WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--aux Halles

 A reflection of murals at Les Halles, Paris, with Saint-Eustache church appearing on the left.

Am sequestered with a mild case of COVID, so it may be a while until I get back and running here in Belgrade.

See other reflections on James' WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

SKYWATCH--before dawn from my window

 Trying to get back on track since my return from Paris one week ago. I brought back a stowaway....a case of COVID, despite all my precautions here and there, so I am isolating, taking meds, etc. for a week.

So, for the moment until I get my recently revamped big computer up and running, it will be shots from inside my apartment looking out.

Woke up early the other night, feverish, but got this beautiful sky.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE....

 In two days' time, I'll be leaving to spend a week in a city where I used to live...seeing friends, eating, drinking, and being merry.  

So, taking a 'petite pause'.

MONDAY MURALS--a sad, sad one

 Long ago, I used to live in the part of town where this mural is now painted. Last July, a worthless, reckless, scum of a driver sped through a crosswalk where there were clearly people and killed this little 10 -year-old boy who was crossing the street in a crosswalk with his father and brother, who miraculously, suffered serious injuries but were not killed. His father and The driver did  not stop, but was later apprehended in his nearby apartment drinking coffee. Even worse, at the first hearing, the judge released the driver on bail.  Enraged citizens from all over Belgrade protested for days, and finally on July 23rd of last year, the guilty party has found himself in jail..I hope they throw away the key.

The text reads:  "I'm watching you from heaven now, because of me you are now here, (meaning the protesters).  Good people, don't let someone else's child be a victim."

See other murals, I hope not this sad, on MONDAY MURALS.

WEEKEND REFLECTIONS--THE CITY UPSIDE DOWN

 Dipped into my archives for this one. Hope I haven't used it before. 

See other reflections on James'  WEEKEND REFLECTIONS.

LOST IN HER THOUGHTS

 Judging by this young woman's embroidered blouse and white skirt, she may have been part of a folk  dance program at the museum where she's sitting.  Waiting for a ride?

OPPOSITES ATTRACT

 "Opposites attract" is the first thing that ran through my mind when I spotted this couple two benches down from me in the park. Thanks to the adjustable LED screen on my camera, I positioned  it on my lap and used a zoom position to capture them. He's so colorful withh his hair and sunglasses, and had lots of tattoos, and she is so demure in her polka dots, classic make-up, and hair.

THEME DAY JUNE 2022---THE ROAD TO LEH FROM SRINAGAR

 Obviously, this is not Serbia or even close.  In 2016 I was in Kashmir, India, and went by jeep from there to Leh, the capital of the autonomous region of Ladakh.  The pass to get there only opens on May 1st, when most of the snow is gone. You can see it was not, and the plowed snow to each reached over the height of the buses that could pass. I took this photo when we had to stop to let oncoming traffic through.

I was constantly invoking the gods not to have a 'wall' fall on me, and since you're reading this, you can see that none did.

See other roads on CITY DAILY PHOTO THEME DAY.

WHAT DOES THE URN MEAN?

 If you live in Europe, you've probably run across statues on walls. Many here seem to frolic with companions, but others are more somber. This male figure is holding an urn on his shoulder on the facade of this apartment building.

I looked up "What do urns mean?" and came up with this, from Wiki:  "

What The Urn Means

In a sense, the urn is a symbol of beauty. Our earthly remains will be concealed and preserved, represented by timeless elegance of the urn’s design. During the neocalssical period, the earliest of urns displayed anient Greek and Roman scenes depicted in art and jewelry design. The urn could be shaped in anyway or form as the name is derived from the Latin root “uro” which meant “burn”.

Moreover, in many cultures, the urn is a symbol of death. It is believed by many religions that the body is turned into dust as the spirit floats away towards God. The draped urn emphasizes this symbolism as it denotes the death of a person. When the shroud drapery denotes a dearly departed soul to heaven in relation to the shroud dressed over the body, the drape symbolizes the separation between life and death and guards the sacred contents of the urn. When an urn rests on top of a column or tomb, it often is a representation of the mourning depiction. In early design from Neoclassicism, the urn depicts the mourner interacting with the urn. The urn in this depiction represents the loved one.

MONDAY MURALS---Interpretation?

 We all know who this is.  Written in the blue part in Cyrillic was originally BRAT (in Cyrillic BPAT) in gray letters.  BPAT (BRAT) means 'brother.'  Many older Serbs, and quite a few of the young, feel strong brotherhood ties to Russia, since, for example, both many Serbs are Orthodox, as are many Russians, and Russia liberated Serbia from German control after WWII.

Someone with a paint brush painted over the original B in BPAT, leaving PAT, which means 'WAR' and painted sunglasses on you-know-who, with blood dripping from his eyes.

Not a cheerful mural, but it is what it is.

See other murals on MONDAY MURALS.

SKYWATCH--the morning after the lunar eclipse

 We all know there was recently a partial lunar eclipse, so I hiked down through empty streets at 3 a.m. that morning to photograph the moon. I am glad I stuck around until almost dawn to catch this photo of the early morning sky on the Danube.

See other skies on SKYWATCH.