No wonder she has over ONE MILLION Instagram followers: The globe-trotting pilot with a holiday album that contains sensational snaps, from Hawaii to Bali and beyond
- ‘Pilot Madeleine’, from Munich, has more or less shelved her pilot’s career in favour of being a travel blogger
- These incredible images from her Instagram account show she was in no way delusional about her abilities
- Visit The USA signed her up for its ‘United Stories’ tourism campaign, alongside actress Alyssa Lynch
It’s fair to say that this is one traveller who has the art of the holiday snap sussed.
‘Pilot Madeleine’, from Munich, has more or less shelved her pilot’s career in favour of being a travel blogger.
And these incredible images from her Instagram account show that she was in no way delusional about her abilities. Her amazing photographs have her helped amass over one million followers.
Madeleine perches on a rock in Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera (left) and the edge of a pool in Bali (right)
Paradise found: Madeleine relaxes in the Maldives (left) and at the Hilton Rio de Janeiro Copacabana (right)
And now they’ve caught the attention of Visit The USA, who signed her up for its ‘United Stories’ tourism campaign, alongside actress Alyssa Lynch and other Instagram stars.
The aim is for the influencers to generate content and showcase the breadth and depth of the USA ‘like never before’.
Madeleine (full name Madeleine Schneider-Weiffenbach), who has a young son called Mason Naim with model husband Iqbal Gran, told MailOnline Travel: ‘I’m a huge USA fan. When we were asked to explore the American south by Visit The USA I immediately said yes.
The hotel Das Kaiserblick in Austria has amazing views from its terraces (left) and its amazing swimming pool (right)
‘I lived quite a while in the US – in NYC, in Texas, in Arizona and LA – but I never visited any of those places we visited during this road trip. So I was super curious to explore them together with my family.’
Her favourite part of the country is Hawaii, partly because of its hiking opportunities.
She said: ‘It’s actually the only place I can think of which is so tropical but on the other hand is also super safe and there are so many things to do. I really love hiking and Hawaii has the best hikes.’
Madeleine gazes out at the volcanic majesty of Santorini (left) and takes in her surroundings at the Aqua Dome hotel in Austria (right)
Mykonos is party central, but here Madeleine shows that it can also be a peaceful paradise, if you book the right hotel. She’s pictured here at Cavo Tagoo
But Hawaii has competition for her affections, because during the trip she fell for Nashville.
She said: ‘During our road trip I really fell in love with Nashville. I’m a huge country music fan (probably due to going to High School in Texas) so I felt this special music vibe there and also really enjoyed seeing some live music in Nashville.’
Louisville, Kentucky, also stole her heart – ‘we loved the houses there a lot’.
When asked how she managed to garner so many Instagram followers, Madeleine – who is kindly letting MailOnline run pictures from her account for a second time – gave a hat tip to Lady Luck and revealed that the hardest bit is keeping the followers loyal.
Jumeirah Vittaveli Maldives is fun central – thanks to its amazing water slides. Madeleine says that the islands ‘just have so much meaning for Iqbal Gran and me’ – they had their babymoon there and got engaged there. She added: ‘Mason seems to love it as much as we do’
Madeleine falls for the allure of the foliage in Bali (left) and soaks up the view from the pool at Hotel Villa Honegg in Switzerland
Madeleine said that Hawaii (left) is her favourite place in the USA. She’s pictured on the right in Palm Springs California
The Munich-born blogger takes a stroll in Los Angeles, left. And gazes across Central Park in New York (right). Madeleine has been signed up by Visit The USA for its tourism campaign
Madeleine finds a good place to take a breather in Santorini (left) and poses next to a rather splendid snack tray in the Seychelles
Volcanic paradise: Pilot Madeleine with her model husband Iqbal Gran in Hawaii
Hawaii (left) has a lot going for it, says Madeleine, not least the hiking opportunities. And on the right, a bloomin’ lovely snap taken in Atlanta in the state of Georgia
She said: ‘Honestly there is no secret! I was just lucky that I did the right thing at the right time. To stay successful is much harder in my opinion than actually getting there. I always respond to my followers’ answers and comments and try to also answer as many DMs [direct messages] as possible. I think that is something that not many people with my following do.’
All good advice for her son, should he fancy following in mum’s footsteps.
He’s certainly off to a good start – he already has an Instagram page with 11,000 followers and his mum says that he’s taking globetrotting in his stride. Most of the time.
Madeleine, who occasionally flies private aircraft, added: ‘Traveling with a baby is a challenge, but also so much fun. Luckily Mason Naim is quite a relaxed baby. In my Instagram Stories I share lots of expectations vs reality moments of being parents which makes my followers laugh a lot.’
For more on United Stories visit www.visittheusa.com/UnitedStories and look for the #UnitedStories hashtag online.
ROAD TRIP! HOW BRAND USA WANTS TO UNEARTH AMERICA’S TREASURES
Each #UnitedStories vehicle encapsulates the destinations it visits – including iconic american cars on East and West Coast road trips, a speed boat in Puerto Rico (pictured) and a surfboard in California
Visit The USA’s United Stories initiative uses first-hand storytelling to ‘showcase the warmth of the American people and the vast diversity of its destinations to audiences around the world’.
Since the United Stories launch in January, over 20 international content creators from countries including the UK, Peru and Italy, have traversed America in a range of eye-catching #UnitedStories vehicles designed by French street artist Etienne Bardelli.
Each #UnitedStories vehicle encapsulates the destinations it visits – including iconic American cars on East and West Coast road trips, a speed boat in Puerto Rico, a sailing boat in Cape Cod, a surfboard in California and an airstream trailer in Marfa, Texas.
Visit The USA’s CMO Tom Garzilli explains: ‘As a nation, we want to share our stories with the world and invite them to experience our people and destinations first-hand. Our United Stories campaign is helping travellers understand places more deeply, meet real people, and uncover local perspectives to activate their wanderlust. We know that global travellers are increasingly looking for local experiences that can’t be found in travel brochures. This campaign is an open invitation to visit the USA.’
Visit The USA adds: ‘The authentic adventures are set to continue with Visit The USA having recently sent a United Stories 1968 Cadillac to ride around London collecting real USA travel stories from Brits. So keep your eyes out for the colourful cars on Instagram channels and on your streets!’
French street artist Etienne Bardelli has designed the Brand USA influencer-mobiles
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