ABC WEDNESDAY "L" is for "lighthouse"

Took an early-morning ferry to Bainbridge Island to visit some good friends. Here's one of the area's many lighthouses.

See what other L's bloggers have posted at ABC WEDNESDAY.

SUNDAY BRIDGES -The bridge to Lido Beach

It's nearly the end of the summer, but it's still hot here. Many people who could not get away to a big beach this summer (or even if they did) like to spend a day on one of Belgrade's riverbank beaches. Lido Beach is located on Great War Island and every summer the Municipality of Zemun sets up a pontoon bridge across this section of the Danube for sunbathers to reach the island.

Did you cross any bridges to reach a beach this year?

Check out more bridges at Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Looking for spring

A young couple looks out over the Danube toward Great War island. The winter barrenness will soon disappear, and Mother Nature will dress herself in shades of green.

Waiting for the water taxi

In the top photo, a man awaits the arrival of the yellow water taxi, which arrived a few moments later, and he hopped on. He'll be transported across to the river island you see in the background, where he may have a houseboat, or might just be visiting friends. The cat didn't go with him...

Note the killer icicle in the bottom photo. Though this one doesn't pose any clear danger*, there have been a couple of cases of icicles falling on passers-by downtown.

*Although in the photo it appears likely to fall on boats passing by, the icicle is hanging too close to the deck's outer side to be of any real danger.

Sava River line-up

Last Friday we had some very early and very warm weather. I liked the way the boats in the foreground were lined up, just as are the houseboats, the trees on a river island, and even the buildings visible in the background.

Lost in LOST...

So...how does an ex-pat like me spend her spare time? Obviously, I have a blog, and second to that, a full-time job, :<) so I don't have a lot of spare time and don't spend most of it watching television, but when I think there were only two channels when I first came to Belgrade, TV has come a long way. Currently I receive 63 domestic and international channels on my cable installation, plus another 20 local ones on my regular TV set-up. Like a lot of 'entertainment,' not all of it is worth watching. However, I must admit I am addicted to LOST. My son bought me the entire first four seasons, and I am working my way through Season Three at the present time, trying to catch up with Season Three every evening on local TV...I'm almost there....and then it's Season Four. Waiting for Season Five, which you in the US may already be looking at.

The fungus among-us

Mushrooms or toadstools? The term "toadstool" is nowadays usually used in storytelling when referring to poisonous or suspect mushrooms, so I guess these could be either. I photographed them in late July while visiting "Little War Island," one of the islands on the Danube here. (There's a 'Great War Island', too.) The island used to be significantly larger before WWII, and when construction of New Belgrade began in 1948, the sand from the island was transported to the mainland by large conveyor belts to cover the swamp on which the new city was to be built, and of course therefore reduced the size of the island. What's left of the island is basically a thin strip of land, less than 300 meters long and 60 meters wide. The island is an ecologically protected site, but tours are available and there is also a small beach for swimmers and sun lovers.

ABC Wednesday: Radovan on Vido Island, site of Blue Grave

Today "B" is for "Blue Grave," as explained further on. Here Radovan is standing in front of the Serbian Mausoleum on Vido Island, just off the coast of Corfu Town. During WWI, Corfu served as a refuge for the Serbian army that retreated there across Montenegro and Albania from Serbia which was occupied by the Austrians and Bulgarians. As a result of their long march, a large number of Serbian soldiers died from exhaustion, food shortage, and different diseases. More than 5000 of them were buried at sea (known as the Blue Grave or Plava Grobnica) near the island of Vido. A monument of thanks to the Greek nation was erected on Vido island by the grateful Serbs in the 1930s. The Greeks were not the only ones to aid the Serbs during WWI on Corfu. The French and British also came to their aid, treating the ill and wounded in their hospitals and establishing schools. Behind Radovan you can see a poster in French and two in English. This photo was taken in the Serbian House, which houses the Serbian Consulate and is also a museum about the Serbs' WWI experience on Corfu.

Houseboats on the Sava in New Belgrade

Yet another "around Belgrade" scene, this time on another part of the Sava River in New Belgrade. I love to walk my dog here. In this photo you see small houseboats, used mostly by fisherman, with one of Belgrade's river islands, Ada Medjica, in the background. You can check out this site for a fairly decent map of Belgrade that will show you where this photo was taken: http://solair.eunet.yu/~rabotic/map.htm I took it from the New Belgrade side, a bit down from the "S" in the river "Sava" that you can see! The word "Medjica" is an old word for "border", since this island was once located on the border between the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire...Belgrade has a turbulent history; more to come! "Ada" simply is another word for "island." Along the quay from where I took this photo, there are many floating restaurants and cafes (splavovi), for which Belgrade is also famous. Photo forthcoming!