Found this on a wall downtown the other week. Yes, on a wall, and that little yellow leaf was just hanging there, probably blown onto the wall when one or the other was damp, and it just stuck there. Street art loves you, but do you love street art?
I'd kind of like to have this abstract on my wall. In fact, it could actually be the wall. I found this piece of serendipidous art not long ago down by the river at a construction site. It's a large metal fence/wall panel that had been probably used flat at one time, since it bears traces of rust and paint that form abstract patterns. I actually have a whole series of these photos, and can't make up my mind which one I like best!
Not easy even being a bush these days, especially a lovely topiary creation like this one. Seems as if the statues behind him had other plans for this little guy and didn't want him just standing idle. Water those petunias! (Can you believe this photo was taken just three days ago in nearby Pancevo? It was a freezing cold day, with a major wind...I wonder if the flowers survived.)
From time to time I do restaurant reviews for a local English-language newspaper and a column on places foreigners may want to visit around Belgrade. It's getting pretty cold, and people may not want to go far, so yesterday I visited the nearby town of Pancevo (PAHN-cheh-vo), about 16 kilometers away. While there, my friend and I stopped in a restaurant and had some spicy fish soup. We even had some extra red pepper on the side, as you can see, some warm bread, and shared a salad, topped with feta cheese. Fairly light meal, since I had to do another review that evening at the Hyatt...oh, la belle vie.
At first I thought this skater was wearing shoes on his hands to protect his hands in a fall. I mean, perhaps he didn't want to invest in protective gear, since other than those shoes, he's not wearing any. But then I thought it's just because he had no other way to carry his shoes to put back on when he's finished skating! Then again, both my guesses might be correct!
That's what the proverb says, and it's probably true most of the time. These dogs have settled themselves down on part of a cast-off couch not far from where I live. The black one is looking at me rather ominously, but we are friends, so I passed by unscathed. Stray dogs here are a big problem, and only fairly recently have there been campaigns to get people to spay or neuter their dogs, and to not abandon their pets when they "don't want them anymore." If you'd like to join Dogs on Thursday, click on that box in the left margin.
My bedroom is painted red, almost a blood red, and I love it. If I owned a house rather than an apartment, I just might paint it red too, like this one in Vršac (VUR-shots), about an hour and a half drive from Belgrade. Click on the photo and admire the ceramic tile grapes above and below the windows. Vršac is known for its vineyards, and you can read a bit more about the town
Branislav Nušić (NOO-sheech; 1864-1938) was a Serbian novelist, playwright, satirist, and essayist. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant. When he was 21, Nušić fought in the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885. After the war, he published a controversial poem for which he spent two years in prison. The poem ridiculed Serbian King Milan's decision to attend the funeral of the Serbian-born Austro-Hungarian general's mother instead of the funeral of the war's hero, Captain Mihailo Katanić, who died as a result of wounds sustained while saving the regimental flag from the hands of Bulgarians. Nušić's plays in particular are still appreciated today. My favorite is the comedy Gospođa ministarka (The Cabinet Minister's Wife), in which the minister's wife's goes to great lengths to try to be cultured, as befits a woman in her position, which recalls Monsieur Jourdain's ridiculous attempts to do the same in Molière's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Reflected in the building behind this statue you can see the National Museum.
Well, I thought I'd heard it all until I read in the paper the other day that there had been stipulations on the size and shapes of certain vegetables and fruits sold in the EU. Although certain ones of these standards have recently been revised, a cauliflower used to have to be at least 11 centimeters in diameter and a wreath of garlic had to have 16 heads. Worse, small carrots couldn't be any lighter than 8 grams and large ones had to weigh 50 grams with at least a 2 centimeter diameter, and could not display more than one root! So, if even in the fruit and vegetable world, if you weren't good looking, you just weren't going to make it to someone's table. Now that's been changed, EXCEPT for bananas, which have to still be at least 14 centimeters long with a 2,7 centimeter waistline. All I can say is I'm glad I live outside the EU, since I frequently browse the markets for odd fruit that reminds me of artwork....
Josip Broz Tito was a towering figure in Yugoslav politics for more than 30 years and even after his death his legacy is still felt in each of the former Yugoslav republics. He is largely credited, and rightfully so, for keeping Yugoslavia together for so long, for better or for worse. Tito is also famous for his policy of non-alignment during the Cold War. There's a museum in Belgrade called The House of Flowers, where Tito was laid to rest. I had never gone, but a friend and I dropped by not long ago. I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting it was---you can see his famous blue suit and white suits, massive desk and bookcases that stood in his office, his Mercedes, over 200 batons, each more elaborate than the next, carried by runners during various celebrations, and hundreds of presents received from local and foreign dignitaries. Above is a stationery set received from John F. Kennedy. Well worth the visit should you be in Belgrade...and so far, the museum is free!
