The expected rush of rioters on Sylt for the Pentecost weekend did not materialize. Nevertheless, the police remain vigilant – and are accordingly prepared for a busy summer. FOCUS Online also asked other North Sea and Baltic Sea locations how the unusual start with the 9-euro ticket went.
A smashed window pane in a bike shop in Westerland, beer splashes on cars, pee attacks on sand dunes and three dozen disturbances of the peace, only some of which could be attributed to punks: “Chaos days” on Sylt look different. In the end, the Sylt police simply recorded the balance of the “rush” in connection with the 9-euro train ticket as “no more than usual at Pentecost”.
Or, to put it in the words of Sandra Otte: at least for the most part under “Pillepalle”. Flensburg’s police spokeswoman is quite satisfied with the results of the Pentecost weekend on Sylt. A long weekend, about which a lot had been written and reported in advance. And in the end so little unpleasant happened. “The colleagues were surprised themselves and said it was like before Corona,” says the police chief inspector FOCUS Online.
But that has nothing to do with supposed riots, says Otte, but solely with the “swimming service”. “It’s been around for a number of years from the East Frisian Islands to Usedom. From February to October, all police stations on site are reinforced by units of newly trained colleagues whose task it is to ensure peace and quiet during the busy summer months with the increased number of people due to tourism Otte on the other hand. The situation will be reassessed from week to week and operations will always be adapted accordingly.
While well-known Sylt heads such as star and TV chef Holger Bodendorf expressed their concern in an interview with FOCUS Online that increased passenger numbers on regional trains could become a problem, especially for commuting seasonal workers, Luft expressed confidence. Thanks to a “coordination team” with the railways and transport associations that was set up especially for this summer, train capacities and staff have already been increased. In addition, travelers will find service information on the “sylt.de” service portal that is continuously updated.
But Leverenz emphasizes that there can be no talk of great chaos on the East Frisian island chain either. And this despite the fact that, in addition to the 9-euro ticket, the factors “hunger for travel to Corona” and Pentecost have also been added. This is also due to the fact that the guests are “provided with as much information as possible about what works and what doesn’t”. In any case, the Whitsun weekend has shown that an increased demand for travel can definitely be managed. “More and more people are rethinking, also because of Corona,” says Leverenz.
More and more travelers also wanted to leave their cars at home for environmental or cost reasons and use public transport more often. “This is a huge opportunity for the environment and also for destinations that are not in the hot spots. Because the demand for places inland near the coast is increasing noticeably,” says Wiebke Leverenz happily.
