A Breath Above The Clouds (in Germany):

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No other means of transportation has captivated human interest and fantasy as much as air travel and the dream of flying. Since all my efforts to grow wings and the accompanying flying exercises have been fruitless I had to resort to more “traditional” ways of flying: steel, propellers and gasoline. But one way or the other I wanted to soar high and see my home land from the sky. The highest mountains of the Alps I wanted to seek in pursuit of clear views of its peaks. Over deep valleys and green fields, congested cities and blue lakes these wings would fly to fall in love with the unique perspective from the sky.

Several years back my father had the pleasure of being invited to a flight over Germany and the Alps. This experience has left such a lasting impact on him that he continues to talk about it accompanied with a wide smile on his face. Hence it was a special moment when he told me a few weeks back that for my birthday he wanted to gift me a similar experience: a flight over Germany. My farther has an old friend who is a hobby pilot and would be happy to arrange all the details and make the necessary preparations.

Not only was this gift unique because I have never seen my homeland from a similar perspective (and this one day trip across middle Europe was to give me an amazingly different perspective) but also because I only recently had returned after having been away from Germany for a long time and am in the process of re-accustoming myself with my home, my roots and my country. What a great way to add to this experience.

After some time of planning and waiting for favourable weather (nothing is more important in aviation if you want to have a good view) the day has finally arrived. I leave the house early and head to a small airport with a grassy runway, which hosts only a few small planes, an hour away from my house. My dad’s friend is already there busy to prepare for take-off.

A few minutes later, the two of us are buckled into the small 2 passenger airplane and the plane is speeding down the runway and lifts off seemingly effortlessly. Only the humming of the engine reminds me that I am not a bird. I have flown in large commercial jets many times, but a flight like this is a very different experience: much more intimate because there are only 2 people on board, much more scenic because you are surrounded by windows, much more free because you can fly wherever you please (some restrictions apply). You still feel a sense of adventure and excitement as you fly away from an approaching cloud, zip-zag through a mountain valley or turbulence makes you think you are in a roller coaster, a feeling long lost in commercial aviation.

Despite being several kilometres above the ground it is amazing how well one can see: quite easily one can identify individual cars, boats and even skiers sliding down the mountain slopes. At the same time, the whole world below seems microscopic and with this distance the problems of every day life seem to fade and appear trivial. As I watch several para-gliders ascend through the powerful air turbulences of this summer day and birds watching me with curiosity, life all of a sudden becomes very simple, very serene. Beautiful landscapes pass by “and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”


Above The Clouds
by Nancy Ness

Vast skies of slate exuding summer rain -
Urban insanity's precipitance.
Cascading droplets splatter 'cross my pain
In turbulent ascent of inclemence.
One backward glance - the coastline beckons me
With waves of blustering turbidity.

Thence bursting forth - a glorious world anew,
No inkling of earth's bustling life below.
With endless sun and serene skies of blue -
A surreal land of freshly fallen snow.
This pristine quilt of tufted white terrain
Could be a fantasy - I can't ex-plane.

Enchanting tundra dappled magic'ly -
Majestic snows defy warm solar rays.
Fluffed firmament succumbs to icy sea
Then curves as one horizon's gentle haze.
My flight in Friendly Skies seems motionless
Aloft an insular unworldliness.

As earthly torrents wane and storms disband,
Capacious cotton chasms - deftly spun,
And batted billows "at attention" stand -
While cirrus soldiers march in unison.
Great Lakes reflect the casts of shadowed clouds
Like giant footprints under puffy shrouds.

A glimpse along an alabaster sheath
The hesitant, once Great Divide's small peek
Stands sentinel for purities beneath,
Where lies the unscathed world we seek.
Descent through misty white opacity,
Mankind's block signature peers back at me.

My brief sojourn; 'twas aerial delight.
I'll soar within those azure skies again.
For though I must return from Nature's high't,
I'll know when tempests brew and doldrums reign,
On seemingly a melancholy day -
Eternal Sunshine's just a cloud away.