Can be married

When I saw this Serbian Orthodox priest walking arm-in-arm with this young woman (not too obvious from this photo), I had to remind myself that Eastern Orthodox priests may be married, if they are married before they're ordained.

I liked the juxtaposition of the heart on the blood donation truck behind them...

Daily Haiku

Love with all your heart

Deeply and passionately

That is life's meaning 

SUNDAY BRIDGES--floating hostel

Belgrade has several of these floating hostels. I think I wouldn't mind staying here, if I were a traveler.  Actually, I could probably stay here anyway.

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

Daily Haiku

To travel is to float

Along rivers or through towns

All throughout our lives  

WEEKEND REFLECTION--reeds

"L’homme n’est qu’un roseau, le plus faible de la nature ; mais c’est un roseau pensant," said Blaise Pascal.  (Man is but a reed, the weakest of nature's creations, but he is a reed that thinks)  By this Pascal meant that man can transcend his weaknesses.

Be that as it may, these reeds stand tall amidst a reflection in the Sava River here in Belgrade.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTION.

Daily Haiku

Reflections floating

Reeds rising from the cold, clear water

 Tall, straight, and proud

  

P.S. Just saw that today is World Water Day---here's your water.

 

SKYWATCH: Somewhere in Texas

No, it's not Texas or Oklahoma or anywhere in the US, but to me it looks like it.

This is another "through the window from a moving bus in low light" photo taken on my way back from Krakow a short while ago, like the post I'd shown you here.

See other skies on  SKYWATCH.

Daily Haiku

 Across the morning sky
Dark lines connecting places
I will never see
 

 

Signs of spring

Spring seems to be just around the corner, as shown by the flowers and the spring colors worn by the two folks in the bottom photo.

Daily Haiku

Winter slams its door

Awakening spring flowers

And a new wardrobe 

ABC WEDNESDAY "J" is for "Jellybelly"

Belgrade has quite a number of street dogs, many of whom scrounge on a daily basis to stay alive.

Others, like the big boy in this photo, are lucky enough to have someone (in his case, probably several people) to feed him.

Not sure what his name is, but he hangs out in Kalemegdan Park near the souvenir stands.  I call him Jellybelly.

Daily Haiku

No longer in need

Stomach full and contented

He waits for a pat

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

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