Over the past few days, hot air balloons have once again filled the skies above Kaposvár. Teams from several countries gathered for the 3rd Kaposvár Hot Air Balloon Championship – Rippl-Rónai Cup, and before the competition officially began, they introduced themselves during a spectacular opening parade through the city on Wednesday evening.
We were there too, following the colourful procession through the streets, and that's when we met the English team – and its four-legged member, Alfie. At first, we thought Alfie was simply accompanying his owners to the competition. After talking with Ben Raven, the team's pilot, we quickly realised that Alfie is far from an ordinary dog – he's a true hot air balloon dog.
Így emelkedtek a magasba a hőlégballonok az első hajnalon - GALÉRIA
Ben travelled to Kaposvár from England's beautiful Lake District and told us it was his first time visiting Hungary. He also explained that although he represents the English team, his crew includes teammates from the United States and New Zealand, making it a truly international group.
We are loving being in Kaposvár, it is our first time in this part of Hungary. We have found the people to be so welcoming and excited by the Balloon event. From the flights we get amazing views of the wide open countryside, houses and of course the beautiful city. It was a pleasure driving through for the opening ceremony parade and getting to meet the local people.
Alfie's story is just as special. Back home in the United Kingdom, Ben flies passengers in hot air balloons for a living, so Alfie has grown up surrounded by balloons from the very beginning. He joins almost every flight, meets the passengers before take-off and doesn't just stay on the ground - he flies too. His very first balloon flight happened when he was only eight weeks old.
We were worried he would be scared of the noises but actually on the first flight we had to keep waking him up so he could watch what was going on and get used to it! - Ben told us.
Nowadays, whenever he joins a flight, happily looking over the edge of the basket and enjoying the view. Kaposvár will always be a special place for him. It was his very first trip to Central Europe, his first international balloon competition and, perhaps most importantly, the place where he celebrated his very first birthday. You could say he officially became a one-year-old globe-trotting balloon Labrador in Somogy.
According to Ben, ballooning is about much more than competition.
Hot air ballooning is very uniting. We are only steered by the wind and so it is not always known where we will land or who we will meet. As in life the path is unexpected and it produces wonderful adventures for us.
That's exactly what happened in Kaposvár. After one evening landing, local people helped the team pack away the balloon. The following day, they were invited to Noah's Alpaca Farm, where they met and fed the alpacas before visiting the Rippl-Rónai Museum together. These are the kinds of experiences that simply can't be planned.
The 3rd Kaposvár Hot Air Balloon Championship once again brought unforgettable days to the city. Thousands watched the morning and evening launches, others joined the balloon hunt, while photographers captured the colourful balloons floating above Kaposvár.
For us, however, one of the most memorable moments of the entire event was meeting a dog named Alfie, who stole our hearts instantly.
