Brass Band

This statue piece was one of my absolute favorites in Skopje.... always sure to inspire a joyful smile on my face! That is until one by one each piece dissappeared! It was so sad to see the lone trumpetman playing without his buddies... little old ladies would pass by and shake their head and tsk at the shame of the loss.... then just a few months later all that was left was the concrete slab. =(

I think the one I missed the most was the guy in front with the big puffy cheaks blowing with all his might... kind of reminded me of the guy in the picture below from a local concert of the Philharmonic orchestra (guest musicians pictured):

Well, in the past few months several new statues have been appearing all over Skopje (pics and blogs to come).... and so imagine my joy to see that they replaced my favorite statue with the same basic "Brass Band." It's definitely not exactly the same, but that's OK, because like an old friend it's good to see it and it always brings a smile to my face when I pass by. =)