I have a dream of paragliding over the Grand Canyon one day.

I have a dream of being in the air, alone, feeling the wind and the sun on my skin, no sounds. No thoughts, just impressions of where I am in the moment. Flying…

I have a dream of flying…

This is just how I felt the first time I did that. But it was in Germany in a province called Sauerland. I remember me and Miriam, my friend and colleague who came up with the idea for this trip, staying in this small hotel in a nearby village of which I have forgotten the name. E very morning they would serve breakfast in their dining room which was decorated with all kinds of things. They had these square cloths embroidered with local scenery hanging on the walls. I suspect one could find clues for satanic rituals on them if you would look at them carefully enough. I didn’t care to find out though. And these creepy porcelain dolls where just everywhere. I called them Chuckey’s bride’s.These things I mentioned just now are very German though. Germans are also freakishly tidy and punctual. They are also very nice and helpful people as I would learn in greater detail on later trips to Germany, but those trips are for another time to tell maybe.

So there we were in Sauerland, ready to climb every mountain and roll down again…I was a short fat tween climbing up and down that hill for days on end and failing to get into the air time after time. When I finally got it, it felt amazing! Suddenly the sky went silent, just a little ruffle of the wind in my ears. Not a single thought in my head. I was in complete and utter awe of being lifted off the ground and into the air. I wanted to freeze time in that moment and be there forever. It lasted for about 10 seconds and I never saw the ending coming as I hit the ground ass up, belly down and mowing the grass with my teeth… To this day it was one of the most spectacular experiences of my life. In one go I got to know what it feels like to be a bird in the sky and a goat in the fields!

As you might suspect I never went home with a diploma or certificate that says I am a licensed paraglider pilot but I did get home with a thirst for more.

One day I will fly over the Grand Canyon, alone, feeling the wind and the sun on my skin, no sounds. No thoughts, just impressions of where I am in the moment. Flying…