Hmmm....what would you rather have to eat? Roast meat from the Big Bad Wolf Grill or a sandwich, crepe, or pizza from Wicked Witch Fast Food? I think I'd opt for the former---at least I'd be fairly sure I'd be eating some sort of roast animal rather than Hansel or Gretel.
Very foggy yesterday morning up near the school where I work. I pass through this roundabout every day, and managed to snap this photo while approaching. These giraffes are part of a 'green sculpture' movement, set up bu The Topiary Art Trust, a group founded in 2007 for the purpose of offering to Belgrade a number of inventive solutions and contents for the urban core of the city, park areas, green areas and river banks. They were made to serve as trellises for climbing plants, and when covered, would resemble true topiary shapes. The giraffe on the right has been downed twice by a vehicle, either intentionally or unintentionally, and after its second mishap, has not been set up again.
A head of cabbage is made from layers of leaves, which form a ball. Here you can see the tiniest leaf inside a head of cabbage that I made a salad out of. Serbs LOVE cabbage in all its forms, but usually use the white cabbages in salads and for sauerkraut and stuffed cabbage rolls, for example. In the winter, it's common to see a huge plastic barrel filled with heads of fermenting cabbage on people's porches. Red cabbage, much higher in antioxidants, is unimaginatively shredded or sliced for slaw. (Sometimes a head is thrown into the barrel to add color, and the sour cabbage juice is a sure cure, so they say, for a hangover.) I like to jazz up my slaw by adding some shredded carrots, walnuts, and dried cranberries, with a vinaigrette dressing.
This photo was taken just before Serbian New Year's Eve, which was January 13th. I love this little lady's face, with all its wrinkles that reflect her life. She's selling pine branches, which some people decorate instead of a tree. Not a bad idea; I hate to see trees cut down, and the potted ones I used to buy somehow don't survive.
The other day on Chuck's blog in Seattle , I saw a photo of a young artist whose work appealed to me. I checked out Joni's blog and left a comment that some of her art reminded me of the self-taught or naive peasant artists here. Joni wrote back to say that a dealer had once told her that her art was naive, and she wasn't too happy, but now she is! Above is one of the paintings in our small collection, depicting, according to the artist, twin brothers who are helped by an angel to marry twin sisters. (And no, they're not conjoined twins, despite the knife....!) We bought this painting in 1974 when my Serbian wasn't so good, but I believe this is some kind of local legend. In any case, the painting is quite detailed, revealing the artist's other talent: embroidery.
Nope, I haven't misspelled our new president's name. I'm participating in blogger Muse-swings' Inaugural Celebration Events. Each participant is to post something in relation to the US Presidential Inauguration. For a special Serbian something, I consulted my friend Radovan, who accompanied my husband and me on our trip to Greece last summer. When I asked him what I could offer the President and his wife, he replied with a twinkle in his eye, "Burek oboma," which in Serbian means "burek for both of them." I can't think of anything more fitting for Barack Obama and the First Lady!
Two days ago I posted a photo of a trompe l'oeil mural in Skadarlija, so today I thought I'd give you a view from a "window" I painted about 15 years ago (Oh, my gosh, has it been that long?) on my up-to-then-windowless smaller bathroom wall. Click on both photos to have a closer look at the inhabitants of 'the apartment buildings across the street'.
At the present time, there are six bridges in Belgrade spanning the Sava and Danube rivers, and construction of two more bridges is planned over the next three years. The Old Sava Bridge was built in 1942 for military purposes by Axis occupational forces. Since WWII, it has been used by Belgraders as both a traffic and tram bridge. The bridge had a face lift in December 2007, and you can see that it is now a nice shade of green, reminding us that spring (I am optimistic, I know) isn't really so very far off...sort of. When I took this photo, I was intrigued by the reflection in the water, but now I see there's an Evergreen railroad car/container in the background under the bridge. If you'd like to have a look at the ultra-modern bridge that Belgrade is planning to build in another location, see this site .
So...how does an ex-pat like me spend her spare time? Obviously, I have a blog, and second to that, a full-time job, :<) so I don't have a lot of spare time and don't spend most of it watching television, but when I think there were only two channels when I first came to Belgrade, TV has come a long way. Currently I receive 63 domestic and international channels on my cable installation, plus another 20 local ones on my regular TV set-up. Like a lot of 'entertainment,' not all of it is worth watching. However, I must admit I am addicted to LOST. My son bought me the entire first four seasons, and I am working my way through Season Three at the present time, trying to catch up with Season Three every evening on local TV...I'm almost there....and then it's Season Four. Waiting for Season Five, which you in the US may already be looking at.
Finally: yesterday was Serbian New Year's Day. Here's a pent-up, bored-with-the-holidays pup! Lemme out of here!Walking back home from viewing the eclipse the other night, I passed these young people in our park.
