In September 1983, Czechoslovak cycling champion Robert Hutyra took his wife and two children and flew a self-made hot air balloon from their home country to Austria.
"We were three kilometers high. It was like when you see a nice ocean." The views may have been amazing, but the journey was perilous.
A mini-documentary by Current Time TV (subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/currenttimetv)
***
For other unbelievable escapes from behind the Iron Curtain, see Mike Scollon's Great Escapes: https://www.rferl.org/a/great-escapes-iron-curtain-berlin-wall-communism-1989/30260367.html
For more explainers, graphics and videos, visit: https://www.rferl.org/Multimedia or follow us on:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rferl/
Twitter https://twitter.com/RFERL
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rfe.rl/
Telegram https://telegram.me/rferl
We report the news in 22 countries without a free press. Our journalists are a unique source of information from the front lines. https://www.rferl.org/
***
#hotairballoon #escapeartist #balloonflight