SVETI NIKOLA'S DAY

 

According to the Serbian Orthodox church calendar, today is Saint Nicholas's Day. It is a very popular 'slava' and it is said that half of Serbian Orthodox believers have this feast day and the other hslf attends. This is a lean slava, so here are my meatless 'prebranac' (pray-brah-nahts) or baked beans.

GRANDPA AND GRANDSONS

 Another black and white from Jaisalmer, India. This man saw me, but smiled before I took his photo, and did not strike a pose. Natural!

MANY BAD APPLES...

 

The saying goes that "One bad apple spoils the whole barrel." To alter this a bit, here it seems that many bad apples did not spoil one apple (the yellow one on the left. It really wasn't spoiled. I turned it over, then returned it to its original position.)

THE JEWELRY SELLER

 Still editing photos from my trip to India, a country that literally bursts with color. However, I like this one 100% better in black and white.

UPSIDE DOWN

 Last of my 'bored at the border' photos, taken while endlessly waiting at the Serbian-Romanian border. A reflection of a nearby tree on the roof of the car beside our bus.

WET ASBESTOS

 Another landmark bites the dust, joining several iconic restaurants and cafes here in Belgrade. It will sorely be missed. Actually, the structure would have come down faster, but eco groups alerted the public that if proper precautions were not taken, a large amount of asbestos would be released. You can see a 'proper precaution' being carried out here. There is one person with a firehose squirting water on the place where the excavator is demolishing a section of the hotel. Ha. So now we have wet asbestos.

Here is A LITTLE BLURB about the hotel 'back in the day'. 

VRSAC GRAPE WINDOW

 Vrsac is known for its fine wine. If you want to know more, have a look at THIS LINK. Of course you can always just stroll around the town, admiring some of its SECESSIONIST AND BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE. This facade is a favorite of mine.

See the grapes?

STILL THROUGH A BUS WINDOW

 If you've been reading me, I waited along with 30+ other people at the Serbian/Romanian border for our bus to get its turn. Endless wait, so a group of us took a minivan and turned back...after a three-hour wait.

This lady couldn't take it and exited three times for a puff. 

THROUGH A BUS WINDOW

 Another shot from my failed bus trip to Romania (soooo many buses at the border, would have waited for many hours). Not to make the entire trip a failure, I did get a few shots. This is one!

VINKO LOZIC OF VRSAC

 During my three-hour wandering in Vrsac (near the Romanian border) last Saturday, I came across this statue of Vinko Lozic (VEENko LOWzeech), a ictional character and dear to the hearts of people from this region. Here's what Wiki says about him:A monument to Vinko Lozić, a humorous character by Jovan Sterija Popović, who has the role of mayor during the "Grape Harvest Days" festival. 

This area is known for its quality wine.

THE BELLED BULL OF VRSAC

 Went on a road trip the other day and spent several hours in the lovely town of VRSAC (vur-SHATS). In front of the town's largest hotel stands this bull. I have no clue, and I did ask, why he has been (pardon the pun) emBELLished with a bell instead of part of his privates.