weighty lenses around. I am looking at a mirror-less camera and will decide soon.  I could buy an adapter and use my lenses on the lighter mirror-less, but then the bulk would be pretty much the same, so I will probably go for a Nikon Z50 bundle I saw. I have heard Z60 is better, but I never, ever do video so I don't care.

Any of you folks downsized to 'something else' recently?

See other mirrors on THEME DAY.