Pretty in Pink

It's the April showers that have brought these not-quite May flowers...but tomorrow is May 1st...

WEEKEND REFLECTION--Out of Africa?

This restaurant on the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers reminds me of when I was in Africa for a short while.

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

SKYWATCH--One reminder, one monument

The title might seem redundant, since monuments do remind us of the past. One year ago last May I gave you this other shot of a monument standing on the site of a former WWII concentration camp for the extermination of Jews and Rom (gypsies), located on what was the the Old Belgrade Fairgrounds. Sadly, in this image, you can see that vandals have destroyed the plaque.

More importantly in the background rises the Fairgrounds' tower, which was used by the Nazis as a surveillance tower. Today the buildings, largely in ruin, of the Old Fairgrounds are occupied by refugees from the wars of the 90's over the territories of the former Yugoslavia, and several Rom families.

Sunny sky in this photo, but figuratively skies were anything but that back then.

See more skies at SKYWATCH.

The Eternal Flame(s)

Here is a shot of The Eternal Flame that you can read about here and here. In this photo I took three days ago, you see the tip of the tower reflected in a puddle created by recently melted snow. The days since there have been very spring-like...no surprise; it's officially spring today! Hurrah! Where's the color??

This post is part of Newtown Daily Photo's Reflection Weekend.

Little Rista is Missing

I see a lot of these posters for lost dogs. This one says little Rista, a miniature pinscher, was hit by a car, got scared, and ran off. He had no collar, and most people here don't know that some dogs may have microchips with their i.d. embedded. It's required by law now and low-cost microchipping is available, but many owners don't have their dog chipped, for whatever reason.

I was sort of tempted to call and see if someone had returned him, but if they hadn't, I'd end up making the owner feel worse.

Getting ready for Valentine's Day?

I hope whoever made this has a warmer heart for his or her Valentine!

Trees on tree

I'm really tired of stark trees, cold weather, and snow. I am beginning to understand why people move to warmer climates.... So, since I can't do that, I try to look at starkness differently. Did you notice that these are not really trees, but small branches growing sideways on the trunk of a tree. Tilt your head to the right and look...

SKYWATCH--Downtown is WHICH way?

In an attempt to make visiting our fair city easier for tourists, signs like these have been appearing all over town. Most of the time they're pretty accurate, but I'm wondering if the sign people weren't playing a practical joke here...

Note too what's written in English in the red part of the lower sign!

Join SKYWATCH!

Hey! Where's the TV?

Last Sunday I took a walk in the park and look what I found! I must admit it did seem a bit surreal to see this bright red armchair just sitting there. I didn't consider hauling it home, but it wasn't in such a bad condition, and was even dry. (No, I didn't sit and rest a while.)

A View from the Bridge

Last Friday a romantic young Belgrader wanted to do something special for his girlfriend of one year. With the help of a friend who owns a restaurant, he arranged for that friend to set up a small table and two chairs on Branko's Bridge from where this photo was taken. The friend was to serve the surprised young lady and her boyfriend dinner from his restaurant while they both enjoyed a view of the sun setting over the Sava Bridge that you see here. True love never runs smooth, and a concerned motorist called the police when the restaurant owner was setting up the table and chairs, assuming he was going to jump (?). The police put a damper on the boyfriend's plan, but not the romance, and the two lovers + the owner headed to his restaurant. (Sorry for the blur, but despite my having used a tripod, there's a lot of vibration from traffic on Branko's Bridge!)

"I'm lovin' it!"

She must be lovin' it with so many fishing rods.

Through my windshield

It's snowing, snowing, snowing, and it's the wet kind. This photo was taken a couple of days ago when I ventured out by car with Bibi to the river park along the Danube. This is a view through my windshield, but of course I was parked....otherwise you'd have gotten a close-up of tree bark.

Tropical Belgrade

You can have the best of both worlds, or sort of, here in Belgrade. Visit one of the city's floating bars or restaurants, many of which offer a view of the city. How about "Karibi," which, after a few shots of rakija or šljivovica (RAH-kee-yuh/SHLEE-vo-veet-sa), local brandy/plum brandy, just might make you imagine you're in the tropics. You'll feel warmer anyway.

Corporate housing

Miroslav Mišković, whom you can find more about on Wikipedia, is the second wealthiest person in Serbia. Among his other dealings in insurance, banking, government, real estate, and a chain of shopping malls, he also acquired not long ago several supermarket chains, one of which is called Maxi. And now, it appears, even our feathered friends' homes have fallen under his wing.

Not black and white

Believe it or not, this is not a black and white photo, but just trees I photographed early yesterday morning under dim light!

Skywatch Friday-Landmark Lineup

Still cold, but sunny now. This couple is walking in part of the vast Ušće park in New Belgrade. Visible behind them are several landmarks that I've shown you before. From left to right you have The Eternal Flame, then the Beogradjanka building, which used to house a department store and offices, the rounded dome of Saint Sava Cathedral, the Ušće Tower, which had been bombed in 1999 and now is a fancy office building (renovated!), and under the crane is the site of a huge new shopping center, which will feature IKEA, among other shops. WOO-hoo.

Join Skywatch at: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Unintentional art

I'd kind of like to have this abstract on my wall. In fact, it could actually be the wall. I found this piece of serendipidous art not long ago down by the river at a construction site. It's a large metal fence/wall panel that had been probably used flat at one time, since it bears traces of rust and paint that form abstract patterns. I actually have a whole series of these photos, and can't make up my mind which one I like best!

Protective hand gear?

At first I thought this skater was wearing shoes on his hands to protect his hands in a fall. I mean, perhaps he didn't want to invest in protective gear, since other than those shoes, he's not wearing any. But then I thought it's just because he had no other way to carry his shoes to put back on when he's finished skating! Then again, both my guesses might be correct!

NATO Bombing anniversary

This is a view from Belgrade's ancient fortress, Kalemegdan, looking across the Sava river toward New Belgrade. The tall building is the Ušće (OOsh-chay) Tower, built in 1964 as the communist party headquarters, and is the tallest building in the Balkans. During the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, 12 Tomahawk missiles were fired at this building when no one was inside, and amazingly the structure withstood these attacks. It originally measured 105 meters, but has been renovated and now stands 134 meters tall. An adjacent twin tower and a megamarket/shopping center are scheduled to be completed in 2010.

The Eternal Flame

The Eternal Flame (Večna Vatra), unveiled by former president Slobodan Milošević on June 21st, 2000, is located in Friendship Park (Park Prijateljstva) on Belgrade's famous river area Ušće (OOsh-chay), In this park during Tito's rule many visiting politicians anddignitaries were invited to plant a tree. Due to its convenient location and wide-open spaces, Ušće, (meaning "river mouth," for it is located where the Sava and Danube rivers meet), has been the site of many meetings and concerts over the years, including the recent Rolling Stones' "Bigger Bang" tour in July 2007. The monument itself rises from behind this wall, not from it.