Monday, March 17, 2014

Not so round and chubby

This is the Roman Well in Kalemegdan Park that I showed you before, with a lock inscribed with Buby and Beby's names, whoever they may be. Sorry to say that the lock has been removed, the door repainted, and the inside corridors fixed up for tourists. First sprucing up in seven years.

 I have also found out that contrary to its nickname of Roman Well, it was actually built between 1717 and 1731 by the Austrians who ruled Belgrade at that time.  The confusion came when the Serbian rebels, who took back Kalemegdan fortress from the Ottomans in the 19th century, believed mistakenly that all constructions dated back to Roman times.

To top things off, it's not really a well at all, but rather a cistern.  The water within does not come from an underground spring, but is simply stored there.

It looks fat and chubby here, but that's thanks to my fisheye lens.

Daily Haiku
 Not everything is
What it appears to be
Seek the truth within

Sunday, March 16, 2014

SUNDAY BRIDGES--finally

No, it's not 'finally' because I took a photo of part of the bridge that I've shown you many times before, but 'finally' because I finally found a spot to show all six of the New Belgrade high-rises (sort of; they were built in the mid-sixties) known as The Six Corporals, because many of the first families to live there were military ones.

See other bridges on Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Daily Haiku
What was new is old
Today's new is fast aging
I feel like that, too  

Saturday, March 15, 2014

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--OLD AND NEW


 In 2009 I showed you one end of this building, and now you see one side.I thought it was a good contrast of old and new.

Daily Haiku
Experiences
Are reflections of ourselves
Forget not the past
 
See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Friday, March 14, 2014

SKYWATCH -- Somewhere in Vojvodina

It was a 14-hour bus ride back to Belgrade from Krakow.  Impossible to sleep well; just doze. The very early morning light yielded this photo from somewhere in Vojvodina, a large, flat autonomous province of Serbia.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Daily Haiku
Fog gently blankets
The sleeping winter fields
Before the sunrise  

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Do you like smilies?

Someone here does....and this is all made out of chewing gum.  Bet the person who steps in it won't be smiling.  (It had, by the time I found it, solidified.)

Daily Haiku
Imagination
Sudden inspiration strikes
And the result is...?


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

ABC WEDNESDAY "I" is for "innovative"


On a short trip to Krakow, Poland, I caught this fellow walking along on Grodzka Street downtown.  Not sure what these are called, but I imagine they take some getting used to.

See other I's on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.
 
Daily Haiku
With a smooth, strong gait
He strode by purposefully
Talking on his phone
 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A little (pre) spring music

The bust of Stefan Mokranjac,(1856-1914) known as "father of Serbian music" and the "most important figure of Serbian musical romanticism".

Daily Haiku
Some say music is
A language all understand
Even savage beasts
  

Saturday, March 8, 2014

WEEKEND REFLECTION--Yugonostalgia

A literal reflection in the window of this bar whose name is "Kafana SFRJ", which stands for the Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," which has split into several countries from Yugoslavia's former republics.(A kafana is like a restaurant, usually with home-cooked food, nothing fancy.)

It's also a figurative reflection of times past. You can see a bust of former President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito.  A feeling of Yugonostalgia is alive and well here, since reforms have only led the country into an economic crisis, and the days of gentler living are nearly gone.  (Remember, Yugoslavia was always an unaligned country not a Soviet Bloc one.)

Daily Haiku
Look in the mirror
Of times gone, not to return
For better or worse

Friday, March 7, 2014

SKYWATCH--The Walking Dead?

Using my fisheye here.  This young skeleton has chosen to cross when the light is green and within the crosswalk.  It was Sunday and this street is deserted, a rare sight during the week.

Daily Haiku
Bareness of the streets
Stripped of everyday traffic
A carcass picked clean 

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

CLASH OF COLORS

 If you haven't had your coffee yet, this willwake you up. i