The Epic Leipzig-Austin Journey…..

5 flight cancellations, 3 plane rides, 3 taxi rides, a bleary 4 AM wakeup call and I’m still not even close to the finish line. I have been traveling a very very long time. (26 hours so far) My day started at 4 AM in Leipzig and as I was in the taxi to the airport, I got a text that my flights were severely delayed from Frankfurt-Dallas-Austin.  I was desperate to see my family as I have been touring for 2 weeks, so I got on an earlier flight through Chicago on United.  After my 2 flights from Leipzig and Frankfurt, I landed in Chicago and found out my connecting flight was cancelled. After going through security again, my ticket needed to be issued correctly to actually get onto a flight so I waited again in another long line. Ah, the tediousness of travel…(Mr. Arvo Pärt…where is your beautiful music to help soothe my soul?)

I got onto another AA flight only to wait, wait and wait until we finally got onto the plane. We rushed to wait another hour while inhaling dangerous toxic fuel fumes that had spilled all over the left wing of the plane (how does this happen AFTER one has sat on the plane for an hour will forever be a mystery). Now we were surrounded by the fire department who were worried that the plane might explode with all the fuel spilled every which way. It started raining and the pilot informed us the runway ramp was now shut down (I really am not making this up!)…. we finally got off the plane and waited another hour to be told our flight was cancelled. That was flight cancellation number 1. I won’t not bore you with all the rest of the gory details but just as I got onto flight #3, that flight was cancelled as well…I was about to cry and scream at the same time, but decided a giant glass of beer would be much more productive in my state. At the bar, a rowdy bar hopper asked me to please play some Bazzini. I told him to keep drinking…..26 hours later and after my 5th plane cancellation, I found the last remaining room in all of Chicago to stay for the night. If you find me at Chicago’s O’Hare busking in front of McDonald’s, you now know the entire sad story. Hopefully sometime tomorrow, I will be on my way home….

And to think just yesterday, I was performing Bach’s Concerto in A minor, Darf Ich, Passacaglia, Fratres and Air yesterday at the Gewandhaus with the amazing Kristjan Järvi and the MDR Leipzig Orchestra celebrating Arvo Pärt’s beautiful music….did this really happen or was it just a dream?