Kissing Carrots

Well, I thought I'd heard it all until I read in the paper the other day that there had been stipulations on the size and shapes of certain vegetables and fruits sold in the EU. Although certain ones of these standards have recently been revised, a cauliflower used to have to be at least 11 centimeters in diameter and a wreath of garlic had to have 16 heads. Worse, small carrots couldn't be any lighter than 8 grams and large ones had to weigh 50 grams with at least a 2 centimeter diameter, and could not display more than one root! So, if even in the fruit and vegetable world, if you weren't good looking, you just weren't going to make it to someone's table. Now that's been changed, EXCEPT for bananas, which have to still be at least 14 centimeters long with a 2,7 centimeter waistline. All I can say is I'm glad I live outside the EU, since I frequently browse the markets for odd fruit that reminds me of artwork....

A present from JFK

Josip Broz Tito was a towering figure in Yugoslav politics for more than 30 years and even after his death his legacy is still felt in each of the former Yugoslav republics. He is largely credited, and rightfully so, for keeping Yugoslavia together for so long, for better or for worse. Tito is also famous for his policy of non-alignment during the Cold War. There's a museum in Belgrade called The House of Flowers, where Tito was laid to rest. I had never gone, but a friend and I dropped by not long ago. I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting it was---you can see his famous blue suit and white suits, massive desk and bookcases that stood in his office, his Mercedes, over 200 batons, each more elaborate than the next, carried by runners during various celebrations, and hundreds of presents received from local and foreign dignitaries. Above is a stationery set received from John F. Kennedy. Well worth the visit should you be in Belgrade...and so far, the museum is free!

The Sleeping Gypsy Part Two

Another "camera on my lap discreetly" photo from me. This poor young Roma or gypsy mother had just conked out while breastfeeding her baby. She slept all through the ride downtown, but the baby woke up as I took the photo. I'd taken another photo of a different Sleeping Gypsy (art lovers will know the painting I'm referring to) here .

Skywatch Friday---up and away!

I've been saving this one for a Skywatch. It was taken not long ago during Belgrade's Air Show. I didn't attend, but watched from our terrace...and snapped a couple of photos. I'm not good on names of aircraft, but you can click on the photo and see if you know what kind of aircraft was emerging from this cloud. If you'd like to join Skywatch, click on: http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Dogs on Thursday--Don't give up the spotlight!

I've decided to participate in Dogs on Thursday (click on the little dog box in the margin if you'd like to join), and although all my future posts won't necessarily star a dog, a canine of some sort will appear somewhere in those photos. But today it's a real dog, a small star one from Belgrade's recent "Mutt Show." Most dogs couldn't wait to get out of the ring, but this little guy wanted to bask in the spotlight just a little bit longer...

ABC Wednesday--"Q" is for "Quite a hot dog!"

Hungry? How about a half-a-meter-long hot dog? For the metrically challenged, that's about 19.69 inches, a formidable challenge for even the most ravenous hot dog lover.

This places also serves another specialty, a Hamlet, a ham omelet served with or without a bun. Its advertisement that you can just partially make out on the bottom of the photo reads asks in Serbian, "To be or not to be in a bun?" Apologies to the Bard.

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Romania

Last weekend a friend and I went on a tour of two cities in nearby Romania, Timisoara and Arad, both of which have a large number of Serbs living in them, and are birthplaces of several well-known Serbian historical figures. I haven't been a fan of organized tours, but I must say this one was really well done. Aside from taking in a great deal of both cities in two days' time, we tasted some of the country's fine wines in two renowned wine cellars, and gobbled down lots of local specialties, including a very spicy (fine with me) goulash. The tour also left us lots of time to wander, which is what I did, photographing both cities' spectacularly beautiful facades and doorways. This doorway wasn't a particularly great beauty, but this little boy wanted me to take his photo so badly, I couldn't refuse.

Big-eared George

Just after I took last Friday's Skywatch photo in Kalemegdan park, I came across this "ancient" carving in a stone on a nearby wall. It says, "Big-eared George," and indeed this fellow with the nickname Djoka for George (Djordje) does have big ears, or at least one, as far as I can see. This carving reminds me of one you can see here that I posted not long ago. But that one is for real!

PUPU lingerie?

Well, if you have to come up with a brand name for lingerie or almost anything else for that matter, PUPU (poo-poo) probably isn't the best one you could think of. At least in English.

No fair pushing!

Of course this magpie didn't really give his buddy in front a shove, or did he?

Skywatch: An eye on the horizon

Not much of a gorgeous sky, but the sky IS most of the photo! In its long and tumultuous history, Belgrade had often changed names and rulers. When the Scordisci (a Celtic tribe) set uptheir stronghold Singidunum at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers in the third century, the city at the "crossroads of the worlds" had been already been conquered by the Byzantines, the Gepidae, the Sarmatians, the Eastern Goths, the Slavs, the Avars, the Francs, the Bulgarians, the Hungarians, the Ottomans, the Austrians, the Germans... each of whom gave the city their respective names: Singedon, Nandor, Fehervar, Nandor Alba, Alba Graeca, Grieschisch Weisenburg, Alba Bulgarica, Taurunum... However, its Slavic name Belgrade, meaning White City, has lasted the longest. The British Encyclopedia of Cities mentions that Belgrade has suffered the greatest number of battles waged for it, and is also the city with the greatest number of symbolic names: The Hill of Battle and Glory, the Hill for Meditation, the House of Wars, the Egypt of Rumelia, the House of Freedom, the Gateway of the East – the Gate of the West...take your pick!

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