Bad Neuenahr-Arweiler is a beautiful town with some magnificent medieval architecture, including defensive towers and city walls. Everything appears freshly renovated and boasts modern interiors. Spa clinics and thermal springs mark the cityscape of Bad Neuenahr. The entire area is situated within a stunningly beautiful wine region.
Christmas decorations and Christmas markets contribute to the festive atmosphere during the Christmas season. The ambiance becomes particularly romantic after dark.
Four and a half years ago, in 2021, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler and almost the entire Ahr Valley were hit by a once-in-a-century disaster. In some places, the water rose by several meters within a few hours. About 134 people lost their lives in the Ahr Valley, 69 of them in Ahrweiler. We now have the opportunity to visit this region and understand what the people here have gone through and, in some cases, are still going through.
We are visiting a relative in Bad Neuenahr and begin our exploration there.
The spa park is in the city center. The Steigenberger Hotel and the spa building have already undergone restoration. Construction is still underway at the spa and thermal bathhouse. A concert hall is also under construction opposite the city library.
We walked to Ahrweiler along the Ahrallee. Here, extensive earth removal is still underway along the riverbanks to give the Ahr River more space. The bridges over the Ahr have not been repaired; they are all still temporary. In Ahrweiler, we noticed that the ground floors of many houses along the Ahrallee are still unoccupied and have boarded-up windows. We also saw numerous excavators working in parks and backyards in Ahrweiler. Presumably, this is because most homes have been renovated, allowing more time to be devoted to gardens.
Information on the remaining necessary renovations can be found on the website https://www.wiederbunt.de/. You can read about the experiences during the 2021 catastrophe in the book, “Es war doch nur Regen?” – Protokoll einer Katastrophe, ISBN: 978-3-8392-2946-0.
Even though the extent of the horror on the ground is almost incomprehensible, the author tries to look optimistically towards the future. At one point, he writes that the railway lines have been destroyed, and it will probably take several weeks to repair them. However, the first train did not run again until the end of November 2025. The remaining work will probably continue until the end of the decade.
The author benefited from his extensive network of contacts. How must those who are less well-connected feel? The fact is, however, that the leading politicians have failed.
We enjoyed a glass or two of wine at the Christmas market and took the bus back to Bad Neuenahr. There we had dinner at the Neuenahrer Brauhaus before driving home the next morning.
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