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AAs a national pioneer in the Corona crisis, restaurants in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania have reopened since Saturday. “I see many colleagues breathing with relief and satisfied guests,” said Lars Schwarz, president of regional industry association Dehoga MV. This day is a brilliant moment after a difficult moment with losses of many millions of euros that have not yet been calculated. He hopes that on Saturday about a third of the approximately 5,000 companies in the country with their 55,000 employees will take the opportunity to open up.
It would not have been better for innkeepers like Peter Weide of the Vielmeer restaurant in Ostseebad Kühlungsborn: as in much of the state, the sun was shining after cold weeks and a nasty north wind, and there was a light wind. From Weide’s point of view, the first hours of the test after seven weeks of closure went well, the guests who came from the region were satisfied, even if they are operated by service personnel with mouth guards. A guest per table must also leave their details in order to understand if a new infection occurs.
Then stop currywurst instead of tarte flambé on Mother’s Day
Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) announced on Monday the possibility of opening restaurants for the country’s residents. The extremely low infection rate in the Northeast gave him the opportunity. According to industry estimates, they will all open no later than Pentecost, because then guests from other federal states can return to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. However, counties where the crown crisis has not yet been sufficiently limited were excluded.
“The announcement was a surprise, also for our wholesalers,” says Weide. They should have gotten their employees out of work in the short term first. For your restaurant with 27 employees, this means that the menu comes down to a few dishes. The mood among the maximum of 80 guests was still good, they were happy to be able to sit in the sun in this atmosphere. “Then there must be currywurst and tarte flambé on Mother’s Day,” Weide said, referring to Sunday.
Good humor clouded over on Saturday in Sellin in Rügen, “the weather doesn’t work,” as Tobias Moritz of the wine industry says. The drizzle prevented the guests from taking advantage of the possibility of foreign trade. “We are completely reserved for this indoors at night.” Due to the regulation of the 1.50 meter distance between strangers, only a maximum of 30 guests can be accommodated instead of 70. In addition, they can only sit in the restaurant until 9 p.m. This is required by the new state government regulation.
On the other hand, about 30 kilometers further north in Sassnitz, the sun is shining, making Thomas Kursikowski shine from the banquet at sea. As soon as the doors opened, the first guests arrived. “They were waiting for him.” Kursikowski was also lucky, it is said, because he was able to offer his guests fresh chickpeas and corn plaice with asparagus. “A wonderful moment after these bitter times.”
The coastal cities of the Baltic Sea are also trying to return to normal. On the coast in Schleswig-Holstein, significantly more visitors were on the road again for the first time on Saturday. The guests strolled everywhere again on the promenades of Niendorf, Timmendorfer Strand and Travemünde. The sun seekers lay on the sand on the beach, the children played in the still cold water.
It is the first weekend that all secondary homeowners and long-term campers were able to return, explains Kristina Wenske of the Timmendorfer Strand tourism service. Also, significantly more Schleswig-Holsteiners hit the shore for one day. However, hotels and restaurants can only reopen from May 18; then guests from other federal states can also return to the shore in Schleswig-Holstein. Stocks were already rising sharply since the 18th, Wenske said.
From that day on, beach chair tenants can offer their baskets again, under strict conditions, as one landlady explains. So now you have received the information that the beach chairs are 3.5 meters apart and should always be disinfected. Then you need to see how this can be done and how many baskets you can place under these conditions.
Other Germans have to be patient a bit until the next step towards normality. In Bavaria, for example, restaurants can reopen their outdoor areas on May 18. Baden-Württemberg also plans for this day. In North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony the time has come for next Monday. The goal is May 15 in Berlin.
