The Cows Come Home to Novi Sad

Last year in the town center, Novi Sad had an exhibition of painted horses. They were very beautiful. This year, the town is featuring painted cows. The cows are all the same, but the painting is done by different artists. The people here seem to love them as much as I do. People have their pictures made near them and children seem drawn to them.

I have uploaded pictures of them to my Flickr account. Here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/novisadnewbie/

You can also see pictures of some of last year's horses there.

As I walked through the town the other day, the weather was comfortable and people were out, sitting in the little cafes spread throughout the center of town. My love says that many people are on vacation at this time of the year and if they cannot go to the sea (Greece, Montenegro or Macedonia) they will enjoy the cafes of Novi Sad.
We stopped and had an icy cold beer at JOE'S, which is close to where my love works.
Živali!

Saturday Weddings

It's a little after 2:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday and I hear outside my window cars going by and horns honking. I know without looking that someone else has married today.
People here drive their cars, in a line (like we in the US do for funerals) with the lights on, horns honking and flying large Serbian flags out of the window. The car carrying the bride and groom is usually decorated with white ribbon, etc. like the cars of bridal parties in the US. Those of us walking on the street smile and wave to them. It is a happy time for all.

I Love To Walk Here

One of the things I love the most about Novi Sad is that you can walk anywhere, anytime. I am able to walk around town from dawn to midnight and it is safe. I would never do that where I come from, it is just not safe. There are also bike lanes on many of the main streets between the sidewalk and the street. Where I am from in America, (Louisiana), I have only seen bike lanes on the street itself.

When I go somewhere here, I mostly walk or ride the bus. Sometimes a friend will pick us up who has a car, but that is rare. The buses are usually fairly crowded, but people are considerate. They let older women sit down, they aren't loud or obnoxious. They pretty much sit quietly and chat. I have no problems at all with the bus - where I am from I never rode the bus because, of course, I had my own car.

I love to walk, though. It is good excersize and the air smells clean and when it blows from the Danube, it is cool and refreshing. There are parts of town with beautiful homes and trees. There are many high rise apartments here, some painted in bright colors to look at. There are local landmarks like the Sports Center and of course the town center which is fantastic, although it is touristy. There are little parks tucked away here and there to sit and rest in.

People watching is fun, too. The people here are attractive. I like to see them out walking their dogs, young couples holding hands, older couples walking and talking. It is very peaceful to me and very nice.