A balloon

..in a big sky during sunset last Summer, seen from the back of our garden.

I'm linking to Skywatch Friday.

Model balloons and Sesame Street

Supporting act at the TT Balloon Festival were a number of 'model hot-air balloons' that made a ride. The baskets were obviously not meant for humans, but we spotted one in which Pino (the Dutch version of Big Bird), Bert (who seems to balance dangerously on the edge there), dog Tommie and the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street had a fabulous time! :)

This photo gives you an idea of the size of these model balloons. Besides being smaller they operate exactly the same as normal balloons, including the burners. They can however only be controlled from the ground so the owners kept them on a long rope like a kite.

TT Balloon Festival #2

Today a few more images from the TT Balloon Festival last Sunday evening. On this photo a lot of balloons were preparing to lift up in the air.

A spectacular sight was this really HUGE Oriënt Express-balloon from Germany. Because of it's immense size and unusual shape the balloon was quite unstable however and was 'just' meant for show-effect on the ground.

This photo shows 16 of the about 25 balloons on their way at 9:15 pm.

TT Balloon Festival

It's MotoGP time again in Assen! In the week prior to this event, known as the Dutch TT that will be held this coming Sunday, all kinds of activities are organised. One of them is the TT Balloon Festival that we visited last Sunday evening. About 25 hot-air balloons went up in the blue sky in still tropical temperatures. The special shapes were spectacular! How about this Nissan Micra..

 .. and this happy lady..

And of course the lucky ones on board did a lot of waving to the people left behind on the ground.
A few more photos tomorrow.

I'm linking to All Seasons.

The flying mill

Photo taken at the TT Balloon Festival in Assen last month. "Anno 1990" means "Of the year 1990".

Walk-in balloon

This old hot-air balloon at the TT Balloon Festival was open for visitors: a "walk-in balloon", or "inloopballon" in Dutch.

The pirate and the clown

 More from last weekend's TT Balloon Festival in Assen with the pirate and the clown, just after take-off.

Flying motorbike at the TT Balloon Festival

We visited the TT Balloon Festival in Assen yesterday evening. About 15 hot-air balloons, among which several special shapes, went up in the air next to the TT circuit. The biggest and most spectacular special shape balloon was this really HUGE motorbike! Here the balloon is still being filled with hot air..

Slowly slowly getting up..

And there it is! The bike is 46 meters (150 ft) wide and 37 meters (121 ft) high.

And there the balloon is taking-off! A banner hanging down from the basket advertises for the Dutch TT, a major motorcycle event that will be held at the TT-circuit in Assen next Sunday 26 June, as part of the MotoGP World Championship.

Watching it lift up in the air, slowly getting higher.. 

I will post more photos from the event in the coming days.

Balloon

This hot-air balloon went right over our home about half an hour ago, at around 7:30 pm. How about this cloudless BLUE sky, it's a perfect evening for a balloon ride!