These photos were taken just within a few meters and a few moments from each other. I thought they were so touching--the young couple standing up, facing in the same direction, perhaps thinking of their future, and the older couple seated, each absorbed in his/her own thoughts, and perhaps reflecting on the past.
This hummingbird moth zooming in for a taste of a black-eyed Susan looks more like a country shot than one taken a busy street in Belgrade. I saw this little bugger (pun intended) hovering around the flowers and took about 10 shots. Only this one turned out just right, with the moth centering itself unintentionally (or maybe it felt sorry for me) on the oval of a satellite dish. And I didn't crop this one either!
Don't these look like something you'd see on a Paris catwalk? They're only mannequins with material wrapped around them to look like skirts and tops, but I think they're really imaginative. I came across them in a dingy underground passage that connects two sides of one of Belgrade's main streets. Whoever created them should consider a career in fashion and literally move up, I think.
This post is dedicated to Branka from Canada, who wrote that she often met with her friends in this park during her student days in Belgrade. This square is the city's oldest, dating from 1824 when the first attempt to regulate the city streets was made. Earlier on, it was the “grand market” inside a fortress on the main road to Istanbul. Now it's still on a heavily traveled street, although not one that leads to Istanbul, and the square is the last stop for all buses serving downtown Belgrade. The park is now more of a gathering place for dog walkers than students, though the Faculty of Math and Natural Sciences and the Philological and Philosophical Faculties are nearby. If you're wondering about the hammer and sickle, this is just some graffiti spray-painted by someone longing for days gone by!
Walking in Kalemegdan Park a week or so ago, I came across a group of masons repairing one of the fortress's huge brick walls. I lingered, hoping to sneak a shot, when the fellow on the left saw me. He waved and said, "Take my photo!" and then called his buddy over, too. Once again I promised them a photo, which I've since taken to them, and they were happy! Check out more bricks and the meaning of the fortress's name here .
Last Sunday, which was another gorgeous Indian Summer day, my son and I drove to Kovačica (Ko-VAH-cheet-sa), a village about a half an hour from Belgrade. This predominantly ethnically Slovak village is known throughout the world for its naïve (self-taught) painters. The tradition was started in 1939 and advanced in the 1950’s when several peasants took to painting scenes from their daily lives. Neither of us paints, but we did put our artistic talents to work on the Wiener Schnitzel my son ordered for lunch by rearranging the fries. Maybe I should have saved this one for Halloween.
The statue "The Victor” commemorates the Serbian victory over the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I. With its pedestal, this bronze statue in Kalemegdan Park rises over 14 meters. The statue was created by the famous Ivan Meštrović over 75 years ago, and was originally intended to stand on one of the largest streets downtown. Because he was naked (The Victor, not Meštrović!), The Victor was deemed an affront to public morality and moved to the park where he overlooked the Sava and Danube toward the great plain beyond. Now this plain has become New Belgrade, and I thought he might feel shy, so I've hidden him in this treetop...
Today my daughter is....older than she was yesterday! Because she's living in the U.S. and can't celebrate with her brother and me, we gathered together some of her childhood friends. The little fellow in the blue pyjamas is Edward, named after a friend's son who was born about the time she received the doll as a present. Edward was/is much loved; his left eye doesn't close anymore, and his body bears marks of a bout with a ball point pen. The little Cabbage Patch girl in the middle (ashamed to say I have forgotten her name...) was selected because my daughter liked her lips. On the right is Hospital Baby, dating from the time when my daughter was hospitalized for bronchopneumonia when she was only two. The only doll she could take with her was one that could be washed easily. Edward is holding my daughter's favorite spoon, which used to be mine when I was little. They're all sitting on a small patchwork I made for her when she was born. Each patch tells a tale, too. Happy, happy birthday to my little baby. Mama and big brother love you, and we know your father is looking over you too, with love.
A few days ago I posted a photo of the town of Vršac (VUR-shots) seen from a hill overlooking the city. At the lovely hotel on top where I went to walk around, I came upon a wedding in full swing, and caught these newlyweds posing for one of their first photos together as man and wife. My photo's from a different angle, to be sure! For another bigger wedding photo in Belgrade, see here .
A Sunday or two ago I came upon these two musicians who were warming up to play for the bride and groom and their friends and family, who were about to exit Belgrade's main church. Musicians like these hang around churches when weddings take place, hoping to earn a few dinars, and perhaps be invited to play more tunes at the wedding reception.
Yesterday Belgrade's Mycological Society held its annual mushroom and fungi show. Mushroom and fungi lovers from all over Serbia came to display and admire collections of commonplace and rare mushrooms. Unlike the recent Honey Show, there was no sampling allowed! Pictured above is something I had never seen before: fungi art! Not artwork made out of fungi, but art on fungi. The artist takes tree fungus, boils and dries it, preps the now hard-as-rock surface, then uses oil paint to create the religious scenes you see here. To own a piece of this very original artwork, be prepared to hand over from 50 to 120 euros. And you thought mushrooms were only for eating!I have always wanted to dine at Paris's lavish restaurant Le Train Bleu, in the Gare de Lyon. Yesterday I did, and it was fabulous.
