Courtesy of Nathan Shows
The view from the dinner cruise on the Vltava.For many seniors in the music program, going on the summer of 2022 Europe tour as a freshman was a defining experience in their high school career. They share memories like performing the Musikverein in Vienna, trying strange new foods and go-karting down mountains in Schladming.
Getting stranded in the Czech Republic for five days was not on most students’ bucket list. However, like many other unexpected moments and experiences, it has proven to be a delible, defining memory
Logan Gecils remembers hearing the news from his friends during the banquet on the last night of the tour. Lufthansa cancelled a portion of the group’s flight at the last minute and did not provide a clear plan to resolve it.
“It didn’t really register at first. Then I heard it from Mr. Shiuan as well, and I was like, oh,” Logan said.
The next morning, when all 400+ tour members were supposed to fly home, a group of over 100 stranded students and parents arrived at the airport, where they thought they could get another flight back. Unfortunately, they had to eventually leave the airport hours later with no clear-cut solution.
There was some discontentment about the situation because parents had jobs to return to and some students had summer camps and various commitments to attend. Music directors Michael Boitz, Jason Shiuan and Sean Clark decided to stay back with the stranded tour members, while a few other staff returned home as scheduled.
“They found us a hotel, and they were like, just stay here. You guys can do whatever you want, and then we’ll try and figure out how to get you guys,” Logan said.
Nathan Shows remembers hearing the news differently — he found out at the airport where he was supposed to depart. In the days prior, he came down with COVID and was quarantined in a hotel room, missing out on the banquet where the news unraveled.
“I was actually really happy, because I got to go explore the Czech Republic after we got stuck there,” Nathan said. “Because prior to that, I hadn’t been out in the Czech Republic. I didn’t perform in a couple of the venues [because I had COVID].”
Being stranded was a double-edged sword. Logan and Nathan both got COVID, like many other tour members who had gone back home or were still stranded. The extra time allowed them to explore the city and make up for lost time. However, there was lots of uncertainty in the air about when they would manage to get flights home.
“They told us we might go home in September,” Logan said.
Despite the uncertainty, students enjoyed their freedom to travel around the city, including a beautiful evening ride on a dinner boat cruise. Shows recalls watching “Minions: The Rise of Gru” in a movie theater with his friends. Gecils enjoyed eating at the same pastry shop each morning.
Nathan said, “I have this really good memory with Ethan [Wong]. I kicked him off of one of the beds because we had this double bed, and I wouldn’t let him sleep on the bed. There was also a bunk bed, and I told him [to go sleep there], because he was shorter.”
After five days of being stuck in the Czech Republic, the stranded group got a private chartered flight back to California, thanks to the efforts of parents, the music directors and advocates like local politician Rishi Kumar. News channels like NBC Bay Area were at the airport to report on their return.
For students like Hector Vash-Munoz and Alex Vash-Munoz, the return experience was slightly different. Their parents, sister, brother and grandfather — part of the group on the “shadow tour” with the department — were still stranded in Europe. Hector and Alex themselves were part of the group that was able to depart home as planned.
“When we arrived at the airport, we had to figure out a way to get home by ourselves,” Hector said. “We got an Uber because this was before we could drive.”
Hector has a positive memory of the time, as he went out with friends, watched movies and ate burgers. Being alone in the house for several days was not problematic, since his mom ordered groceries to the house so they could cook food themselves.
The Class of 2025 will be the last class to remember going on the ‘22 Europe tour, and may even be the only ones to experience being stranded internationally. Thankfully, it was a happy high school highlight for most seniors.
“Looking back on it, it was really fun, and I’ll definitely remember it,” Logan said. “They did say that they were going to reimburse us for the extra time we spent in Prague. They didn’t give us anything, though.”