The Maramures International Balloon Fiesta

If you go to northern Romania in the first week of October you can see bright hot air balloons all over the city skyline.

România Internațional, 27.10.2013, 01:53

Like so many Chinese lamps, huge in size, the hot air balloons float with the wind, taking their passengers up as high as 1,000 meters. Seen from above, the surrounding Maramures landscape is as beautiful as seen from ground level. However, up in the air, the sight is made even more beautiful by the sensation of freedom. Ion Istrate is the creator of the festival called Maramures International Balloon Fiesta. He was not inspired by a book by Jules Verne, he just loves to fly, and misses no opportunity to talk about it:

“It’s not about the adrenaline, like people expect from flying in general. This is just floating at high altitude. What is unique about this kind of flight is that the person getting in the basket and reaching 300, 500, or even 1,000 meters altitude is all the time aware that he or she is in fact floating on the wind. They are not in a sort of saddle girth, there is no need for that. They have the freedom of walking around the basket, they have 360 degrees visibility. When the balloon comes down, it can go very low, down to 50 or even 30 meters, and the passenger can even interact with people on the ground, he or she can talk with them. It is a range of sensations that is simply unattainable with any other kind of flying device. On top of that, the speed is very low, because we usually fly when the wind is moderate. Everything occurs slowly, you have time to enjoy what is going on, and live those instants to the maximum. At higher altitudes, all the noise on the ground dampens, it comes from very far away, it’s like sitting in your house with the windows shut, and outside a dog is barking or a car horn is honking.”

Ion Istrate brought his first hot air balloon to Romania in 1997. He worked for an event management company, and they were looking for a hot air balloon for advertising purposes. Back then it was not that easy finding anything, like it is today, he recalls:

“My research involved mainly libraries, and I sent a lot of faxes and made a lot of phone calls to companies abroad. From one contact to the next, going through the UK and New Zealand, I found one right next door, in Hungary. This is how the history of hot air ballooning started in Romania. It had to be tested, it needed documents showing the performance of the aircraft, they had to be filed with the Aeronautic Authority, which, after running checks, issued a registration and flight certificate. When I purchased this balloon, the manufacturer offered training for the license exam, and I took that exam in Hungary. After that the procedures were adapted to the Romanian legislation, and now you can get a license in this country as well. By June 1998, the first balloon was registered, and the first two pilots had already graduated from the flight school and were ready to take off.”

Right now, hot air balloons are no longer such a rarity in Romania. People are delighted to see them, and try to fly a balloon. For people in Baia Mare, Balloon Fiesta is something they got used to and expect. Ion Istrate told us how the festival had come about:

“In 2011, when the festival started, we had 23 crews from 11 countries, both from the west and the east of the continent, from the UK, Belgium, Holland, France to Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. In the morning we have free flights, on Saturday and Sunday we have tethered flights for the public. A tethered flight means that the balloon is anchored with ropes, and goes up to 20 or 30 meters. This allows the public at large to experience the sensation of flying a balloon without going to high altitude, even small children and people afraid of flying can enjoy a few minutes of it. Also, this allows a large number of people to enjoy this experience. It is a colourful event, visually it is grandiose. The balloons are so brightly coloured, they move around slowly, it is spectacular, these are huge contraptions which you may think rigid, but which you see floating like Chinese lamps. It is worth seeing, if not trying out.”

This year, 20 crews from 9 countries came to Baia Mare. Also, starting with the second festival, the organisers included a social component:

“Using the earnings from tethered flights, we sponsored a little girl from Baia Mare who lived and studied in very poor conditions. With the funds, we managed to find her a decent place to stay and to move her to another school. We will continue helping her.”

There is something majestic in the sight of balloons in the skies of Maramures, or anywhere else, for that matter. The greatest danger is landing in improper places, or being left stranded in dead calm. For Ion Istrate, however, the greatest danger is falling in love with the sensation of floating:

“If 15 years ago someone had told me ‘In 15 years you’ll be a balloon pilot and you’ll be flying balloons’, I would have said they were confusing me with someone else. I would have said I never wanted anything like that and I would never do it. Well, I don’t only do that, but now I cannot imagine life without balloons. To be honest, I don’t think I would be able to start all over again, to do anything else, knowing I have this option. Once you catch flight fever, you never get rid of it.”

They say that once you have tried flying, you will always walk on the ground with your eyes raised to the sky, and once you’ve been up there, you will always want to get back. If you want to experience that feeling, Baia Mare would be a good place to start.