When you gotta go....

Not an advertisement (wouldn't be a very good one) for Aperol, but an unfortunate juxtaposition.

Daily Haiku

Wise Confucius say:

He who consumes drink

Knows where bathroom is 

From across the street at 1000mm...

Across the busy street from Hotel Moskva, where I was having a birthday (hers, not mine) coffee with a friend, lies McDonald's.....one of the (I believe) 5 or so here.  Using my little Nikon P510 at its maximum zoom of an equivalent of 1000 I took this photo. I kind of like how it turned out.  Not bad for 'in the dark'.

Daily Haiku

Lurking across the street

Sitting with camera poised

Clicking unnoticed

SUNDAY BRIDGES--again and again

Probably like many cities, Belgrade's bridges are numbered and to contribute to a meme like Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES takes a bit of imagination.  Belgrade's most visible bridge is the Bridge Over Ada, which looms here, appearing quite close to the lamp post in Kalemegdan Park, but it isn't.

I should do a series like Bob Crowe's Arch Series!

Daily Haiku

Do not trust your eyes

For their will often deceive

Hearts often do, too 

WEEKEND REFLECTION--Take-out wine!

Take-out coffee and sodas I've heard of, but not take-out wine.  This shop, which has an excellent assortment of wines, various hams, cheeses, and sausages, also offers take-out glasses of wine. It's served  in a paper cup....albeit with a stem!  Didn't have any, but Alexandar, the young man who works there, was all too happy to oblige me with a photo.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Daily Haiku

Have you ever heard

There's nothing new under the sun?

Try some take-out wine!  

SKYWATCH--just another sunset

Not much to say about this one....just another sunset seen from Kalemegdan.  The twin-towered building stands right along the highway that leads west to the airport.

See other skies on SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

Daily Haiku

A hushed silence falls

Along with the setting sun

Burning red and orange

Meet the Gourds

"Meet the Fockers", "Meet the Flintstones", and now it's time to "Meet the Gourds"!

Daily Haiku

Gourds dried and hollow

Old, fragile, but can still be

Pleasing to the eye

 

ABC WEDNESDAY "M" is for "Moving on"

Meet Mr. Djordje Stefanovic, whose little bookbinder's shop appears on the left of the bottom photo.  The shop has been in his family for over sixty years, but now, sadly, there's no one in his family who's interested in carrying on the trade.  I've come to him several times to have books rebound, the last of which was my son's favorite (and now little Mila's; I've ordered one for my grandson, Luka), Dr. Seuss's Old Hat, New Hat, which was showing the signs of much love from my son.

Djordje's going to retire after the first of the year....  I wish him well, and now don't know where I'll go....

See other M's on Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC WEDNESDAY.

Daily Haiku

   We turn life's pages

Like those in the books we love

Until we reach the end

High Street

 Not a scene from London's High Street, to be sure. This scene, an unintentional still life, caught my eye while strolling in the adjacent community of Zemun.

Daily Haiku

We don't often see

Until all of a sudden

We open our eyes

  

After so many years....

This past weekend I had the honor and great pleasure of the company of a former student of mine.....from 30 years ago!!  Arzu, from Turkey, was in grade seven at the International School of Belgrade when I taught English as a Second Language. She knew not one single word, but made excellent progress throughout the school year. Sadly, she left Belgrade, along with her brother Cem, at the end of that year.  We wrote for a while, then as often happens, especially in the pre-Internet/email era, we lost contact.  Thanks to Facebook, I found her again a short while ago. I was so happy when she wrote to say she was coming to Belgrade, "just to see me".  And we had a great time.  We were teacher-student, now we are friend-friend.

 Arzu, I know you're reading this, and I will, will get to Istanbul in the not-so-far-off future, and that's a promise.

Daily Haiku

Thirty years gone by

Time stands still for no one

We will meet again

SUNDAY BRIDGES--that bridge again

A gloomy and grainy photo of the Bridge On Ada, with the tower from the Old Belgrade Fairgrounds (later turned into a concentration camp during WWII) in the foreground.

Weather's a bit clearer now, but last week it looked just like this at times.

See other bridges on Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

Daily Haiku

Mists of times gone by

Blend with shadows of the new

Nothing ever changes

  

Weekend Reflection--How many....?

Me reflected in some sort of fancy pot in the window of the Zepter Museum in downtown Belgrade. And there are a lot of other reflections, too.  How many?  I was lazy to count....

See other reflections at James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.


Daily Haiku

What we think we see
Can sometimes be reflections
Of a deeper truth