Has this lady bought a new guitar for herself or is it a present? I do not play any musical instrument...how about you?
Across the street from Belgrade's New Cemetery and actually part of its complex lies the Liberators Memorial, a tribute to the Russians and Red Army soldiers and Yugoslav Partisans who liberated Belgrade in 1944. The sculpure seen here and the relief in the background are the works of sculptor Rade Stankovic, whose work I showed you (although then unknowingly, and thanks to reader "Knez," who told me!) last August.
Bet you never even knew chickens had buttocks! The 'buttock' in question here is an inaccurate translation of 'batak,' which is a chicken (or any fowl) leg. If you don't like smoked chicken buttocks, you can perhaps order an Uno Burger with 'union' and mustard or a smoked 'ramsteak.' I've had lamb and mutton, but never 'ram'... :)
Gustave Eiffel got around. He traveled to many cities around the world, often creating a bridge here and there. This is true for the town of Zrenjanin, a little over an hour's ride from Belgrade. The bridge he created over the Begej River was later torn down and made into a pedestrian bridge. I did see it, but it was much less photogenic than this one, which reminds me more of something Gustave would have created. You can read about the bridge he built here. On this page you can see the bridge that has now replaced Eiffel's.
Passed by this store being renovated and the 'still life' with the coffee cups caught my eye. I also caught some reflections, including my own. One person didn't eat his cookie....
A 'fingernail moon' is what I called this tiny silver sliver last March. Same moon, not aligned the same way!
I hesitated to name this photo as I did, and I in no way mean for it to be disrespectful. I have tremendous admiration for blind persons in general, and especially for those who maneuver their way through busy streets in a city like Belgrade where there are, unfortunately, few accommodations for persons with handicaps.
Serbs are BIG meat eaters. This window display shows you several kinds of dried and smoked meats, along with a small selection of fresh meat below. The stuff hanging in the plastic bag is a kind of shredded 'cracklings', or 'cvartci" (CHVART-see) or fried pork rinds. You can buy them in small pieces or shredded, the latter being called 'duvan cvarci" (DOO-van CHVART-see) or 'tobacco cracklings', since the shredded meat resembles shredded tobacco.
These little pins, or 'znacke' (ZNACH-kay), used to be so popular to collect. When I first came here in 1977, you could find people selling them or trading them on the street. I came across a fellow selling these Tito-era pins, along with all kinds of others, on Knez Mihailova, Belgrade's pedestrian street. I asked him if I could take a photo, and he said, "Okay, as long as you're not an inspector," which of course I was not. Many street vendors don't pay the tax to have a stand and often just conveniently pack up and disappear when they see or are told an inspector is coming.
Yesterday a Gay Pride parade was held in Belgrade. A few years back, things turned very nasty, with several participants being beaten up by indignant citizens (a euphemism I'm using for 'huligani' or hooligans, as they're called here.) Last year when members of the Gay Pride movement wanted to march, they were told that the police could not ensure their safety...lame excuse. This year, the City of Belgrade made every effort for a peaceful parade to take place, with the aim to tell the world that all minorities are respected here, and assigned around 5000 police to make sure things went smoothly. The parade itself did go smoothly. However, since in every society there are people who are just waiting for any excuse to smash windows, overturn garbage bins, create general unrest, and provoke the police into using tear gas, some such incidents did take place. In the above photo you see part of a cordon of special police who have blocked off two main streets to vehicle traffic. (taken from my window)
The shadow of the wooden footbridge over Kalemegdan's tennis courts, a photoblogger's shadow, and that of her little dog's head.Of course people can choose their hairstyle and in a man's case, beard style. Personally, I do not mind beards, but for me they have to ...
