MASHA AND THE BEAR

 When my granddaughter was not much bigger than the balloon you see here, she adored MASHA AND THE BEAR, and so did I. You can find Masha's cartoons on YOUTUBE.  Beautiful graphics and animation.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS-CHESS ANYONE?

 I don't play chess often, but I have often wanted an ISLE OF LEWIS CHESS SET. You can find reproductions at rather reasonable prices.  I purchased one figure years ago and a whopping 13 years ago, I posted it for you RIGHT HERE.

In any case, while downtown I stumbled across this Slavic Mythological figures chess set. Huge. It was beyond my budget, i.e. around 350 euros....

See other reflections on WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--HOTEL MOSKVA

 I've posted a number of photos of this classic hotel before. Recently, now in the dead of winter, the skies are often gloomy, but the sign for the hotel stands out.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

TOO COLD FOR FLOWERS

 I have shown this park many time and usually there are roses, lavender, pansies growing here and there. It''s too cold now, so they've gone. Most of the time now it's dog walkers, but this fellow is alone.

ZOOMING IN

 In addition to my DSLR that I use pretty much on a daily basis, I have a Nikon bridge camera (Coolpix P510) that I bought quite some time ago for its tremendous zoom capabilities (approx up to 1000 mm). The quality is very, very good, and from time to time I take it for a walk.

In this photo, the subjects were at least 50 yards from me, perhaps more.  The windows you see in the background and the bust on the lower right were way far across the rest of the park from the woman and her dogs, and across another small park.

Downside of the Coolpix P510 is its relatively short battery life, but I carry a spare....

FROMAGES FRANCAIS...."Made in Serbia"

 This fellow has had a French cheese shop in Belgrade already for a number of years. I've tried quite a few of them, and they are truly top-notch. Having lived quite a while in France, I think I'm a pretty good judge. Superb. And all made here from Serbian cows, sheep.... Yummy. He is French, by the way, so has cheese in his genes.

In this photo he is selling his cheeses on Belgrade's pedestrian street where he has set up a stand for the holidays.

MONDAY MURALS -- COQUETTE

 A coquettish smile on this young woman. A bit nippy these days too to be dressed like that.

See other murals on MONDAY MURALS.

SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY--a crisp walk in the park

 A dog and his human enjoying a crisp walk in the park.

See other shadows on SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--the red lamp

 Just what the title says; nothing more.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--Lookng from Zemun toward Belgrade.

 Last week the weather was so beautiful a friend and I took a walk through part of the riverside (Danube) part of Zemun, just next to Belgrade and part of the city itself. This view is from just behind THIS TOWER that I posted a while back.

Check other skies, partially smoggy or not, at SKYWATCH.

COLORFUL MAILBOX

 Indeed colorful.  I seem to remember as a kid in the US people weren't allowed to paint their mailboxes as they like, but that apparently has changed.  I googled and found this: "There are currently no restrictions regarding the color of curbside mailboxes in the United States. While the USPS doesn't require homeowners or property developers to use a specific color for their mailboxes, it does require the use of specific carrier flag colors."