Adhesive tape and disinfectant spray in focus: The final preparations for the commissioning of the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn were accompanied by a media hype on Friday. From now on, nature lovers can go back to the Zugspitze - subject to conditions, of course. What guests need to know now.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Verena Lothes' email compartment is full. The phone has also been on hold in the past few days and weeks. She no longer knows how many inquiries the media spokeswoman for the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn received from media companies around the world. The question was always the same: "When do you open again?"
The crowd on Friday morning in front of the valley station of the cable car is correspondingly large. Lothes welcomes camera teams from ARD, ZDF, RTL, BR, numerous photographers and print journalists - the media coverage is enormous. She ticks off the names of all announced reporters on a list. For safety reasons. Finally, this press appointment also takes place under the corona-related requirements. The photographers press the shutter button diligently when Thomas Hector affixes the distance markings with adhesive tape. Or when Stefan Elsner disinfected the cabin. Hardly anyone believed months ago that adhesive tape and disinfectants could become the focus of reporting.
Bavarian Zugspitz cable car: only 40 instead of 120 people in the cabin
This is a small test run for the rush of guests, who will be driven on this Saturday from 8.30 a.m. on Germany's highest mountain. 40 people instead of the usual 120 sit in the cable car cabin. A maximum of 140 people can be accommodated in the rack railway. Matthias Stauch does not yet dare to predict whether there will be a rush on Pentecost weekend. "We don't know," says the board of the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn.
But even if only a third of the usual number of visitors drive up the mountain, they have to be controlled in a controlled manner. A maximum of 2500 guests are allowed on the Zugspitze. Stauch admits that there can be longer waiting times. For this reason, guests are informed of the occupancy of the Zugspitzbahn by five information signs and, if necessary, redirected to other cable cars. A concept that worked well in 2017 when similar challenges had to be overcome when building the new cable car.
Bavarian Zugspitzbahn: mask requirement in closed rooms, directing visitors in the valley and at the summit
From the parking lot, tourists and day trippers are led into the gondola with a safe distance. Masks are mandatory in closed rooms and in the cable car and gear cabins. The restaurant seats around 170 instead of the usual 400. The same rules apply there as for restaurants in the valley. The requirements are high. That is precisely why Stauch and his team hope for reason.
Stauch is happy that after a two-month break it can finally start again. The BZB was not forced to avail itself of immediate state aid or loans. "Our savings book was well filled." The money came from the reserve. However, Stauch will postpone many planned investments. The BZB has used the past eight weeks, among other things, to renew tracks or to prepare the snow depot for the winter season.
As of today, the employees will all start working again after being sent on short-time work. Almost 100 people work in the catering sector alone. "You now have the good feeling that you are working in a crisis-proof company," says outlet manager Hannes Berkmann. This also has an impact on demand: before the crisis, employees had to be searched for by hand, now applications are piling up.