NOT THANKSGIVING, BUT SORT OF....

 Today in the US families are celebrating Thanksgiving. No matter how hard times are, one can always find at least one thing to be thankful for. Because today is not a holiday here  in Serbia, I will celebrate with family on Saturday.

In the meantime, above is a photo of 'English-speaking women married to Serbs,' and we have been getting together at least since the 70s. There is now a whole new generation or two of us, but we are the Founding Mothers, ha.  This was at Hotel Majestic Downtown, still standing, though many landmark hotels and restaurants have been 'modernized'.

Somehow I got the seat at the head of the table!

A WALK IN THE WOODS

 Forest not far from Belgrade. Went birding there with a friend; no birds to speak of, but the woods were still lovely.

SUNSET

 

A beautiful urban sunset over New Belgrade. The 'smoke' from the stacks on the left is actually just steam from the heating plant. Gettin' nippy!

PICKLED RED ONIONS

 

My grandmother used to make these around Thanksgiving and now so have I.  Great as a tart side, in salads, or in a leftover turkey sandwich. Easy recipe! Look online.

SPRING FLOWERS YEAR-ROUND

 

My 93-year-old former colleague and travel buddy loves flowers. In her garden in the soring and summer, flowers burst with color. Results of her green thumb have been captured by her granddaughter, who painted a selection on her heater.

ARCHIVE DIPPING

 No current photos so I am posting this one as a follow-up to my recent trip (#7) to India. I did go back to Dharamsala where I met the Dalai Lama in 2019, but he was not available and anyway I hadn't booked an appointment. 

This little stuffie on my guest room couch is supposed to be Buddha. I added the glasses and I think Buddha now looks like High Holiness the Dalai Lama. One in the same anyway; Buddha is in us.

STARKNESS

 I thought it was more recent, but apparently Belgrade's BRUTALIST ARCHITURE (sorry, 'ARCHITECTURE'; can't fix the spelling) dates as far back as 1948 (actually, I date that far back, too...) although the apartment buildings in the above photo date from the 1960s. They look pretty grim here facing a couryard that no one ever uses and plants have never seen, but the apartments were built to last and have withstood the test of time. 

PEACEFUL--kind of

 A utility boat of some sort floats carefree on the Danube...ignoring the fact that about 200 meters downstream (60s era hotel) Hotel Yugoslavia is fast being demolished. No one is paying any attention to the fact that no demolishers have taken any care to do this safely. Asbestos is being released in the air and it does not go away.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

 It is cabbage and pickling season!  Time to buy a huge plastic barrel, set it up on your terrace, fill it with 20+ heads of cabbage, cover in brine, and wait (not so very long) for it to pickle. Then you're set for a variety of dishes from cabbage rolls to sauerkraut.

MISTAKENLY BOMBED??

 

This beautiful (my opinion) building is the Chinese Cultural Center in New Belgrade. It stands on the site of the former Chinese Embassy that was bombed a US bomber in the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999.

NATO sources said it was an 'accident'and that  they had intended to strike a suspected arms-supply facility. Where that is/ was is unclear to me.

Their excuse was that they were using outdated maps. Oh, please...all that high-tech precision bombing and they had old maps? Oh, please....

END OF AN ERA

 

What is to be....

Another Belgrade landmark bites the dust, joining some iconic cafés, a bridge, and a couple other places cherished by locals.

Read more about this hotel RIGHT HERE. When I first came to Belgrade in early 1977, we lived just across the street. Now it is being torn down to build a huge apartment tower (or perhaps two...) with another hotel in there somewhere....

IRIŠKI TELEVISION TOWER

 

The Iriški television tower stands on a forest area called Fruška Gora near Novi Sad. Yesterday my son's family and I went on a short hike through the forest, then for lunch at a nearby hotel/restaurant.

You can see that although the tower still serves its purpose, it has been damaged. Here's why:  "The tower was built in 1975 and its lower basket was partly destroyed during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Sources estimate that the tower was hit by over 50 missiles.The damage was estimated to be at 11.5 million dollars."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

It had to happen, I guess. Way too early, especially when Serbian Christmas doesn't take place until January 7th, as per Orthodox church calendar. Santa comes here on New Year's Eve. 

BACK....

Back in Belgrade. Was missing burek while in India and now I am missing India!