Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

CLOSE TO MY HEART

Flying through a fairy tale of my own.

During a difficult period in my life, I lost my way in the Chamonix valley. Then I spotted paragliders in the sky. I followed their direction and found my way out. That experience left me with a wish I could not shake: I wanted to become a paraglider pilot myself.

Back in Germany, I wondered where I should learn. Neuschwanstein came to mind. When I had arrived in Germany more than twenty years earlier, the castle had deeply impressed me—its towers, its setting, its entire fairy-tale world. Now two dreams came together: learning to fly and one day circling above the castle beneath my own wing. Perhaps I could give my own life a little piece of a fairy tale.

I did go to a flying school near Neuschwanstein to pursue that wish. An idea became learning, learning became ability—and eventually the day captured in this video arrived. I flew my own paraglider above the castle and circled where I had once only been able to look.

For me, this is one of my most important flights. It reminds me that a moment of being lost can become a new path. With Neuschwanstein beneath me, I felt as though I had flown straight into my own dream.