STALKED?

 The statue of Nikola Spasic, Serbian businessman, benefactor, humanitarian, and one of the leaders of the Serbian Chetnik Organization in Old Serbia and Macedonia, appears to  be stalked by a woman in a burka, but no.  "She" is merely a cafe umbrella all wrapped up.

MARCH THEME DAY: SOLITUDE...not loneliness.

Solitude.  It isn't the same as loneliness, in fact, it is often just the opposite. One can be very happy in solitude, as I often am.  Loneliness is a sad state.

A few years ago I spent two months in a small, remote village in Uttarakhand, India. I was teaching English there in a small school for impoverished children. Of course I had company, but because of communication issues, no real deep conversations for that amount of time.

I was not lonely, nor was I bored. I imagine it was also the case of this man in the photo. If there were no fog, you would be able to see the magnificent mountains beyond.

See other interpretations of solitude on CITY DAILY PHOTO THEME DAY.
 

RAKIJA "Čokanji"

 The Number One drink here in Serbia is plum brandy, "rakija od  šljiva" known as "slivovica" or elsewhere, slivovitz, is a kind of brandy or rakija (RAH-kee-ya).  Rakija can  be made from many fruits, as you can guess from the photo above, and is brought out at any occasion from weddings to funerals.

"Čokanji" is pronounced CHO-kahn-yee.

Cheers!

SENIOR CHIC

 What caught my eye from a distance (this photo is a major crop) was the lady on the right's outfit. I could tell she was an 'older' person, and seniors here often dress according to their category, i.e. darker colors, nothing eye-catching, etc.

When I enlarged the photo, I saw she was indeed rather chic, albeit grumpy-looking, too. Reds and blacks!

CIGARETTE BREAK

 The coronavirus looms over these two smokers and the child on the mural. 

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

 Such is the case with me. I have not lived in France for years, and unfortunately haven't visited much either, especially now with the pandemic.

However, I still succumb to some very French habits, as seen above. There are now some really good bakeries here that specialize in 'foreign' breads and such. This demi-baguette (don't worry; I bought a whole one...) is for me like Proust's madeleine. One bite and I am in France.

Note the mug and the 'vaches' butter dish, s'il vous plaît.

SERBIA ROCKS!

 A play on words here, or maybe not, if you are a party goer. I intended the 'rocks' to be a noun, not a verb, but then I should have added an 'n' to 'Serbia' to make it an adjective, but I digress.

In any case, this is part of my collection of rocks from here and there in Serbia. Should have labeled them, but didn't. I especially like the 'gold' streaked one in the foreground.

HARD TIMES

 A sad but frequent sight in almost any large city.  At first glance, however disheveled he may appear, the shopping bags may make you think he has been to a supermarket. However, I've seen this fellow several times going through garbage bins with the same bags. He's refused any monetary help from me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 Christmas is alive and well in Belgrade....the joke is, although it often turns out to be true, that lights are taken down only at Easter.  Apparently, the reason is that the City pays an exorbitant amount of money to rent the decorations, including the enormous tree, and keeps it all up for a looooong time to get their money's worth. Seriously.

WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE--watch-cat

 There are watchdogs, so why not watch-cats? This cat is nearly always  on duty outside a friend's apartment building.

See other black and white photos and maybe a cat or two on the WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--calla lilies

 Forgive this flashback to Seattle, but I'm short of Belgrade reflections....  

See other reflections on WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.