Blogging while jet-lagged is probably about as dumb as drunk dialing though hopefully one regrets less in the morning. I suspect it may even be worse than drunk blogging. Jet lag leaves you feeling about as cranky as Andy Rooney. I haven't watched 60 Minutes in decades so I was pleased, if perhaps surprised, to learn that Andy is not only still with us but still on television. Wikipedia, the source of an ever-rising share of the information for my students--and apparently me, since I have now linked to it in two of two posts--says that Andy has become increasingly critical of the Iraq War. Well, who hasn't.

It is a miracle that there isn't more air rage on international flights leaving Washington Dulles as the afternoon push for international flights makes the United check-in counter a regularly scheduled train wreck. There is not enough room and the signs and lines are confusing. I've had an easier time navigating train stations with signs written in languages of which I know nothing. My Premier status cut my time in the check-in line to a mere 45 minutes. It must be too easy to qualify (heck, I did). As The Incredibles taught us, "When everyone is super, no one will be." However, I can take solace in the knowledge that the peons are still waiting to check-in.

Needless to say, I couldn't use any of my sky-high stack of frequent flyer miles to upgrade, though I must admit the flight was fine and on time. They even had good movies which was a bit of a shocker. Two tray tables up in an upright and locked position for both Bridge to Terebithia and Pan's Labyrinth. However, I'm still recovering from having to sit through seven consecutive showings of I Robot on the way to Kazakhstan.

When I lived in the South, the conventional airline wisdom was that "If you want to go to heaven, you have to change planes in Atlanta." Perhaps they should have just said that a visit to purgatory is required en route to the Pearly Gates. In Europe, Frankfurt is to United/Lufthansa as Atlanta is to Delta--only even less popular. Even the business lounges in Frankfurt are dumpy. I lucked out and got to change in Munich's sleek airport where you can have a beer with breakfast and no one bats an eye since it's Bavaria.

Belgrade looks about the same. It is cold and wet today so I am glad that I have been here before and don't feel compelled to go on a forced jet-lagged march around the city's tourist sites. Instead, I did something far more Serbian: sat in a cafe and had a double espresso (which proved I was jet-lagged because I barely noticed the caffeine). I also have begun a hunt for a Gilette Fusion razor blade holder as I left the razor handle at home even though I have plenty of blades. So far, Serbia seems up only to Mach 3.

My hotel room overlooks Belgrade's main synogogue which comes complete with the wall and guardpost that is the hallmark of synogogues in Europe these days. According to the Department of State's 2006 report on religious freedom in Serbia (light reading for the flight), the mosque gets the same special treatment as it was attacked in 2004 in retaliation for attacks on Orthodox churches in Kosovo.

However, the report indicates that the situation for religious minorities has improved since the last report. Nis, a city in southern Serbia quite close to Kosovo, actually managed to obtain convictions in mosque attacks. Christian groups experiencing problems include Orthodox churches that aren't the Serbian Orthodox Church (i.e. Romanian Orthodox, Montenegrin Orthodox). The ever popular Jehovah's Witnesses and Hare Krishnas also experienced problems, as did evangelicals.