A week after my birthday, we decided to take a short break from the routine lab work and go to Sweden. Since the the decision was on the spur of the moment, there wasnt much time left for planning. Bus was the only available means of transport at the last minute and we took up the challenge of enduring 11 hrs of night travel in a cramped seat onwards and return. We considered other alternatives but Sweden had been topping our list of 'must see while still in Europe' 1) because of its proximity geographically and 2) our numerous trips to IKEA which kept refuelling our desire to visit the country. Although, I have often thought that whole of Europe is like India - diverse in culture, a part of me always believed that if you have seen one then you have seen them all - atleast in Scandinavia. This is mainly because the farm houses, the grasslands, the cattle....they all look the same when you are traveling by train which is what we r often doing when we are not in lab or going to arbit movies. Although.... I must admit the scenaries are a real feast to the eyes, very refreshing even if you have seen them millions of times before. I was looking forward to a quiet and relaxing weekend in Sweden.....
I must say that in an unplanned trip, although one faces several inconveniencies, the best part is the 'unplanned part' itself. As soon as we landed in Stockholm we started planning the day's activities. While we were in a heated discussion we happen to look at a poster advertising a hot air balloon ride. Riding in a hot air balloon has been my fantasy for ages but never got an opportunity to do so. Wasting no time, we immediately contacted the concerned people and made an arrangement. It cost us a small fortune yet affordable and without giving any second thoughts we made the payment.
There were other tourists as well joining us for the balloon ride. We were ten in total including the pilot and i was wondering if all of us would fit into the basket. We were told that the journey always starts in the evening because thats when the wind is the calmest. We met at a common meeting point and then we were all taken to a huge open area and the deflated ballon was spread out on the ground like a pancake. We all help
ed the pilot inflate the balloon and the process seemed to go on forever. We had to fill in atleast 1000cubic meters of hot air and the nine of us held on to the ropes tightly while the balloon tossed around unsteadily as it was getting inflated. I am usually a spectatre when it comes to physical work but helping out with this - i was actually enjoying ! Slowly as the balloon was getting inflated the women, being the lighter ones (or so they thought) were asked to jump into the basket quickly to keep it steady while the men tugged the ropes balancing it as the huge balloon swayed on the ground. Soon the others also joined us in the basket. To my surprise the wicker basket was pretty 
spacious. The pilot had a separate marked territory from where he was generating heat by igniting a liquified gas and the flame was directed into mouth of the balloon. We happened to be standing right beneath the burner and everytime the flame was ignited it made a huge hissing sound which startled me in the beginning but later i was so used to it that it hardly bothered me at all. As we were ascending, I was so thrilled 
and excited, mere words cannot describe those feelings. Soon when were about 500 meters high in the air, we were smoothly floating across in the sky over Stockholm and it was amazing ! I had decked myself in warm clothes but the hot air above kept us warm even at that altitude. The weather was fine, the air around us warm and cozy and everyone was chattering excitedly and looking down at the vehicles on the roads which literally appeared like peanuts. We could see the city hall of Stockholm where the nobel banquet and dinner takes place every year after the prizes are awarded and it was truly a beautiful sight.
The whole ride lasted for an hour or so and soon the intial excitement began to wear off and as time progressed we were impatient to get off and it seemed like we had been in the air too long. Landing seemed to be the most difficult and it was quite sometime before we could find a suitable spot to land. As we began to descend the pilot had to really tugg the ropes and steer carefully not to hit any of the tall trees or lamps but we made it to the ground without any problems, hats off to the skilled pilot !
Everybody quickly scrambled out and i was certainly glad to finally feel the solid ground under my feet. A small celebration followed and everyone on board were knighted as per the custom that they usually followed after every successful landing and yours truly was knighted as the baroness of the place where we had landed :-).
The main intention of this scribbling is just to remind myself everytime that i had finally gone on the magical balloon ride that been my fascination since i was 5 years old....
I cannot imagine a life without imagination and dreams ... they always give me the motivation to look forward to something in life .... but people tell me not all dreams can become a reality and when they dont we get shattered, so dream 'realistically'....
But i shall not stop dreaming because there is a possibility that it will come true one day .... and so i shall wait .... until then i shall keep dreaming.....
I must say that in an unplanned trip, although one faces several inconveniencies, the best part is the 'unplanned part' itself. As soon as we landed in Stockholm we started planning the day's activities. While we were in a heated discussion we happen to look at a poster advertising a hot air balloon ride. Riding in a hot air balloon has been my fantasy for ages but never got an opportunity to do so. Wasting no time, we immediately contacted the concerned people and made an arrangement. It cost us a small fortune yet affordable and without giving any second thoughts we made the payment.
There were other tourists as well joining us for the balloon ride. We were ten in total including the pilot and i was wondering if all of us would fit into the basket. We were told that the journey always starts in the evening because thats when the wind is the calmest. We met at a common meeting point and then we were all taken to a huge open area and the deflated ballon was spread out on the ground like a pancake. We all help
ed the pilot inflate the balloon and the process seemed to go on forever. We had to fill in atleast 1000cubic meters of hot air and the nine of us held on to the ropes tightly while the balloon tossed around unsteadily as it was getting inflated. I am usually a spectatre when it comes to physical work but helping out with this - i was actually enjoying ! Slowly as the balloon was getting inflated the women, being the lighter ones (or so they thought) were asked to jump into the basket quickly to keep it steady while the men tugged the ropes balancing it as the huge balloon swayed on the ground. Soon the others also joined us in the basket. To my surprise the wicker basket was pretty 
spacious. The pilot had a separate marked territory from where he was generating heat by igniting a liquified gas and the flame was directed into mouth of the balloon. We happened to be standing right beneath the burner and everytime the flame was ignited it made a huge hissing sound which startled me in the beginning but later i was so used to it that it hardly bothered me at all. As we were ascending, I was so thrilled 
and excited, mere words cannot describe those feelings. Soon when were about 500 meters high in the air, we were smoothly floating across in the sky over Stockholm and it was amazing ! I had decked myself in warm clothes but the hot air above kept us warm even at that altitude. The weather was fine, the air around us warm and cozy and everyone was chattering excitedly and looking down at the vehicles on the roads which literally appeared like peanuts. We could see the city hall of Stockholm where the nobel banquet and dinner takes place every year after the prizes are awarded and it was truly a beautiful sight.The whole ride lasted for an hour or so and soon the intial excitement began to wear off and as time progressed we were impatient to get off and it seemed like we had been in the air too long. Landing seemed to be the most difficult and it was quite sometime before we could find a suitable spot to land. As we began to descend the pilot had to really tugg the ropes and steer carefully not to hit any of the tall trees or lamps but we made it to the ground without any problems, hats off to the skilled pilot !
Everybody quickly scrambled out and i was certainly glad to finally feel the solid ground under my feet. A small celebration followed and everyone on board were knighted as per the custom that they usually followed after every successful landing and yours truly was knighted as the baroness of the place where we had landed :-).
The main intention of this scribbling is just to remind myself everytime that i had finally gone on the magical balloon ride that been my fascination since i was 5 years old....
I cannot imagine a life without imagination and dreams ... they always give me the motivation to look forward to something in life .... but people tell me not all dreams can become a reality and when they dont we get shattered, so dream 'realistically'....
But i shall not stop dreaming because there is a possibility that it will come true one day .... and so i shall wait .... until then i shall keep dreaming.....
20/08/2009
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