Skywatch Friday--Crows on Lavender Sky

This was a quick shot off my porch. Occasionally, due to temperature and haze (dare I say smog) factors, the Belgrade sky often takes on unusual colors, and this is a case in point. A minute later, this color was gone.

Roast corn

Corn season is in full swing, and Serbs enjoy corn in many shapes and forms, from corn bread and corn mush to corn-on-the-cob. Sometimes the latter is boiled and sometimes it's roasted, as you see here in the photo. No butter used though; just salt or plain. A type of sweet corn is grown here, but it's not the same as the US kind, which has smaller, softer kernels and is a bit sweeter. This seller was actually one of five, all very close together, on Belgrade's pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova. Behind him you can see an entrance to Kalemegdan Park, and a street sign that indicates other nearby attractions.

ABC Wednesday= "D" is for 'Dragonfly"

...and that's one big dragonfly, sitting on top of a water fountain in the Eastern Serbian town of Pirot we visited not long ago. The big bug's all metal, including its mesh wings, but I couldn't find any other info about it. People I asked didn't know who designed it or why, and there was no plaque. Behind the dragonfly to the right is "Beograd," one of a now defunct (another d!) socialist chain of department stores around Serbia and the former Yugoslavia. They've been bought out (privatized) by I believe some Greek store chain, so we'll see what they do with them.

Prince Mihailo and the National Museum

Mihailo (Michael) Obrenović III (1823-1868) was prince of Serbia from 1839-1842 and again from 1860-1868. His first reign ended when he was deposed, and his second when he was assassinated. I'd read somewhere that if a statue's figure is riding a horse with one leg raised, it means that he died of causes other than from a battle, which would be the case here. The more I looked around about this, it seems that it's an urban legend...who knows? In any case, Belgrade's main pedestrian street is named after him. The National Museum behind him was founded in 1844 and houses over 400,000 objects including many foreign masterpieces. The French Art Collection consists of more than 250 paintings, from the 16th to early 20th century including paintings by many major French impressionists such as Renoir and Degas, and several post-impressionists including Gauguin and van Gogh.

What a scoop!

The latest "scoop" for Serbian readers is that instead of paying 25-60 dinars a scoop for ice cream (sladoled=SLA-doe-led) here in Belgrade, if you drive three hours down to the town of Pirot (PEER-rut) near the Bulgarian border, you can get a cone for only 5 dinars a scoop! Currently, there are around 50 dinars to $1.00, so you can see what a deal this is. People of Pirot, or Piroćanci (PEER-row-chahn=tsee) are known for their thriftiness, much as the Scots are, and don't like to spend money when they don't have to. That's my husband's hand modestly accepting just one scoop (kugla=KOO-gla) of strawberry ice cream. Note that Serbs wear their wedding bands on their right hands, according to Serbian Orthodox practice.

The latest...

Walking down Belgrade's crowded pedestrian street one cooler evening last week, I noticed that not everyone was outside. These young people were quietly absorbed in checking out the latest in laptops at this computer store, oblivious to the crowd outside.

Cool hair---dreadlocks Serbian-style

This fellow literally has a cool hairstyle: shaved all around, with dreadlocks to require minimal upkeep during a hot Belgrade summer. This post is dedicated to Jilly of Menton Daily Photo, who published some Creole dreadlocks here: http://menton-daily-photo.blogspot.com/2008/08/summertime-in-menton-dreadlocks.html
(And whatever is he reading?!)

Skywatch Friday--Once Upon a Time Fish Restaurant at twilight

This little boat, docked near the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, is no longer in use, but what a shame. It was once a very, very popular fish and chips restaurant where hungry customers formed long lines along the quay awaiting their turn. The story goes that the cook left, and since then it's been closed. Any good unemployed cooks living nearby reading this?

Meet Emran, my watch repair guy

I think that most of my friends in the US usually just buy another watch when theirs stops working. Here it's still possible to find all kinds of watch batteries and bands, and to get your watch repaired at a reasonable price. I've been taking my same watch to this little shop for years. The other day when I went in to have the band replaced, I found Emran instead of the usual older gentleman. Emran is his apprentice, and has now "graduated" to working alone. This shop is about as wide as a man's armspread, and just barely deeper. The left wall, which I couldn't get in the photo, is covered with all kinds of watch bands and spare part drawers. Emran was able to insert the little fasteners in my band without the use of the eyepiece over one eye that his boss uses. If you enlarge the photo, you can see it under the green lamp.

ABC Wednesday--"C" is for "Cute and Curled Up in a Coil"

While I was walking downtown the other day, I came across this worker reading the newspaper during his morning break. He happily agreed to let me take his photo of him "curled up chillin' inside a coil." I forgot to ask him, but I think the coils are for electrical insulation. Anybody know for sure?

Amusement Park Colors

It's been so hot here. People cool off at some of the beaches on several of Belgrade's river islands, and then perhaps enjoy an evening stroll along the river banks. In New Belgrade there's an area where there are several rides and activities children can enjoy in the cool of the evening. Here's a colorful shot of a couple of them for you---that's a bouncing castle in the background.