Ich muss auf dem Weg an mindestens einem Dutzend Feste und Partys vorbeigekommen sein"-word order

Question

Here is a sentence taken from a book:

Ich muss auf dem Weg an mindestens einem Dutzend Feste und Partys vorbeigekommen sein.

My questions are:

1. why is "auf dem Weg" placed before "an mindestens einem Dutzend Feste und Partys"? Is it because the former is an adverbial while the latter a prepositional object?

2. And this "mindestens" here. Why is it placed after the introducing preposition "an". Is this normal?

Answer 1

What order would you suggest instead, and what would be the order of that sentence in English?

1. While other orders are possible, placing "auf dem Weg" in front of the rest establishes the context (you were walking/driving) for what you want to report (an Partys vorbeigekommen), so it is easier to read.

2. Again other orders are possible to emphasize certain parts, but "mindestens ein Dutzend" (at least a dozen) is the quantity, so splitting it would require a good reason.