Checkmate!

Probably after having read their selection of newspapers similar to those I posted yesterday, these taxi drivers are enjoying a game of chess! I see them quite often in the same location, so they must be serious rivals. When a customer comes, they take their board into a nearby cafe for safe-keeping. Notice that one of them drives a Mercedes taxi, not uncommon here, no kidding, since originally one could important an expensive car much more cheaply if it was intended for "official" business.

All the news that's fit to print!

Here are the newspapers I buy on a daily basis. Politika, on the lower right, is printed in Cyrillic, while quick-glimpse Blic (Flash) and Danas (Today) are in the Latin alphabet...oh, yes, and every Monday Politika prints a selection of articles from the New York Times in English, along with a handy dictionary of terms on part of one page. This helps those Serbs who are reasonably fluent in English to further enhance their knowledge. And I like to read it, too!

Waiting by the side of the highway

This dog has been by the side of the major highway near my home every day since early last fall. He's usually lying down right next to the road's edge, sleeping, waiting... Yesterday I took some food to him, but when I approached he skitted off and watched at me warily. I'm sure he's one of Belgrade's many abandoned dogs that must have been tossed out at this place, and is waiting....for his owner's return. Very, very sad.

Truncated trees!

Belgrade has several boulevards and streets lined with plane trees (platanus), which are very similar to those known in the US as sycamores. They grow to great heights, and in cities their extensive branches often interfere with phone, power, or trolley lines. Hence the reason why Belgrade amputates its trees every spring...believe it or not, these trees will be quite full by summer's end, and a lovely autumn photo will be waiting! (I don't see any such lines near the trees on the right---maybe the goal is symmetry on this heavily traveled boulevard.)

His feet, her feet

Couldn't resist posting this photo today, for the forecast announces rain, and this girl's stockings and shoes are so bright.... Just about everyone who passed her was transfixed by her jazzy combination.

Can you read some of these signs?

Cutting through Belgrade's pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova (yesterday's photo), are several passages that lead to other streets. Inside them, you'll find more stores. These signs hang outside one such passage. Serbia officially uses the Cyrillic alphabet as seen in the sign above with the red raven, but children learn the Latin one as well. More alphabet lessons to come!

Prince Michael's Street

Prince Michael's Street, or Knez Mihailova ulica (KUH-NYEZ Me-HIGH-Low-va OO-leet-sa) is Belgrade's main walking street. I took a picture yesterday, but goofed and posted this summer one instead! No matter; it's pretty active at any season and hour, full of cafes and restaurants, boutiques, and near a number of old-world hotels. In high tourist season, there are many street sellers too, often selling without a permit and making a mad dash for it with their wares when insepectors pass by, only to reappear a few minutes later.

Seltzer bottles!

It's theme day and the theme is "water"! These are seltzer bottles, empty at the moment, but which can be filled with carbonated water, also known as sparkling water, plain water into which carbon dioxide gas has been dissolved. Nowadays hardly anyone uses these classic bottles, but there are still a few stores around town where you can take yours (if you still have one...) to be filled to add to white wine to make wine spritzers. Otherwise, most people opt to use already the Serbian bottled naturally sparkling water, Knjaz Miloš (Kuh-NYAZ MEE-lush), named for a Serbian prince, which comes from mountains near Arandjelovac (Ah-ron-JEL-o-vats). Quite a mouthful of words to pronounce today!

Sunset in Kalemegdan

The sun sets in Kalemegdan and on my first month of blogging. I hope you've enjoyed my pictures. Tomorrow is theme day, "water" for April, but after that we'll be moving "in town".
Keep watching! (P.S. This photo reminds me of Maxfield Parrish's paintings.)

Belgrade's Cathedral Church

Just to the left and a bit below the man walking in my March 28th photo and looking back in the other direction you can see the tower of Belgrade's cathedral church, done in classic style with late baroque elements. It was finished in 1840 and is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. The interior is richly decorated with a gold-plated carved iconostasis. The icons on thrones, choirs, and pulpits, as well as those on the walls and arches were painted by Dimitrije Avramović, one of the most distinguished Serbian painters of the XIX century. In the distance you can see the dome of Saint Sava's cathedral, which dominates the skyline from almost all over town.

Spring cleaning

Right now Belgrade is doing its spring cleaning. Workers from the city's official park service are around, quite visible in their grass green overalls, tidying up here and there. With the better weather and blossoms (just starting!) comes a desire to spruce up one's surroundings. This lady is using an old-fashioned twig broom (still sold on markets for around 100 dinars or $1.50) to sweep inside one of Kalemegdan's passageways. Notice the mish-mash of stones and brick again!