A Saturday Hike

Last Saturday I joined a group of teachers and students from the school where I work on a hike near Valjevo, a town about an hour and a half south of Belgrade. We hiked for twelve kilometers through the woods, over hill and dale, and finally reached an ethno house where we were served local specialties, including homemade cranberry juice as you see above. Hiking a little further brought us to the Celija (CHEL-lee-ya) convent, located on the bank of the River Gradac, and its new church, seen above, is nearly completed. The nun is hauling water to a nearby garden. According to one legend, King Dragutin (1276-1282) was its benefactor, but others say it was built in the late 14th or 15th century at the time of King Stefan Lazarevic.

The Bridge to Be--SUNDAY BRIDGES

Had lunch on a houseboat (next to this one) the other Sunday and snapped this photo of the main support for the new bridge that will connect two distant areas of Belgrade. I showed you the access road a few weeks ago.

Check out other bridges on Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall....Reflections Weekend

Walking back home the other evening I came across these gilded mirrors in a store window. For once I managed to stay out of the reflections!

Check out other reflections on Reflections Weekend.

Pour la France--Skywatch

This monument to France, a longtime friend of Yugoslavia/Serbia, stands in Kalemegdan Park.

Check out other skies on SKYWATCH.

You gotta be pushy...

If you're a mushroom, it definitely pays to be pushy. I walk my dog near this spot every day, and this big guy just wasn't there the evening before.....out he came, overnight.

ABC WEDNESDAY "K" is for "knick-knacks"

Oh, how many knick-knacks I've had in my life.... and now I'm trying to get rid of them all, keeping only the most precious, but which ones....?

This window in Zemun could have been mine at one time...

Do you collect anything?

See more K's at ABC Wednesday.

The pigs that did not go to market

Aren't these cute? They caught my eye the other day in a gallery not far from Kalemegdan Park. These little porkers and many more in the gallery are posing in various exercise positions. I couldn't even decide which one I would buy if I were in the 'market' for a pig.

Haste

I called this photo 'Haste", because it does look like this old man is moving very quickly. It was taken very hastilly from across the street and in very low light, hence the blur. I like the effect. Also, though he wasn't moving that fast, he does cover quite a bit of ground, for a few days later I saw him in a totally different part of town. Or maybe he took the bus. I guess 'Haste' could apply to my speed in taking the photo.

Sunday Bridges--a small but important bridge

Not all bridges have to be big. A case in point here, for passers-by too hurried to go around this puddle can just cross over it.

Check out other bridges, big and small, on Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Reflections Weekend--reflections at the University

Reflections and a reader in one of the buildings of the University of Belgrade.

Check out other reflections at James'Newtown Daily Photo.

SKYWATCH--Moon and moon cakes

Last Wednesday, according to my new friend Lixiu, (LEE-hyoo) who will soon be leaving Belgrade after her three-week business trip, was the Moon Festival in China. I had bought moon cakes at the Chinese Market when I visited it with her the other week, and so we walked along the river to look at that big, bright moon and then returned to her company's apartment to eat moon cakes. I found that moon cakes very much resemble Fig Newton cookies in taste and texture, and although I thought the Chinese characters might have meant something like "Peace," "Prosperity," or "Health," she told me these simply indicate the cake's filling, which in this case is... "pear."

Check out other skies at SKYWATCH.