By plane to South Tyrol
Test report by Patriarch host Katia: By plane from Düsseldorf to Bozen and from there by shuttle from Bozen directly to the Hotel Patriarch. The airport in Düsseldorf is not too big and has a free kiss & ride zone. If you are lucky and, like me, you are taken there directly, you simply get out and are almost at the check-in counter. There I only needed my ID and my COVID certificate.
You can check in two hours before departure. The counter didn’t open particularly punctually, but as I had arrived more than two hours before, I had enough time. In general, everything went pretty quickly. There was a short queue at the security check: It took a little time before everyone had emptied their bags, taken off their jackets and taken all electronic devices and liquids from their luggage. I wondered how many times a day the security guard had to repeat the same instructions … then it was “hands up” and through the scanner. After that it was on to the duty-free shops.
Then, 40 minutes before departure, boarding began. But as I arrived at the gate no one else was there. I had been somewhat concerned that I had stayed too long in the shopping area and that the flight would have taken off without me, but luckily I was the first in the queue . A bus brought us to the plane, which was parked some distance away. A Dash DHC-8-Q400 carried us safely to Bozen. This model is built to fly as fast as a turbojet, but with less CO₂ emission. The “Q” in its name stands for quiet, which is an advantage when landing in a city. The plane is equipped with a sophisticated system to reduce noise and vibrations.
The view over the clouds and mountains is fantastic. The clouds looked like candyfloss and I would have love to touch them. Shortly before landing, I saw three lakes that are relatively close to each other. They must be Kalterer See, the warmest bathing lake in South Tyrol, and the smaller and larger lakes of Montiggler See.
Suddenly it felt like the plane was hanging in the air and not moving any more. We approached Bozen and slowed down. As I started to recognise the shopping areas and fast-food chains in the industrial zone I asked myself where we are actually going to land. But a few minutes later, after a soft landing, we were safely on the ground in Bozen.
The shuttle service picked me up as arranged. Good to know: You have to leave the building, the driver waits for you outside the door and not in the terminal. A very nice driver took me to the hotel door. My holiday could then begin.
