What a mess! I was supposed to leave Berlin on Friday, April 16, to get back to New York City. Well, who knew that a volcano eruption in Iceland was going to throw all air travel in a tailspin? So here i am in Berlin (Tuesday, April 20) and i'm not sure what's happening. I keep watching CNN or BBC and listening to the reports about this crisis (and it is a crisis!) and wondering what to do. I've been rebooked for a flight tomorrow morning but how many transatlantic flights are leaving from Berlin? I'm thinking about cancelling and just waiting until things calm down. And i'm hoping that the situation will calm down.

Everything seemed to be on track to restart air travel, but then, last night, the volcano erupted again and sent another plume of volcanic ash in the direction of London. So English airspace is once again in peril and that's causing all sorts of problems. Test flights are now underway but London has kept its airports closed.

That's it right now. But i'm not trapped and i'm not stuck: i have a place here in Berlin and i have things to do (there are talks, etc. at the Center) and i can wait it out. But this better not last through the summer, because by July, i've got to get home, and home is not Berlin!