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“I'll come back tonight.” Jürgen Vos is very enthusiastic.
The 71-year-old from Stadtlohn has just swum 1000 meters in the Billerbeck outdoor pool - actually nothing special.
But on Saturday the bath is the first public bathing establishment in all of North Rhine-Westphalia that has reopened its gates to the general public after a six-month corona break.
Billerbeck is located in the Coesfeld district in the Münsterland.
Since the end of 2020 there has not been a day in the district with a weekly incidence of more than 100 - ideal conditions for participating in a NRW model project to open up certain areas, such as outdoor swimming pools.
Over a dozen municipalities across the country are involved as soon as the incidence is below 100.
Coesfeld was the first.
It all started last Monday with a fitness and rehabilitation studio in Havixbeck.
Another swimming pool, the Klutensee-Bad in Lüdinghausen, wants to open to the public on Monday for courses and from Tuesday onwards.
In the Münsterland district there was an open air guitar concert with 100 listeners in the courtyard of Vischering Castle on Saturday evening as part of the model project.
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The word about the opening of the first pool after more than six months has spread throughout North Rhine-Westphalia.
Many swimming enthusiasts made a long journey on Saturday.
“It's a dream to finally be able to swim again after many months,” says Sascha Wilsing (35) from Bielefeld, an hour's drive away.
“I usually go to the indoor pool every morning.” He too swam 1000 meters, now has a coffee and wants to go back to the water, which is still quite fresh at 21 degrees.
Birgit Markmann (49) from Holzwickede near Dortmund also had a longer journey.
“It's crazy to go this far, but it had to be done,” she says.
Two weeks ago she tried to swim in a wetsuit in the Ruhr.
However, she canceled that immediately.
"With a water temperature of eight degrees it was still very cold."
Jürgen Vos is almost a little upset when he talks about how much he missed swimming.
He has swum 2000 meters almost every day for the past 20 years, most recently on October 31, 2020. Since then, he has tried jogging and cycling.
“But it didn't offer what swimming offers.” In the evening, the 71-year-old wants to come back - for the second 1000 meters.
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There was not a huge rush on Saturday morning in Billerbeck - understandable with an air temperature of 13 degrees at the beginning.
At the start at ten o'clock, around 40 guests were standing in front of the entrance.
Two hours after opening, just ten swimmers did their laps - the hygiene concept allows 155 swimmers at the same time.
On Sunday, when the temperature was summery, more swimmers came to the pool. A good 400 bathers are there, reported Jürgen Maas from the city of Billerbeck at noon. In total, a maximum of 500 visitors are permitted in the Billerbeck outdoor pool until further notice. All must show a negative corona test, which must not be older than 24 hours. Fully vaccinated or convalescent are treated equally. Masks are required on the premises. The mouth and nose protection may only be removed on the way to the water and in the water.