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 were told that the restaurants along the river (Danube and Sava) release their sewage directly into the river.  There is a lot of litter.  I noticed many open dumps on the landscape as we landed at the airport.  I bet if I were to come here in 10 years, there would be many changes. 

Here's the view from the airport.  It kind of sums up Belgrade for me.  It has beauty and potential, but right now there are some problems.  Not to say that the U.S. doesn't have problems too, however.