Hurray, we're going teambuilding!
When the first information started to reach us that this time we were going to Moravia to unite the team, we were all on the edge of our seats. Yes, there are beautiful wine cellars in Moravia full of great wine (and we were booked into one). But that's not the point, we're an adventure company, so our trips mean lots of activities. And one of them this time was to be a sightseeing balloon ride.
A balloon flight in the rain and high winds?
As the day of departure approached, our excitement grew less and less. The weather forecast called for rain, cold and wind. Just the worst that could happen. We were going for the whole weekend, so we had 3 hypothetical flight dates - Saturday morning, Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Oh well, except that if it rains all weekend and doesn't clear up until Monday, none of them will happen. While we've read about how in 2016, Russian Fedor Konukhov flew around the globe alone in a balloon, battling hail, thunderstorms, and even had his oxygen mask freeze up, it would be a bit much for us.
Nowhere to go!?
At the beginning of the week, we even hesitated to move the whole event. Fortunately, the optimistic part of the team prevailed. We said we'll just go, we'll enjoy it and it will definitely clear up in the end. And it did, it was almost a hundred percent certain that we would go!
Wake up and practice
Morning departure from the accommodation was at 6:15. So we just had tea, coffee and a little something, and headed to the take off point. It was beautiful outside, sunny, warm and a light breeze... just an absolute idyll. Our guys helped the balloonists to inflate the balloon, and thanks to the calm weather we were even able to climb inside the balloon. And take some cool pictures like this:
Up in the sky
Well, we hopped in the basket and took off slowly. The hot air balloon flight takes place from 50 to 300 meters above the ground. The most beautiful view is from the top, but the best experience is when you fly just above the landscape and everything is in the palm of your hand. After we climbed a bit, we toasted ourselves with champagne and soaked in breathtaking views like this:
Beautiful, isn't it?
World Record
Our flight lasted about an hour and we flew about 20 kilometers. Actually, I don't know if that's a little or a lot, but it felt just right. We didn't break the world record, which is something like 8,000 kilometers, but we didn't try to do that :-)
There was great visibility, so we just enjoyed the beautiful views, at times we just contemplated, drank champagne or coffee and tea to warm up, watched the shadow of the balloon, animals and beautiful Moravian landscape. 
Safety landing positions
The landing went incredibly smoothly, the pilot told us that it's not very often you get a landing like the one we were lucky enough to have. We were all in the landing position, holding on to the straps, with our knees bent, waiting to hit the ground. When we landed, it was more like a caress. Really great work by the pilot.
We were promoted!
Airframers are one big family, so the experience doesn't end there. For those of us who were flying a balloon for the first time, we had to go through a celebratory baptism with the help of the four elements.
I'm not going to tell you exactly how it goes... you'll have to experience it for yourself. But I can tell you one thing. It's a truly beautiful tradition, at the end of which our colleagues have become the barons and barons of Halenkovice (depending on where they land). We toasted their glorious day with champagne and enjoyed the beautiful weather. This is what it looks like when you have all noble barons and baronesses in your team :-)
Although most of us love adrenaline, speed and challenges, ballooning is such a heartthrob of ours. It's a perfect experience that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime.
