20 YEARS: THE PASSION OF A LIFETIME
It was in 1993 on this very day, the 14th of August, when I fulfilled myself my biggest dream to date: My first flight in a balloon. Coming from a family without any background in ballooning, things hadn’t been too easy for me, and I had put aside the money for the flight all by myself. But finally, the big day came, and together with my mother Bärbel, a neighbour of us and pilot Manfred, we took off south of our hometown of Pforzheim.
The beautiful morning flight led us right over the town, exactly over the house where we lived at that time, to heights of 3000 meters above ground and finally down to the surroundings of Gondelsheim, where we had a sporty landing on a freshly ploughed field. The traditional baptism and celebration afterwards was just as unforgettable as the flight itself, and I turned out to be “der enorm ballonbegeisterte, in früher Morgenstunde durch große Höhen brausende und bäuchlings im Strohacker landende Prinz von Gondelsheim”. I’m not trying to translate that… it wouldn’t work ;-)
My fascination for ballooning has never changed. Over the years, it led me to wonderful places and made me meet lots of wonderful people. And it is always something special to me to fly with young people who are just as enthusiastic about ballooning as I was back then, 20 years ago.
The dream continues… :-)