I left the hotel at 4:45 AM after just 3 hours of sleep to head for the Berlin Tegel airport. I flew from Berlin to Milan.  There was a short layover, and then I flew directly to Atlanta (10 hour flight).  I thought I might sleep on the plane, but I had an aisle seat.   I recently read that airplane bathrooms are the 2nd most dirty things (behind your kitchen sink), and I have to agree.  I tried my best to wash my hands and keep them clean until I got back into my seat - but it proved difficult.  I went through customs ...

In 23 days -

6 hotels
11 flights
About 40 hours of airport time (check-in, flight time, layovers, etc)
About 175 fellowship contact hours - 39 talks, 24 group meals, 9 tours
Sleep and free time - very little!
Estimated miles traveled by air and by land: 10,366

Chattanooga to Atlanta (air):  120
Atlanta to DC (air):  640
DC to Brussels (air):  3000
Brussels to Hamburg (air): 304
Hamburg to Lubeck (car): 41
Lubeck to Eutin and back (car):  48
Lubeck to Fehmarn and back (car):  60
Lubeck to Hamburg (car):  41
Hamburg to Frankfurt (air): 244
Frankfurt to Turino (air):  353
Turino to Alba and back (car):  92
Turino to Vienna (air): 466
Vienna to ...

Berlin has been cold, but not rainy like Belgrade.  On Thursday, the group walked over to the GMF office and had a briefing on the German political system.  After the briefing, we took taxis to a local school to talk to high school students.

German School System - Children start school at the age of 6, and attend elementary school (Grundschule) up to grade 4.  At that point, children are separated according to their academic ability and attend one of three different kinds of schools.  The Hauptschule (grades 5-9) teaching classes at a slower pace with some vocational courses.  It leads ...

Some of us arrived in Berlin early - around noon.  We didn't have a meeting until 6, so we set out for a bus tour of Berlin.  We are staying in the Arcotel Velvet.  It's very nice.  It's been interesting throughout this trip to figure out how to use the sinks, showers, and toilets.  By the way, it's proper to say "toilet" instead of restroom or bathroom.
My room.  Pretty funky.

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We were off to Berlin, Germany on Wednesday morning.  We met in the hotel lobby at 6:30, which is early when you are out late the night before and are weary travelers.  Belgrade is very different from the other cities we haved visited.  Of course, it is in Eastern Europe.  I see some similarities with lesser developed countries I have visited in the Caribbean and Central America.  The people here love it and there seems to be a lot of potential for development.  Currently, there are few environmental regulations.  No one seems to know what happens to the sewage.  We ...

Tuesday was our last day in Serbia.  It was very cold and rainy...my toes were numb!  Everyone in our group is great - Tom, Beth, Darnella, and Barbara.  We get along very well.  Our city coordinator, Dane (pronounced dawn-a), has been great.  He's a young guy with lots of energy (more energy than me!).  We have a van that transports us from place to place which is much better than taking taxis.  It's interesting that people park wherever here...on the sidewalks, half on the sidewalk and half on the street.  It doesn't seem to matter.

We went to the Humanitaritan Law ...

Monday morning, I had a fantastic meeting with Dr. Predrag Kon.  He is the Head of Immunization at the Institute of Public Health Belgrade.   Their health department is much like the regional health departments in Tennessee.  There is a central health department, with health departments in each municipality.  They have similar programs - Health Promotion, Biostatistics, Disease Prevention and Control, Microbiology, Environmental Health, and Eco-Toxicology.  Dr. Kon has dealt with outbreaks of bird flu in birds.

In 2006, there were positive swans in two zones in Serbia.  In one of the zones, there were 9 dead swans that were found near ...

Well, I've been trying to do another podcast...but, I'm having trouble uploading it.  So, I give up for now.  Today is Sunday and we had a tour of the city.  Belgrade has 53 parks, and according to our guide, is the "greenest" capital in Europe. 
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