Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my blogger friends who celebrate that holiday. If you are a regular reader, you will know that I am currently in India, far from snow. I don't know if there is snow in Belgrade, and I used this photo from last year. I like the touches of red on the man's jacket and on the street light against the white snow.

Snip, snip

Tomorrow is Christmas, but not here in Serbia. Serbian Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7th, but perhaps these fellows are getting ready for New Year's Eve and want to beat the crowd. It's quite common that there are lady barbers here.

Take your pick.

If you've got a sweet tooth, you can easily satisfy it in Belgrade. See anything you like....?

ABC Wednesday "W" is for "winter wedding"

It's not only in June that couples get married, of course. This couple chose a rather wintry day for their wedding photos (not sure if they got married that day; sometimes photographers 'shoot' earlier), and they posed their little dog in each shot. I caught this spontaneous kiss as they moved on to another location.

P.S. As I posted this, I realized that the dog is a WEST HIGHLAND terrier, so that's another W.

See other W's on ABC WEDNESDAY.

The Tailor Shop

Need a new suit for the holidays? Some people here still prefer to go to a tailor or dressmaker, and there are quite a few of these shops around. Most appear to be traditional ones, like the shop shown here.

Radovan on the Road Again--India Part II

Just one year ago, I left for my first trip to India, with my little friend Radovan, shown here by his fireplace and with two of his friends from India. Little did I ever think I would get to India at all, and here I am going again. By the time you read this, I'll already be there...I'm not sure of my Internet connection, so I have uploaded photos until the end of the month. I hope I can post some from India, beginning January 1st. I'll be back on the 6th, and will resume visiting your blogs then!

Wishing you all HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

SUNDAY BRIDGES--Yellow Transport

No, it's not a Yellow Cab, but on the other hand it sort of is. This bridge leads to a platform from which depart yellow shuttle boats, taking passengers from one part of New Belgrade to an island in the Sava River. It's cold, and there are no takers....

See more bridges at LOUIS LA VACHE'S SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Classic

A classic shot for the holidays...

See more reflections on JAMES' REFLECTIONS WEEKEND.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY church tower

The tower of Belgrade's main church, located across the street from the patriarch's residence, stands out against a cold winter sky.

See other skies on SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

"My" House #2

A while ago I showed you another house that I referred to as 'my' house, though of course it is not. This is my second favorite old one. You can see that it is in a sad state, and represents a wide problem facing many of Belgrade's older buildings. This one has not been declared a cultural monument, though in my opinion it should be. It dates from the second half of the 19th century, and was built as a wedding present to his daughter Julka by Zivojin Blaznavac, a wealthy official, and was the first house in Belgrade to have a swimming pool (undoubtedly long gone.) During WWII, Julka was forced to give up most of the home to house German officials. Later, under communist rule, the building was confiscated and split into several apartments. Despite its appearance, it is still lived in.

ABC Wednesday--"V" is for "Vane"

N, S, E, and W are the letters I grew up seeing on a weather vane, but since I've been living in Serbia, I have to get used to seeing Cyrillic letters for 'sever', jug', 'istok', and 'zapad', which stand for north, south, east, and west respectively. In Cyrillic they would be: С, Ј, И, and З, and so they are here on this vane! And in Serbian, weather vane is: vetrokaz, so that's another "V".

See more V's on ABC WEDNESDAY.