In transit: I am in transit....on my way back to my home..and have stumbled upon FREE Internet access at Hotel Spendid. Hotel Splendid is my transit hotel of choice. It is reasonably inexpensive and in a part of town where you can walk and explore if you want. It's no five or even four star but the people are nice and the room is clean--though there's a stale cigarette smoke smell present. I like to think that just this once, it adds to the Hotel's charms. Google Hotel Spendid, Belgrade, for a look at the hotel....sorry, I don't have the website handy.

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I have made it through one hurdle...flying from Montenegro to Belgrade. No problems...I thought Montenegro Airlines might give me a hard time about the weight of my suitcases. They's right at 50 pounds each....you're allowed 20 or 22 kgs....which converts to about 50 pounds, the present US weight maximum. Tomorrow, I will probably be ok...I'll be sure to whip out my Gold Skymiles card when I check in....that usually helps. I will fly Delta, via Alitalia. Montenegro Air, departed only five minutes late....a record, I would say.

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Flying in the Balkans is a nice opporortunity to see sights that are particular to this part of the world. The mountains of Montenegro and Serbia are not quite like the Alps or mountains in the U.S. In Belgrade, I've enjoyed seeing rows of stair-stepped apartment buildings. Built, I'd say, in the 1960s. A little run down in appearance from the air but fun building design to see. Outside of Podgorica, you see Skodra Lake....a beautiful sight. The water is surprisingly clear.

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It is cool and cloudy in Belgrade. I've walked around a bit but will head up to my hotel room in a bit and try to go to sleep around 5 or 6...it is 3:35 PM now. My taxi will arrive at 4 AM. Flight leave at 6:05 for Milan...then Atlanta...then Peoria. By the way, I am typing on an ancient HP desktop that originally came with Windows 95, but now has the ultramodern Windows 98 operating system. The really good news: a cable modem and decent connection speeds.

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As I did some post-referendum visits in Montenegro, I kept asking people: will things be better or worse in the next 2-3 years? That is an interesting question. Montenegro now needs to help the citizens understand what it takes to have a civil society....free and fair elections, a chance for any to run in the election...civil liberties (protection of human rights and freedom of speech, among others)...and somewhere in this mix is an appearance of transperancy, not only in government but in economic matters also. I think it will be tough and wonder whether the government has a real plan for conveying the importance of these issues. If there's no plan, things will get worse before they get better.

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The time is ticking away. It's Sunday morning...I start the trip back to Podgorica in about an hour. The trip will take about three hours, including border crossing time. I've been pretty lucky with collecting job satisfaction surveys at the TV station and I had a good meeting with people there also, including doing a brief sales workshop for their marketing people. It was similar to the things I've done in Niksic and Plevjia.

My time in Montenegro is almost up. Monday will be my last full day in Podgorica. I'll catch a morning flight to Belgrade on Tuesday, spend the night--at Hotel Splendid--and then catch my early morning flight to the U.S. So little time but still many things to do. I'll start washing clothes when I get home to Podgorica today...just need to take care of a few things to ensure clean clothes for the plane ride. And, of course, I'll pack my bags. With luck, everything will fit into the two bags I came with.

Yes, there are some things I am leaving and of course, I am returning with a few things also. My most interesting item is a food processor I bought at a junk market. A food processor, you ask. Why would you buy that? Because it's a mortor and pestle, both made from brass. Yes, it's heavy but I think it's interesting enough to bring home. Supposedly, it's 70-100 years old. In the old days, people would use them to crush salt or sugar--sold in solid lumps. Also, to grind spices, pound coffee or pulverize anything else. It's about 8 inches tall and looks like it would hold at least 12 ounces of liquid. I'll try to post a picture at some point. Though my time is about up, I'll post some photos...once I can do some editing.