A minimum distance of 1.50 meters is a challenge in everyday life, it is impossible on a raft. The raftsmen have little hope of a happy ending.
Wolfratshausen - Father's Day is always something very special for raftsmen. The - mostly male - day trippers are brought to Wolfratshausen by bus and have a nice day on the water on the way to Munich. And this year? Nothing. Nothing. "My heart is already bleeding," says Josef Seitner.
The rafters are still waiting for Prime Minister Markus Söder to finally give his go. Actually, the first rafts set off the banks of the Loisach in early May. Nobody knows when it will start this year. "How are we supposed to keep a distance of 1.50 meters from us?" Seitner asks. "And beer is also drunk." With a smile, he adds: "Everything that is currently considered bad can be found in a small space here with us." He obviously hasn't lost his sense of humor.
More than 11,000 day trippers per year - only with Josef Seitner
Like all raftsmen, Josef Seitner has to wait and see whether the distance rule will be relaxed this year or not.
© Photo: MM Archives
In a normal season, Seitner's company sends 220 rafts a year to the state capital, each with an average of 50 day trippers. That makes well over 10,000 people a year. Will there be one this year? In other words, whether operations will even be allowed this year? Josef Seitner "does not know, but we are ready".
His main focus is on maritime navigation on Lake Starnberg. "If it starts over there, we may also have a chance." Until then, you have to wait, do little things - and always cancel guests, the weekends in 2020 were all reserved. He sent his three employees on short-time work. And even if the season is canceled: Josef Seitner has reserves. "It won't kill us."
A look at maritime shipping gives some hope
As is well known, there is a second raft company in Wolfratshausen with the same last name, that of Franz Seitner. His daughter Monika Heidl-Seitner, who takes care of the organizational side, looks rather black for the 2020 season. "I have completed my gut feeling," she says. By the end of June, all trips had already been canceled, and it is not known whether a raft will go down the Isar afterwards. "Keeping the distance rule on a raft is an impossible thing," she explains. Your guess: Even if there should be many more loosening - this rule will remain for the time being. That would be equivalent to the end of the current rafting season.
The customers react very understandingly
She is happy that her customers - two thirds of whom are regular customers - reacted with such understanding. Most simply rescheduled their appointment to the next year. The Seitners did not have to send any of their 15 employees in short-time work because everyone in the small family business is working part-time anyway. She herself tries to stay positive: "At the moment I have a wonderful garden at home," she says with a smile. In a normal year there is almost no time for this.
Also read: What the old raftsmen were terrified of
Michael Angermeier's team on the Isar raft from Wackersberg, who sends his rafts below the Marienbrücke bridge towards Munich, "also adheres to the requirements of the state government and the Robert Koch Institute". You can hear this from the answering machine when you call there. A friendly female voice asks for understanding if you cannot currently answer every call to the Covid 19 problem. As soon as the business resumes, this will be made public on the homepage. "We'll get in touch," it says. Will it still be this year? The doubts grow.
Read also: Georg Unterholzners Grafical on the Loisach