Lieutenant Gruber's Little Tank

There's a military museum in Kalemegdan Park, and though I've walked past the tanks on display many times, it struck me that this one is (or closely resembles) Lieutenant Gruber's 'little tank', from the very popular British series Allo, Allo!", which ran from 1982 to 1992.

Here's Lieutenant Gruber in action:

Not so round and chubby

This is the Roman Well in Kalemegdan Park that I showed you before, with a lock inscribed with Buby and Beby's names, whoever they may be. Sorry to say that the lock has been removed, the door repainted, and the inside corridors fixed up for tourists. First sprucing up in seven years.

 I have also found out that contrary to its nickname of Roman Well, it was actually built between 1717 and 1731 by the Austrians who ruled Belgrade at that time.  The confusion came when the Serbian rebels, who took back Kalemegdan fortress from the Ottomans in the 19th century, believed mistakenly that all constructions dated back to Roman times.

To top things off, it's not really a well at all, but rather a cistern.  The water within does not come from an underground spring, but is simply stored there.

It looks fat and chubby here, but that's thanks to my fisheye lens.

Daily Haiku

 Not everything is

What it appears to be

Seek the truth within

SUNDAY BRIDGES--finally

No, it's not 'finally' because I took a photo of part of the bridge that I've shown you many times before, but 'finally' because I finally found a spot to show all six of the New Belgrade high-rises (sort of; they were built in the mid-sixties) known as The Six Corporals, because many of the first families to live there were military ones.

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

Daily Haiku

What was new is old

Today's new is fast aging

I feel like that, too  

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--OLD AND NEW

 In 2009 I showed you one end of this building, and now you see one side.I thought it was a good contrast of old and new.

Daily Haiku

Experiences

Are reflections of ourselves

Forget not the past

 

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

SKYWATCH -- Somewhere in Vojvodina

It was a 14-hour bus ride back to Belgrade from Krakow.  Impossible to sleep well; just doze. The very early morning light yielded this photo from somewhere in Vojvodina, a large, flat autonomous province of Serbia.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

Daily Haiku

Fog gently blankets

The sleeping winter fields

Before the sunrise  

Do you like smilies?

Someone here does....and this is all made out of chewing gum.  Bet the person who steps in it won't be smiling.  (It had, by the time I found it, solidified.)

Daily Haiku

Imagination

Sudden inspiration strikes

And the result is...?

ABC WEDNESDAY "I" is for "innovative"

On a short trip to Krakow, Poland, I caught this fellow walking along on Grodzka Street downtown.  Not sure what these are called, but I imagine they take some getting used to.

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

Daily Haiku

With a smooth, strong gait

He strode by purposefully

Talking on his phone

 

A little (pre) spring music

The bust of Stefan Mokranjac,(1856-1914) known as "father of Serbian music" and the "most important figure of Serbian musical romanticism".

Daily Haiku

Some say music is

A language all understand

Even savage beasts

  

Have you planted your bulbs yet?

Sunday Bridges--same, at night

WEEKEND REFLECTION--Yugonostalgia

A literal reflection in the window of this bar whose name is "Kafana SFRJ", which stands for the Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," which has split into several countries from Yugoslavia's former republics.(A kafana is like a restaurant, usually with home-cooked food, nothing fancy.)

It's also a figurative reflection of times past. You can see a bust of former President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito.  A feeling of Yugonostalgia is alive and well here, since reforms have only led the country into an economic crisis, and the days of gentler living are nearly gone.  (Remember, Yugoslavia was always an unaligned country not a Soviet Bloc one.)

Daily Haiku

Look in the mirror

Of times gone, not to return

For better or worse