The Windy City

And then it was on to Chicago, where I walked around town enjoying an exquisitely sunny winter day and was mesmerized by Anish Kapoor's "Cloud Gate"...

Heartland

Fast forward to Kansas City. One question was on everyone's mind: Where are all the people ?? From my hotel room looking out over the city, it felt like one of those sci-fi movies where everyone got beamed away...

Oh New York, you steal the show every single time...

Currently very unglamorously snowed in in Worcester, Massachusetts. Extra points to anyone who can explain why it's pronounced "Wooster". Thankfully tomorrow afternoon we head to New York City...

Notes from the road...

Hamburg-> D.C. -> Annapolis ->New Brunswick.

Highlights so far : mind games with the cranky toddler seated in front of me on the flight over, an over the top all-american mall experience, a walk around the sleepy historical district of Annapolis , and a concert for enthusiastic Naval Cadets...next stop: New Jersey.

on my way

On the way to Leipzig the other day the clouds parted for a moment casually revealing a glimpse of sunshine and blue skies, filling me with a strange sense of happiness and well being. I squinted out the train window slowly remembering how nice it is to actually see the sun. A little photosynthesis goes a long way-specially now that we both look so pale and sickly one could easily think we just got out of solitary confinement.
After a whirlwind of chaos and rehearsals I'm back home packing for a trip to the Motherland; Land of Freedom, the pursuit of happiness, and January sales. Starting in Washington D.C I'll be on tour for two weeks.
Someone at the consulate must do a really good job at scaring all foreigners into good behavior, because I've been receiving panicky group e mails from the orchestra's office :
WARNING! ATTENTION! ...
We've also been instructed not to bring anything that looks,smells or tastes like food. No tea, no snacks, no chocolate. Are they really concerned someone might mistake my granola bar for a Weapon of Mass Destruction ?? It feels very dangerous and adventurous ...

Anyhow, wish me luck. I'll do my best to post from the road, Internet connection allowing.

a look around

Although our little corner of Schumannstraße is a work in progress, we've definitely come a long way since those days in October when towering piles of all our earthly possessions made it dangerous to walk across the room, and we ate dinner sitting on the floor using little plastic spoons. In spite of how glamorous that might sound, I'm pretty thankful we now have furniture and some real silverware . Here I humbly present you with a few pictures of our Living/Dining/Practice/Office room....

what the what ? 2012?

So they say it's 2012. How did that even happen?
Here's wishing that your year is marvelous, where ever you may be. We spent the New Year in Berlin and in Potsdam working, catching up with friends and participating in general merriment. We then fled the war zone (the folks here are very,very serious about New Years fireworks and stock up on enough explosives to send us all to kingdom come - if need be ) and headed north, back home. 2011 might be tough to beat as far as major celebrations and milestones go, but hopefully with a little effort 2012 will be just as fantastic.

*Pictures of St. Nikolas , where we performed on New Years