After the performance in Stowe, we drove for 14 hours to get back to Virginia. I was able to spend two nights sleeping in my bed before hitting the road again. I was scheduled to make a research paper presentation on the Hocus Focus project at the International Society for Teacher Education seminar in Kristiansand, Norway.
Before Alan and I left the USA, we were told that some of our connecting flights had been cancelled but re-routing was being handled and everything would be okay. We left Washington, DC Dulles International Airport and landed first in Frankfurt, Germany. This was an easy flight with about a 3 hour layover to get some food and regroup before our next flight. With nothing else in sight, we made our way to the McCafe and had breakfast.
After breakfast, we walked to our gate to catch our next flight to Russia (it was only a transfer flight). I was excited about flying through Russia. I’ve seen pictures and documentaries on television. I always imagined it to be beautiful and mysterious….but all that could change. On another note, I’m always amazed at the things you can see in an airport. Take a look at this guy and tell me if you don’t think this is odd.
You see the handcuffs, right? I couldn’t believe that he was sitting right across for us. They let him board first – with his “people” – and then the rest of us boarded the plane. We landed in one of the major airports where we remained stranded for about 2 days. Our travel agent was making every attempt to work with Baltic Air – the airline that cancelled our flights and left us stranded – but they were completely uncooperative. They offered no assistance at all and finally agreed to refund the money….which also did nothing to get us out of Russia.
Finally, our travel agent was able to secure a flight to Moscow where we would connect to a flight to Oslo, Norway and (finally) on to Kristiansand, Norway – the site of the conference. When we arrived at the airport gate promptly at 5:30am, security refused to check us in. As it turns out, flying through Moscow on a connection is not considered an “international flight” so we were required to have a “Transit Visa” – something we did not have. We were informed by the airport manager that, if we were allowed to board the flight, we would be arrested and “detained” in immigration in Moscow for illegal entry. We really didn’t want to take our chances on that one. But with our Moscow flight cancelled, the remaining flights were also lost. So, as I write this Alan and I are sitting in a coffee shop in the airport. Could we be stuck in Russia for yet another day???