On Friday morning, we left Turino for Belgrade.  We had two flights.  The first was from Turino to Vienna, Austria.  I actually got to fly first class for the first time ever!  Not sure how that happened, but I didn't complain.  Too bad it was a short flight.  I read a Newsweek magazine (Europe edition).  It was very interesting because it focused on women leaders and provided profiles and interviews with them.  There was a section about Dr. Margaret Chan, Director of the World Health Organization.  She was quoted as saying that it's OK to cry at times in your position.  She felt that it doesn't show weakness, but compassion and empathy. 


From Vienna, we flew into Belgrade.  It was interesting to watch the changes in the landscape.  Turino is surrounded by the Alps.  Then, there were rolling hills and flat agricultural land as we flew east.  Darnella and I arrived in Belgrade around 1:00.  We were greeted by a driver who took us to the Hotel Balkan. 







We met our city coordinator, Dane Koniga, who is a program associate with the Balkan Trust for Democracy.  BTD is a program of the German Marshall Fund.  We had a couple of hours of down time, and then met for a briefing and overview of the Balkan region.  Slobodan Markovich, a professor of political science, gave a lecture.  Beth Locker (Atlanta) is on the right.


That evening, we went to a local restaurant and had dinner with the Director of BTD, Ivan Vejvoda.  The food was very good.  I had a beef roast with potatoes and carrots.  The restuarant was a converted home. 

Here is Ivan (far left) with some of this staff and interns.