It was a mysterious flying object that attracted a record number of viewers on a website for following flights.
Some thought it might be an escaped weather balloon, while others thought the view was something sinister.
But it has now emerged that the balloon was of a fearless German adventurer who flew to England and then to Scotland in a hot hot air balloon.
ThrillZoeker Kolja Packared fulfilled a long -held desire to visit Scotland while touching in the neighborhood of Edinburgh earlier this week.
He and fellow trailer Wuzi Wagner made a 44-hour journey through the air of Burgkirchen An der Alz, in Bavaria, southern Germany.
Along the way, their journey was one of the most viewed on the flight website Flighttradar24.
Kolja Packared and Wuzi Wagner made a 44 -hour trip from Bavaria to Scotland
Kolja Packared and Wuzi Wagner got close to Edinburgh after their epic flight
Non-plused British also watched in wonder while the balloon filled with hydrogen floated high above their villages and towns.
The couple intended to leave from Burgkirchen and travel through France and Belgium before he crossed the channel to reach England.
However, as the 42-year-old aircraft engineer told Mr Wagner to the BBC, their goal was then only 'to go north as far as possible'.
It turned out that they went all the way to Scotland and traveled land in the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian and more than 860 miles on Wednesday afternoon.
The flight from Germany took the men 44 hours. Photo: Flighttradar24
Mr Packard, 51, said that trips to Scotland had been a long -term ambition, and added that he and Mr. Wagner looked forward to a sightseeing before they returned by ferry to mainland Europe.
In addition to a series of photos of their towering journey, Mr Packard wrote: 'We crossed the border to Scotland! A long dream. '
Their journey was also reflected to a certain extent by their 'Chase Crew', which drove from Germany to Scotland to support the effort.
The couple were sustained during the long -distance trip with bread, cheese, grain rods and water.
The journey was part of the preparation of the couple on a long-distance gas balloon competition this year.
Mr Packard is the current world record holder after having flown for more than 100 hours last year and hopes to secure an even longer travel time during this year's event.
