SKYWATCH: King Despot Stefan Lazarevic

Stefan Lazarević (1374 – 19 July 1427) was ruler of the Serbian Despotate between 1389 and 1427. He was the son and heir to Prince Lazar, who died at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks in 1389. Despot Stefan was a poet and a moderniser and his reign and personal literary works are sometimes associated with early signs of the Renaissance in Serbian lands, and he is credited with having introduced knightly tournaments, modern battle tactics, and firearms to Serbia. The title 'despot' has the meaning of 'Byzantine prince and ruler,' and does not carry the negative connotation it has in English.

This statue to him stands in Kalemegdan Park.

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What's the story here?

So, can you tell me the story behind these two gold slippers tossed aside next to this tree, with a chain that leads to....?

ABC Wednesday "L" is for "Lookin at you!"

Sometimes you look through your lens and something or somebody's staring right back at you. In this collage you see (and they see you!) a billy goat, a woman looking out her window, Prince Michael as wall art, and a praying mantis....not sure where her mate is, but I think he might not be around anymore....

Note: Here's another shot I took and was surprised....

See what others have done with the letter L on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Stylish?

This elderly lady was walking in Tasmajdan Park last Sunday and I was intrigued by her shoes. They seem to have heels and soles which are atypical of what older ladies usually wear; they looked quite stylish to me.

A Saturday Hike

Last Saturday I joined a group of teachers and students from the school where I work on a hike near Valjevo, a town about an hour and a half south of Belgrade. We hiked for twelve kilometers through the woods, over hill and dale, and finally reached an ethno house where we were served local specialties, including homemade cranberry juice as you see above. Hiking a little further brought us to the Celija (CHEL-lee-ya) convent, located on the bank of the River Gradac, and its new church, seen above, is nearly completed. The nun is hauling water to a nearby garden. According to one legend, King Dragutin (1276-1282) was its benefactor, but others say it was built in the late 14th or 15th century at the time of King Stefan Lazarevic.

The Bridge to Be--SUNDAY BRIDGES

Had lunch on a houseboat (next to this one) the other Sunday and snapped this photo of the main support for the new bridge that will connect two distant areas of Belgrade. I showed you the access road a few weeks ago.

Check out other bridges on Louis La Vache's Sunday Bridges.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall....Reflections Weekend

Walking back home the other evening I came across these gilded mirrors in a store window. For once I managed to stay out of the reflections!

Check out other reflections on Reflections Weekend.

Pour la France--Skywatch

This monument to France, a longtime friend of Yugoslavia/Serbia, stands in Kalemegdan Park.

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You gotta be pushy...

If you're a mushroom, it definitely pays to be pushy. I walk my dog near this spot every day, and this big guy just wasn't there the evening before.....out he came, overnight.

ABC WEDNESDAY "K" is for "knick-knacks"

Oh, how many knick-knacks I've had in my life.... and now I'm trying to get rid of them all, keeping only the most precious, but which ones....?

This window in Zemun could have been mine at one time...

Do you collect anything?

See more K's at ABC Wednesday.

The pigs that did not go to market

Aren't these cute? They caught my eye the other day in a gallery not far from Kalemegdan Park. These little porkers and many more in the gallery are posing in various exercise positions. I couldn't even decide which one I would buy if I were in the 'market' for a pig.