Arrival in Madeira via Düsseldorf and first impressions

After a longer travel break due to Corona, when it comes to more distant destinations, it was now the first time to go south again by plane: to the flower island Madeira.

Our flight was supposed to depart from Düsseldorf, and to arrive relaxed for departure, we decided to arrive one day earlier and spend a night at a hotel in the city on the Düssel river.

So after a relaxed train ride from the train station, near which our hotel was located, we took a walk through the city.

First, we walked through the old town to the banks of the Rhine, where we took a stroll.

Then we strolled through the narrow streets of the old town, which we had already explored on our last visit here.

On Königsallee, the grand boulevard with many expensive shops, we suddenly saw a bird whose presence surprised us: parrots, or more precisely, rose-ringed parakeets, flew past us.

The birds were sitting in the trees along the street and making themselves heard.

Presumably, many years ago, some birds were released here, which obviously felt at home in Düsseldorf and multiplied diligently. Now many of the birds were out and about here - probably not always to the delight of the residents.

On the way back to the hotel, we encountered the first palm trees of the trip: in the middle of a traffic island in the city.

After a restful night at the hotel, we went to the airport the next morning, which is not far from the city center.

From there, our flight headed towards Madeira, which was a bit shaky at the beginning, but then became calmer above the clouds.

The landing on Madeira also went smoothly on the first attempt (we had heard so many stories about planes that had to abort several times...) and so we arrived safely on the flower island.

We checked into our hotel in Canico de Baixa, not far from the capital Funchal. In the evening, we explored the town and had a snack at the 'Snack Bar Mare'. We also tried the garlic bread, which is always offered as an appetizer here and is very delicious, with a view of the sea...

After a short walk along the promenade by the water, our first day on the island came to an end.