Had a somewhat similar experience 30-some years ago when I was involved in the world of international mail art. A guy from Berlin and his friend planned to travel throughout the U.S. visiting with dozens of people he’d traded art with, including me in Minneapolis. When he got to New York I got a call from him saying he’d visit me tomorrow. I said no you won’t, I’ll see you in two or three days.

Three days later, they knocked on my apartment door.

A lot of Europeans seem to have no sense of how large the U.S. is.