Ballooning in Zell am See-Kaprun and surroundings!
Feb 3rd, 2010 by Birgit Arnold
Airfield of Zell am See, 31st January 2010, 10 am. For my colleague Andrea who works at the tourist information, too, and me this meant that our balloon start had to be scheduled for 10.15 at the latest. Nope, wrong guess. It was not until we had a serious talk with the clerk of the weather that the conditions allowed for our balloon to start from Hinterglemm at noon – finally.
But waiting was definitely worth it!!! Andrea and I met at the airfield of Zell am See at 10 am. And as it is right and proper for true balloonists we were allowed to help with the preparative measures. Actually, I have to admit that we were feeling a little queasy when the huge envelope was rising from the ground at our sides. But chickening out was not an option, of course – not for two girls like us! 
Our courage to climb the basket definitely paid off. The motto of our fist balloon trip was ‘Towards the Sun of Zell am See-Kaprun’. The sky had not cleared up yet so that we had to rise through a thick layer of clouds first before we found ourselves in a different world altogether. We felt the warm sunshine on our faces and had a stunning view at a thick blanket of clouds below us which was only pierced by Austria’s highest mountain – ‘our’ Grossglockner. A little later we spotted the summits of Kitzsteinhorn and Grossvenediger, too. We were gliding through the sky peacefully and besides a slight breeze which made the balloon rotate a bit everything was perfectly calm. In order to descend back to Salzachtal valley we dropped through the clouds and found ourselves just above Niedernsill. Our balloon pilot chose a snow-covered meadow in the immediate vicinity of Zell’s airfield as landing spot.
For Andrea and me it was an absolutely unforgettable experience! But there was even more to come! At a ceremony at the airfield restaurant, we received a certificate documenting our first ride in a hot-air balloon.
