Early “bonfire night”
The fifth of November is the traditional date for the British to go mad with fireworks (although New Year’s Eve has also become popular in the 26 years since we moved to Germany). We didn’t have to wait until November to see a display this year – we went to the Bad Homburger Montgolfiade last night and watched the Night Glow & Fireworks (the balloons lit by their own burners, lots of fireworks and a deafeningly loud music program to accompany the fireworks display), which was organised by the local radio station.
We have been before – it used to be held in the Jubiläumspark, which is in the middle of Bad Homburg, but the trees and the funneling of the wind though the park make conditions tricky for the balloon pilots, so this year was the first time at a new venue on the outskirts of the town. Lots and lots of other people had the same idea, creating chaos in and around Bad Homburg (traffic jams on the A661 at the Bad Homburg exits and cars parked everywhere within about a km of the venue), so we got there after the official start of the “son et luminaire”, but fortunately for us there had been a delay in getting all the balloons inflated, so we didn’t miss anything.