Karin Bahmann is happy.
“We are so happy that it can finally take place again,” she says.
And her husband Martin nods.
It means the Mainz market breakfast.
The wine stands at the edge of the Mainz weekly market have a long tradition.
But because of the pandemic, the popular meeting had to pause for two years.
On Saturday, thousands gathered in the city to celebrate the restart of the market breakfast.
After the forced Corona break, the joy is huge.
Students, young families, married couples, seniors, everyone gathers on Liebfrauenplatz.
But not only there: In order to equalize the expected crowds, wine stands were also set up in the Leichhof and in front of the State Theater.
Those who are thirsty for wine will also be welcomed by a stand of Mainz winegrowers on the banks of the Rhine at the Hotel Hilton.
The Bahmanns like the idea of having different wine stands spread out across the city.
So when one stand got too crowded for them, they simply moved to the Leichhof.
A classic “Meenz breakfast”
But the vast majority of people gather as usual on Liebfrauenplatz.
From twelve o'clock it is packed.
"The people of Mainz don't skimp when it comes to the market breakfast," says a young woman standing in the crowd with her friend.
Almost everyone has a glass of wine or spritzer in one hand and a fried fish, meat sausage or Mett roll in the other.
A classic "Meenzer breakfast".
And quite a few buy the wine by the bottle.
Then you don't have to get back in line straight away, they say.
The weather is also playing along with the restart of the market breakfast: It's windy, but the sun keeps coming out between the dark clouds.
Sometimes even a piece of blue sky can be discovered.
“It was raining all last week, so we were really lucky,” says a student who is standing at the wine stand with a couple of friends.
And Isabel and Lisa have been enjoying their first wine spritzer at the market breakfast for a long time.
"It feels like it used to be," says Isabel, smiling.
The two live in Hesse, but originally come from Mainz.
"Once Meenzer, always Meenzer." And when it's market breakfast, it's really worth coming to the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital.
The friends are standing in front of the state theater at the Janz winery.
There the rush is not quite as big as at the cathedral.
Winemaker Fabienne Janz is nevertheless satisfied.
"It was difficult for us to estimate how many visitors would come." But now she is glad that the offer has been accepted.
On the other hand, there is not much going on at the fair on the banks of the Rhine, which also opened on Saturday.
When the first raindrops fall, the few fair-goers flee under the covers of the food stands.