This fellow's all for Serbia, as his bag says (in Cyrillic) and as shown by his šajkača (shy-KAHT-cha), the typical Serbian hat.

All he's missing is the national shoes called "opanci" (O-PAHNT-see). See what they look like right here.

ABC WEDNESDAY "H" is for "hat and hair"

Some wear hats, some only wear their hair!

See other H's at ABC WEDNESDAY.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--Dress warmly

It's getting cold, and it's no fun being a naked statue, either, I guess. Someone put a hat on this bird-loving young girl to keep her head warm.

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Weekend reflection--Vintage

Taken through the window of a vintage shop in Pioneer Square: red hat, red ring, red hair...and a couple of other reds, including the jacket of one of the men in the reflection.

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Old hat, new hat

It's definitely wintry out now; cold, sleet, rain, and a teeny bit of snow. Do you like these hats? This shop has been around (and has not changed) since I arrived in Belgrade 33+ years ago. Of course these are newer hats, but their style remains the same.

Which one do you like?

Theme Day -RED- and April Fool!

The news is in! Serbia has forsaken its national hat, the Šajkača, for the sombrero! (Okay, April Fool!)

Now, today, aside from being April Fool's Day, is also Theme Day, and it's RED! The fellow in the photo was on his way to Belgrade's Sports Arena to see The Davis Cup, that was held there from March 5th to 7th.

See if anybody else will fool you or else just see RED right here:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

ABC WEDNESDAY -'K' is for 'kooky'

Spring is here and the weather is warmer, on and off, anyway. This photo was taken on an 'on' day, along the Sava River, where I happened upon this fisherman. I've always wanted to wear a hat like this....and this fellow had the nerve. A very practical and 'kooky' solution to sun protection.

See what others have done with the letter K by checking out ABC WEDNESDAY.

Just fooling around.

I love cacti, but if I buy the tiny ones, they never seem to make it. I brought this bigger fellow home and decided I'd have a little fun with him. He's ogling the geraniums on my terrace and sports a šajkača, a typical Serbian hat that you can see here.

Red!

Frequent readers may think red is my favorite color, but it isn't. I am just fascinated when I see people wear it well. This lady was strolling down Belgrade's pedestrian street, oblivious to the looks of passers-by....well, maybe she was enjoying the looks of the passers-by.

Three Forgotten Hats

An early morning walk along the Sava quay yielded this shot of three forgotten hats in front of a plastic ball play area. Kids have to remove their shoes to jump among the balls, and usually don't forget them when they leave. Hats, however, are another story. I hope these were picked up later on.

Radovan in the metro.

Finally we arrived in Athens, and decided to see a bit of the city right away. The metro is the fastest and most economical way to get around (walking costs less, of course, but it was waaaay tooooo hot). The Athens subway is very, very clean; both the trains and stations. One regular ticket costs .80 euros. Radovan didn't pay, tsk-tsk.

We took the metro to Syntagma Square, site of the Greek Parliament, where every hour the changing of the guard ceremony is performed in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Like many other tourists, Radovan wanted his photo with a guard, and tried to talk him into exchanging hats with him, but he wouldn't.