Dine at Pectopah Byk!

Some of you may have a hankering for some of that yummy food I posted yesterday, so if in Belgrade, choose perhaps the "Pectopah Byk." No, wait, that's "Restoran Vuk"! (RES-toe-rahn vook). Just another little Cyrillic trap for foreigners, many of whom believe that there's a chain of restaurants called "pectopah"! "P" in Cyrillic is "R" in the Latin alphabet, "E" is "E," "C" is "S", "T" and "O" are just what they look like, then the P=R again, a simple "A,", then finally the "H" is an "N"! Simple as one, two, 2/987 to the n-th power. Oh, yes: "B" is "V," "Y" is "U," and "K" is just that. And finally, the person for whom the restaurant is named is Vuk Karadžić, 1787 -1864, who standardized the old Cyrillic alphabet to make one letter stand for only one sound, therefore the alphabet is phonetic. So if you do learn the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, you'll be able to pronounce anything...then you have to learn what it means.

Who said "cholesterol"?

Serbia is a meat-eater's paradise. On Saturday my husband and I went on a road trip with a friend, and this was her lunch. It's a grilled hamburger stuffed with ham and cheese, and topped with two generous dollops of kajmak (rhymes with 'hijack'), which is made from skimming layers of cream off milk. Kajmak is used like butter to spread on bread or to cook with, and of course, to add an extra dose of cholesterol to your red meat! (Notice the spring onion. Serbs love to crunch 'em.)

Branches like hands or hands like branches?

Is this statue in the garden around the Yugoslav Drama Theater imitating the tree's branches, or is the tree mimicking the statue? You decide!

Waiting for the games to begin

This tiny sparrow has shown up early for the "Universiade," an international sport competition organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) under the sponsorship of the International Olympic Committee. This competition brings together student sportsmen and sportswomen. In 2009, this international sports festival will be held in Belgrade from July 1st to the 12th. Since the sparrow is already the symbol of Belgrade, our little friend will be the Universiade's mascot! Why such a little bird? Simply because the sparrow is capable of flying higher and further than much bigger birds, and like the sparrow, little Serbia hopes to fly higher and farther than its competitors!

On paper or online?

Most people in Belgrade read their news the traditional way---through a newspaper, like the fellow in the background. Though there are lots of laptops around, most folks use them for business, and it's still pretty unusual to see someone just sitting and reading the news on the Net. (I peeked; that's what he was doing!) Notice he's placed some newspaper (Has he read it...?) between him and his seat. Serbs are REALLY careful not to catch cold....

No job too big!

Need some dental work? Not sure if I'd be tempted to try this Center for Implantology and Laser Application in Oral Medicine, though this sign sure is an eye-catcher.

The Roma Recycle

Yesterday, April 8th, was International Roma Day. "Roma" isn't the city, but rather the name for the ethnic group most of us call gypsies. It was a day dedicated to call attention to respect for the human rights of the Roma. Roma are the largest minority in Europe, where they often face violence, police brutality and systematic discrimination in education, employment, and housing, particularly in post-communist countries. Persecution of Roma is a continuing problem and monitoring through intergovernmental organizations can improve the human rights of Roma minorities across Europe. In this picture, several Roma are carting back treasures they've found either for their own use or to resell.

Checkmate!

Probably after having read their selection of newspapers similar to those I posted yesterday, these taxi drivers are enjoying a game of chess! I see them quite often in the same location, so they must be serious rivals. When a customer comes, they take their board into a nearby cafe for safe-keeping. Notice that one of them drives a Mercedes taxi, not uncommon here, no kidding, since originally one could important an expensive car much more cheaply if it was intended for "official" business.

All the news that's fit to print!

Here are the newspapers I buy on a daily basis. Politika, on the lower right, is printed in Cyrillic, while quick-glimpse Blic (Flash) and Danas (Today) are in the Latin alphabet...oh, yes, and every Monday Politika prints a selection of articles from the New York Times in English, along with a handy dictionary of terms on part of one page. This helps those Serbs who are reasonably fluent in English to further enhance their knowledge. And I like to read it, too!

Waiting by the side of the highway

This dog has been by the side of the major highway near my home every day since early last fall. He's usually lying down right next to the road's edge, sleeping, waiting... Yesterday I took some food to him, but when I approached he skitted off and watched at me warily. I'm sure he's one of Belgrade's many abandoned dogs that must have been tossed out at this place, and is waiting....for his owner's return. Very, very sad.

Truncated trees!

Belgrade has several boulevards and streets lined with plane trees (platanus), which are very similar to those known in the US as sycamores. They grow to great heights, and in cities their extensive branches often interfere with phone, power, or trolley lines. Hence the reason why Belgrade amputates its trees every spring...believe it or not, these trees will be quite full by summer's end, and a lovely autumn photo will be waiting! (I don't see any such lines near the trees on the right---maybe the goal is symmetry on this heavily traveled boulevard.)