The object I'd like to introduce here is my hot air balloon. The colorful balloons in the sky, seemingly weightless and moved only by the wind, glide across the sky, fascinate many people and inspire them to dream.
My hot air balloon dream began on October 19, 1991. I'm a rather down-to-earth person, and heights scare me. But to celebrate an anniversary, I decided to dare to face my fear and take a hot air balloon ride with my husband. And it was a complete success! From the very first moment, I felt at home in the air. A fantastic feeling!
For the next ten years, I followed every balloon I saw in my car, chatted with the pilots, and helped pack up after the ride. The longing to soar into the sky again never waned, and so I found myself a guest in a balloon basket even more often.
My passion for ballooning even took me to the USA, where I served for many years as the city representative for the Helmstedt-Albuquerque twin town partnership, the city where the world's largest balloon festival takes place every year on the first weekend in October. I've been privileged to participate as a guest of honor several times. Other distant goals have included balloon competitions in Japan.
A few years ago, I was looking for a special gift for my daughter for her confirmation and thought of a balloon ride. I called a local ballooning company I hadn't had any contact with before and asked for a gift certificate. And then, on a whim, I asked, "Do you also train pilots?" The answer was, "Yes."
In 2005, I earned my hot-air balloon pilot's license, becoming one of the few women in this male-dominated field (that's freedom, too!). The transition from the guest to the pilot perspective made it clear to me that this aerial adventure doesn't just mean freedom, but above all, it involves work. Work in preparing for the balloon flight, work in setting up the balloon, work in packing up, and follow-up. But even today, I still enjoy the feeling of standing in the balloon basket every time, seeing the world from above.
