Ripe figs and a sparrow feasting

Another old one, taken this summer at our holiday house. We have several large fig trees with so much fruit we usually end up feeding all our neighbors, birds and ourselves. This little guy was certainly enjoying mouthful of the perfectly ripe fig:

B-day surprise!

Digging out some of the older photos (September), I stumbled upon this one:



It always makes me laugh, the look on my friend's son's face is priceless! :-D

PS. Sorry for not photo-blogging for previous few days, I went to Vienna for a bit of Advent-Xmas atmosphere... don't worry, I'll include some of the photos from there once I download them to my computer. :)

Sculpture on an empty jogging path

Looking westward along the river Sava:

Stone gate iron lace work

The Stone Gate used to be one of the entrances through the defense system around Gradec (Old town). It was built in the 13th Century, but got its nowadays look in mid 18th ct. It's the last entrance gate remaining...

A fire in 1731 destroyed large part of Zagreb, including the Stone gate and all the houses surrounding it. However, there was a painting of Mother Mary and Lord Jesus in the Stone Gate in Zagreb that remained undamaged. It was believed to be a miracle. Nowadays, there's a iron lace work fence in front of the painting and the whole Stone gate passage is used as a small sanctuary, with people lighting candles and saying prayers.

Round corners

A building partially occupied by an insurance company, partially by a private polyclinic. Inside of the building is a pure contrast to its modern exterior and reflects neo-something (mixed) style with marble floors, antique-like furniture mixed with modern (despite a weird mixture of styles inside, it all fits and looks amazing):



Too bad I can't take a photo of the inside....

Pick a car, any car...

A detail from a used cars dealership:

Stuck in time

This car should find a nice new owner who'll breathe a new life into it and present it at the next year Oldtimer Show. At the moment, it's stuck in time and place:



Storage container behind it is not far off either...

A detail from a Christian Orthodox church

I can't tell you the number of times I passed the church in my life... but I can tell you this is the first time I've ever noticed this detail above its side entrance:

What's the time?

In case you get lost in the center without a watch, there are plenty of clocks on display. This one is at the entrance to Oktogon.

Gangsters?

I have no idea who these guys are, but it's cool graffiti IMHO.

Power...

A detail from the yard of the company I work in - electricity tower (which, btw, we produce):



In case you were wondering where I've disappeared, I've been fighting some cold/virus which has kept me in the house and pretty much stationary. Things are looking better now, so I'll try to keep up with the usual daily updates.

Fitness? Nah...

According to some surveys, Zagreb population is the fittest in the country... you could never tell that by this eerily empty jogging/walking/biking path on the levy next to the river Sava:



Maybe just above freezing temperatures (as seen from the "steaming" river) got all the fit people scared?

At the entrance...

Following the pathway to knowledge, we arrive at the Library's front door. Just in case you got lost midway, the flags are there to remind you you're (still) in Croatia.



PS. The flags were there that day because of a national holiday....

Path to knowledge... or at least a bunch of books...

Pathway in front of the National University Library, leading to the front door:

Oh my god! They killed Kenny!

EDITED (thanks to SP guru Cristobal :)): The title used to be Respect My Authority, but I changed it to fit Stan. I didn't know if this graffiti was Cartman (too thin to be him?) or Stan which caused title confusion. Either way it made me laugh when I saw it:

Lone jogger in fog...

There's always an enthusiast who'd jog no matter what. Morning was foggy, cold, and yet........

Emerging bridge

Receding fog from the previous post has reached the bridge and its sides are already visible:

Receding fog

Silhouettes

Residential high-rises in New Zagreb seen through the fog:

National University Library

Another photo, another dilemma...

In color:


Sepia mode:

Misty river?

I took the opportunity of sunny but cold (below freezing) morning to go on a small photo shoot session around the newer part of Zagreb.

Along its length, Zagreb is divided into 2 parts by the river Sava. The river is relatively shallow and relatively narrow so the transport over the river hasn't developed and is focused on bridges.

Whenever the temperatures in the morning drop below zero, because the temperature of the river is close to 20C, there's quite a lot of "steam" rising from it. Also, the strip along the river is usually quite foggy, unlike the rest of Zagreb. This image was taken from the "middle" bridge. In the distance there should be one more bridge visible, but the fog completely covered it.



Also, you can see a large area next to the river - it's a part of the flood prevention system which includes the levvies on each side of the river as well as a few large canals in the event of high water levels.

November theme day: doorway

This "doorway" is a part of the National Library building. It's an entrance for the fire department and it also seems to lead to the basement part of the building. Very ugly and very weird, IMHO, so I added a filter which inverted the photo to make it just a bit nicer. :) Good thing about it is that it's hidden away and visible only from the parking lot.



Don't forget to click here to view thumbnails for all participants and enjoy everyone's same yet completely different photos for the November theme day!