The monastery school in Sremski Karlovci. Religion is Orthodox.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The weather is so amazingly beautiful today. It is in the 80's with a cool breeze blowing and sunshine that is pleasant rather than oppressive. Someone on this list must have been praying pretty powerfully about the weather for me...thank you! God has delivered up a gorgeous start to my final week in Europe.
That is all I'm going to say about weather any more. Will said he was tired of the weather reports! He told me about that after I typed this though so I'm not changing it! ;-)
I am sitting on a bench in the shade on the banks of the Danube writing to you. In person, the 'Blue Danube' isn't so blue--only when the sun hits it perfectly. It does make me want to waltz though. It looks blue in some of the pictures that I took though. I'l attach one today; let me know if it looks blue at all.
I went to two museums this morning. The Gallery of Foreign Art was a funny little place with a special exhibit on a Serbian opera singer. I'm not certain how that fits with foreign art?? Nothing was marked in English and I couldn't take pictures. There was an amazing porcelain fireplace/stove that I wish I could have captured on film...actually I wish I could take it home and put it in my living room. My bet is that it is Austrian--this used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian empire--probably late 18th century. No markings/placards however and the proprietors spoke no more English than I spoke Serbian.
The second museum was the Museum of Vojvodina. Novi Sad is the capital of the autonomous province of Vjovodina, Serbia. It encompasses the Northern half of Serbia. This museum was a history of the region from the stone age until quite recently. The largest placards explaining the history and the exhibit were only in Serbian, but the small labelling of artifacts was in Serbian and English. Of course I wish I had someone to translate the largest placards to me but at least I could identify the artifacts! The ones that I found most fascinating started in the middle ages with the religious history of the area. There were Bibles, liturgy books and prayer books from around 1200 to 1800. Beautiful illustrations and colors. The religious icons and sacramental items (and the vestments) were so ornate. I can't find the words to describe their beauty without a dictionary handy. There was also a small section with Jewish religious artifacts.
I also passed a little shop today near the Orthodox Church which sells icons and other religious items. I may need to at least poke my head in and look.I also really liked the section on applied arts or handicrafts. There were handcrafted pieces of furniture which were carved and then painted for ornamentation. The linens and traditional clothing were so richly detailed...we need a national costume in the US!
After the museums, I walked through the Duneska Park to the river. Duneska means Danube apparently. I sat there for about 30 minutes snapping pics, writing to you and just enjoying the view and the day. I walked back toward the center but took a detour and found a farmer's market and flea market. Very colorful....even well past morning.
It was about 2:00 by this time so I headed to the square to find a cafe to have lunch. I branched out to someplace new today and had fried chicken breast and fries with a fascinating dip for the fries...a yogurt/sour cream. It was good. They use sour cream in place of mayonnaise here. I've had it as the dressing on a ham sandwich and on a tuna sandwich and liked it, but then I like sour cream a lot. Note to Amelia--you need to try this with me--you'll love it!
The merchants have got to love this change in weather too. Every other day that I have been here, the square has been deserted from about 2-6 in the afternoon because of the heat. It is full of people today!
I am going to go back to the dorm and check on Brenda. At breakfast she said that her foot was not any better and she thought that she might need to brave a local doctor. I need to see how she is doing.
Brenda was not there when I got back but she returned by dinner. She decided to keep using what she has bought for one more day and hope it works. I hope so for her sake. Keep her in your prayers please.
The girls were invited to a party tonight at the local ballet teacher's home. Eleanor said it was just for the girls so I stayed home. I hope she is having a good time. The local girls were coming too.
Tomorrow I am going to the Fortress to look around. It is a centuries old military fortress (about two centuries, so plural is appropriate) and museum. There is also a modern art museum near the ballet school. I may try to get by there as well. I also need to go by the airline office and reconfirm our flight to London on Saturday. Strangely, Eleanor has a seat assignment but I don't!
The caretaker just walked through to the front door and I hear the girls. I guess I'll see how the party went. I hear happy voices so I guess it was fun.More tomorrow
...Ciao!
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