One of my recent trips in the Balkans included an overnight train from Belgrade to Bar. Also known as the "Montenegro Express".

476 kilometers of pure engineering brilliance, reaching up to 1 kilometer of elevation. Built by Yugoslav State Railways in 25 years of construction and first opened in 1976.

I was asleep for most of the route, in a surprisingly comfortable 6-bed compartment. Thankfully, passport check woke us up just in time for the best part of the route: The mountainous part from Bijelo Polje to Podgorica felt like a fairytale, riding the fog through the mountain ridges and witnessing cute villages as they woke up.

This memoir perfectly encapsulates my love-to-hate relationship with engineering. You don't get to admire such marvels of human enginuity, without the persistence, frustration and tolerance to repetition that are required to bring them to life.