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Also on Sunday, many people willing to go on excursions ignored all appeals from the authorities and left for snowy regions. The result: overcrowded tracks, road closures and, in some cases, advertisements.
Against all warnings and reports, quite a few people headed to snow-covered areas on Sunday: the fever mainly hit the Harz, the town of Winterberg in Sauerland and the area around Großer Feldberg in Hesse. The Bavarian Alps were also a popular destination.
Everywhere crowds caused traffic delays. In many places, police and regulatory authorities have written complaints about numerous violations of crown measures, such as the mask requirement and contact restrictions.
Entrances to Winterberg locked, full parking spaces in the Harz Mountains
In Sauerland, the police cordoned off important access roads to Winterberg. Virtually no one is going in now, a city spokeswoman said. “We were still forbidden to enter last night, but people came back here anyway.”
Parking spaces in the Harz Mountains were already full again on Sunday morning. “At the moment there are heavy snowfalls, maybe that will keep one or the other visitor away,” a police spokesman said in the morning, hoping that the situation would be less difficult during the day than on Saturday. Meanwhile, federal highway 4 between Bad Harzburg and Torfhaus is closed in both directions due to weather.
Hessian police are drawing conclusions
In the lower Hesse mountain range, the police also responded by blocking access routes to congested streets and parking lots. “In general, the situation is relatively under control,” police in Koenigsstein said on Sunday. The day before, a police spokesman described the situation on the Großer Feldberg, the highest peak of the Taunus, as “as chaotic as the last few days”. Connecting and access roads were closed on Sunday.
On the Rhön, many people were drawn to Wasserkuppe, the highest mountain in Hesse. “It is full,” said a police spokesman in Fulda. Road users parked in danger areas or got stuck on an icy road, he said of the Hoher Meissner location. During a rescue operation, an emergency medic had to be taken to the scene by helicopter.
National rush to winter sports regions
The blocked roads hardly prevented the people of Rhineland-Palatinate from driving to the winter sports areas. “We have to turn away more people than yesterday,” said a police spokesman in Morbach.
The winter sports resorts in Saarland, Eifel, Baden-Württemberg and the Thuringian Forest also boomed. “There is a lot of irrationality,” said a police spokesman. Cars were parked in the most impossible places and on the side of the road.
Many visitors to the Bavarian Alps
The Bavarian Alps were also the destination of numerous visitors. “The rush is huge,” said Schliersee Mayor Franz Schnitzenbaumer. Hundreds of slides wound through small hills and the ski slopes were crowded with tourists. There are three million people living in the greater Munich area, none of whom are allowed to go on vacation, that can now be felt. “It’s as crowded as if you were going skiing,” said Alpenbahnen Spitzingsee managing director Peter Lorenz.
Due to the lockdown, elevators and slopes, as well as restaurants and cabins, are closed across the country until at least January 10. However, people wishing to go on excursions across the country cannot be deterred, despite urgent appeals from the police and authorities and the prospect of being stuck in traffic for a long time.
