ABC Wednesday "G" is for "gloves"

A street cleaner was undoubtedly taking a break and left his gloves on his dustbin cart. This photo reminds me of my grandfather, who used to do the same with his garden gloves. After mowing the lawn, he'd leave them on the mower's handles. I remember too that when he fell asleep while reading in his armchair in the living room, my grandmother would gently remove the book, and his hands would stay in the 'holding a book' position until he woke up, sometimes because I'd be giggling so hard.

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A caramel Bibi

Last Sunday a friend and I paid another visit to Katja , the lady with nearly 300 dogs at last count. Katja has been working with a French friend of mine to help her home these dogs in Europe, and has had some success so far. Approximately 10 of her dogs leave each month for new homes in primarily France, Belgium, and Germany, and the nicest part is, these are very often dogs with some sort of handicap. The plan is for Katja not to accept any more dogs, and to home the ones she has. Unfortunately, Katja often wakes up to new dogs that have been thrown over her fence, tied to her front gate, or abandoned as puppies in a box.

Bibi came from this place, and I couldn't help but notice a resemblance between caramel-colored "Nena" in the upper photo and Bibi.

I've posted more photos of the dogs on Flickr and I hope you can connect to the link. If not, contact me through my email under my profile. If you're interested in helping Katja, write me there as well, and I will put you in contact with my friend (French, English, and Serbian-speaking.)

A bagel by any other name...

...is not a bagel, it is probably a djevrek (JEV-rek), at least here in Belgrade. Here in the photo you can see a plain bagel (Yes, there is a real New York bagel shop here now, run by a Serb who lived in the Big Apple!), a sesame seed covered djevrek, and a thinner 'cocktail' djevrek'. Like the bagel, the two djevrek (actually 'djevreci' in the plural) shown here are boiled, but there exists another thicker kind that is baked like a bread and has a bread-like consistency. Djevreci

are eaten for a snack or for breakfast with yogurt. They don't keep well, and any leftover ones you can use for ring toss!

This photo is for Anci, who wrote to say she misses them...

March Theme Day "Glass" Živeli! (Cheers!)

Serbs love their rakija (RAH-kee-yuh) or brandy, which is usually made from plums, although it can be made from other fruit, such as quince or pears. I photographed a pear here, for it's not the season for plums, and so I couldn't find any for my photo. Here you can see an assortment of rakija glasses and a carafe. The two tall glasses on the left in front of the pear are

the most classic ones. Živeli! (ZHEE-veh-lee!) or Cheers!

P.S. I took this photo with my macro lens, my latest piece of 'glass'.

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And now, by special request...

This isn't a photo that will probably attract a lot of attention from most of you in Bloggerland, but I received a request from a Serbian gentleman in the U.S. for a " view from center of sidewalk in front of Albania building toward London intersection - sort of a wide angle view of both sides of the street," so here it is. Terazije is Belgrade's designated center, and derives its name from when the Turks had water brought in from the springs from a nearby community. A water tower was erected on the location of the present fountain at Terazije and the square was named after the Turkish word for water tower, terazi (literally, water scales). On this photo you can just make out the green-tiled pointed spires of Hotel Moskva.

I hope you like the photo....

I finally found some mailboxes!

This post is for Marie at Vintage Postcards, who wanted me to show her what Serbian mailboxes looked like. The more I thought about, I realized I hadn't seen a mailbox on the street/wall for a long, long time, so I went hunting. These are two that I found, but they are right smack in front of post offices. This got me thinking of my experiences when I first came here 32 years ago when you could actually find mailboxes all over. However, most people I knew then preferred to take their letters directly to the post office, since they said the wall boxes weren't reliable, i.e. the mailman never picked up the contents or else did so very sporadically. I guess it must have been true, for the only ones I've seen now are right in front of post offices...but then why bother putting your mail in when you can be sure it gets picked up if you take it inside? Hmmm. Point to ponder.

Like my new banner? Thanks goes to Adam from Balkan File for resizing my photo!

Happy Birthday to my Baby Boy

At 31, my son is hardly a baby anymore, but as all mothers who read this know, we always tend to think of them as "baby boy" and 'baby girl". Above is an arrangement I made for my son's birthday, similar to the one I made for my daughter last October. You can see his first bunny, tiny moccasins, a cat/fox (never could tell), his much-loved Curious George (original nose was chewed off), a soap carving, a carved owl, a dragster, a Swiss Army knife, and a little Serbian boy candle, all arranged on his first knitted blanket. Gosh, how time flies. Happy Birthday, "Baby Boy," and many, many more. Your sister and I love you, and I know your father is with us all today.

ABC Wednesday "F" is for "Fruška Gora Feline"

Fruška Gora (FROOSH-kah GORE-ah) is a mountain in the north of Serbia, sometimes also called the Jewel of Vojvodina, for its beautiful landscapes, nature and countryside. It's not a full-blown mountain, but rather a mount whose name derives from the old Serbian name for the Frankish people: Fruzi. The full translation of "Fruška Gora" would be "Frankish Mountain," and it received this name due to its function as a natural border during Frankish campaigns. During the time of the Roman Empire, its name was Alma Mons "Fertile Mount". Today this mount is best known for its wonderful fruit, nuts, and honey, and is also home to over 12 Orthodox Monasteries.

My photo wasn't taken on Fruška Gora, but rather on Fruška Gora Street in Belgrade, where the other 'f,' the feline, happened to pose nicely for me.

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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.

Beware of the crows!

Life is tough for Belgrade's street dogs, especially in the winter. This fellow is holding tight to his bone that the crows seem to be attracted to...unless they want the dog himself. I've seen crows dive-bomb dogs to divert them from their food, then snatch it.

In Austria and on the Titanic

Bermet (BEAR-met) is an elegant dessert wine, produced according to recipes held secret by a handful of families in the town of Sremski Karlovci (see the sign on the van) in Vojvodina, Serbia, about 50 kilometers north of Belgrade. The red or white wine is sweet, usually between 16 and 18% alcohol, with a pleasant mixture of spices and herbs. Every family has its own recipe, so you won’t find two Bermet that are the same.

Bermet but can also be served as an aperitif. In the old days, Bermet was very popular among the aristocracy of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the Viennese court purchased it in large quantities. Several varieties of Bermet were found on the Titanic's wine list on its maiden and ill-fated journey.

This lady has saved her customers the trouble by coming to Belgrade in her van and setting up a street stand.