Happy Halloween...

Since Halloween isn't really celebrated here, I was hard-pressed to find a fitting image for today's post, until I came across this dilapidated building downtown. As if the building itself wasn't creepy enough, someone stencilled huge cockroaches on it....ewwwww.

Coffee at a friend's place

It's the day before Halloween. Here in Serbia like in many places in Europe, Halloween is not typically celebrated, except by some Canadian or American embassy personnel or ex-pats. In this photo, you can see some baked pumpkin cut in small chunks and usually served cold. My husband used to love to eat it this way, but I never got into it. For me, if it's going to be eaten other than in a pie, it has to be hot. (I don't like pumpkin soup!)

To be a kid again....

When's the last time you had so much fun that you lost yourself in the moment? This little boy was having a great time chasing away the pigeons that were being fed old bread by an elderly couple just off to the right.

He chased the pigeons madly for a few moments, then all of a sudden reached down, took a piece of their bread, and popped it in his mouth, much to the horror of his grandparents who, up until then, were enjoying the entire spectacle!

ABC Wednesday :"O" is for "Overdue"

I have admired this building, which was the Belgrade Insurance Association, for years and years. It's absolutely monumental, and is an architectural pearl, not just for Belgrade, but for all of Europe. It's been long overdue for a renovation, the last one having been in 1907, and there were speculations whether or not this would actually happen.

Sometime next year (Belgrade time...could be later...) the building is finally supposed to get a facelift, which will cost about 1 million euros. This will include restauration of the facade, a new roof (presumably in the same style), renovation of exterior carpentry and metalworks, as well as reinforcement of the structure. The statues too will be restored, as will the terraces. Two domes, destroyed during the Second World War, will be reconstructed.


Not foreseen is restauration of its interior. I found some photos on Google, and have written to the Tourist Agency here to see if it can be visited, for the photos of the interior I saw showed tourists, and the interior looks very, very well-preserved. If I get in, you'll see!

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Girl devours bird in bus!

Nothing like that title to get your attention. I snapped this photo on the sly the other day while returning from the doctor's in the bus. Nothing like a little white dove for a snack....okay, I confess. I have been fiddling with Photoshop again. If you look at the photo below, you will see that she's actually eating a "palačinka" or crêpe, wrapped in a napkin. (I showed you some yummy "palačinke" right here. ) In Photoshop, I just added a dot for the bird's eye, and then borrowed some yellow from her blouse and cloned to the napkin's "beak."

Check out the original photo below!

A plethora of boats

Whenever I hear the word "plethora," I think of Mel Brooks' memorable film The Three Amigos, where a dialogue between the Mexican bandito El Guapo and one of his men, Jefe, goes like this:

Jefe: I have put many beautiful pinatas in the storeroom, each of them filled with little suprises.
El Guapo: Many pinatas?
Jefe: Oh yes, many!
El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of pinatas?

And so on.

In any case, there is a plethora of boats in this photo. How many do you see? I bet the one you're most likely to miss is the loooooong barge in the background....whoops....now I told you.

Saint Simeon afflicted again.

The still-being-worked-on Church of Saint Simeon in New Belgrade is still being afflicted by an adverse juxtaposition of posters, like the ones I showed you here. Now it appears that our simple minds have a graffiti soul, I guess. I guess this is some improvement on what the other posters suggested!

Reflections

The windowed facade of the Gorenje company's building in New Belgrade reflects windows of the apartment building across the street, a bit like a Fun House mirror!

This is for Jame's Reflections weekend on Newtown Daily Photo.

Railroad station and kiosk--Skywatch

Here's the top of Belgrade's main train station, finished in 1884, when the very first train to leave the station departed for Niš (NEESH), Serbia, on August 23rd, 1884.

It was at this station that I first arrived in Belgrade in 1976 to attend a friend's wedding, after a two-day trip from Paris.

Near the entrance now stands the locomotive of Tito's Blue Train, which you can read more about by clicking on the link.

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(Happy birthday to my newlywed daughter today!!! Mama loves you.)

Who wants Jackson?

I'm back on my feet again, though I still don't feel so hot and am still taking antibiotics. My son is helping me walk Bibi, but from time to time I take her out so I can get some air, too.

During one such short walk in my neighborhood, I noticed this little dog, who seemed to stay in one place, since from my terrace I'd seen other larger male strays chasing him. He's very sweet, and I felt sorry for him....so he is currently safe and sound on my terrace. Yesterday he got his first shots and worm pill. Jackson, or so I've named him, is about one year old, seems to like children from what I have observed, and doesn't growl when you pet him while he's eating. I'm placing some ads and using the grapevine, so we will see. I cannot keep him, since already one dog is enough for me now that I am working again.

Strays are a BIG problem here; most puppies are born and die in a short time, and those who survive are not always lucky.

Any takers for Jackson?? :) I'll keep you posted if, or rather I hope, when I find someone.

Jilly, who runs Riviera Dogs, this post is for you, as well as for Paula of Pensacola Daily Photo.

ABC Wednesday N is for Newlyweds

Another photo from a short while back, since I'm cautious about exposing myself to the elements now after having been sick/still am a bit.

This was taken downtown, and the garland above the door announces a wedding that has taken place. This is pretty much a village custom, and sometimes the garlands are quite elaborate, but you do see them in town sometimes, as in this photo.

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