“Cabin crew, prepare for landing,” the command came through the public-address system, filling the silent cabin of the early-morning flight from Belgrade to Podgorica. “Landing where??” I wondered, for I had only seen dramatic mountains, partially covered in snow, and some lakes.

The short flight from Serbia’s to Montenegro’s capital was more of a scenic flight than a means of transport. The sun broke through the clouds only intermittently, putting the mountains in a dark, eerie light. Whenever the sun had prevailed, it didn’t take long for the mountains to forcefully pull back their cloudy cover, asking for another thirty minutes of sleep. Now I understood where the name came from: Montenegro, the black mountains.

Even the little airport had the feeling of a mountain resort to it. In a country like this, it must have been easy to decide on the location of the airport. You pick the only flat part of land that you can find and expropriate the farmer who owns it. The airport code TGD is a reminder of the Yugoslav past: Titograd.

Unfortunately for you, I like to check in all my luggage, including my camera, because I prefer boarding the plane with nothing more than a book, so I could only take a photo after leaving the airport. Needless to say, I regretted my decision.

On the return flight from Tivat to Belgrade I took the camera on board, but on that day it was too cloudy.

(Zur deutschen Fassung.)