He sees the success of the rapid reconstruction, barely a year after the flood wreaked havoc here, as a collective achievement. "We proclaimed June 30 as the reopening date very early on. But then the city and independent retailers and restaurateurs and, above all, the many craftsmen also worked towards this goal," says Dürr. The fact that the grand opening has now been postponed to August 14 doesn't disillusion anyone: "I'm sure that visitors will have a great day here once again.”

Almost all 34 outlet brand partners will be back in their store locations by this date. Only National Geographic is not returning to Bad Münstereifel and Esprit, Bugatti, Sterntaler and Lindt will not open until a little later, probably in September. In front of the store of the Swiss confectionery manufacturer, we meet Reinulf Padberg, the leading architect in the reconstruction for City Outlet: "It's quite incredible what has been achieved here." The fact that the many old half-timbered houses could be renovated and repaired here at such a pace, he also sees as a sign of how well the various tradespeople have been treated by his client, the City Outlet. "Just a few days after the flood, they sent a 150-man squad through here to clean up.”

As everywhere else in the flooded areas, flood protection has been the focus of his reconstruction work in recent months. For example, all the stores now have a waterproof finish and the connections have been raised everywhere. At the Lindt store, whose front side took the full brunt of the flood, a drainage system has now been laid so that future small floods can run off directly. His office, on the other hand, has little to do with the design of the stores, but he can nevertheless report: "All partners have used the reconstruction once again to make optimizations." So visitors can expect brand-new concepts, dressing rooms, checkout counters and lighting.

Even though many independent retailers and restaurateurs in the small town were not in favor of the new outlet for Bad Münstereifel at the beginning, many of them also know that the stores have pull. One of them is bookseller Katharina Pütz. She already reopened with her Leserei in November. "We are already almost back to normal visitor levels. And on this coming Sunday, which is open for business, I'm sure there will be even more," says the owner. The subject of the flood is still omnipresent in the city, among locals and tourists alike, she says. Her absolute bestsellers at the moment are various flood chronicles.

Marielle Haep, the operator of the hotel and café on Unnaustrasse, can't complain about a lack of customers either. Her small terrace above the Erft, where she offers mainly cakes and coffee but also small snacks, is full. "The café is a new opening in the city," says the owner. However, an unexpected one, because it was actually supposed to launch last August. "We're all just happy that it's finally really getting going," says the young entrepreneur. "It's already always full on the weekends." And guests come from all over, but increasingly from Holland and Belgium, the restaurateur said. Hikers are also frequent guests at her place, because, as in many flood regions, the higher hiking trails such as Eifelschleife or Kneippweg have hardly suffered any damage.

The Ney couple from Langerwehe near Düren has also set off for Bad Münstereifel this morning. We meet them on Orchheimer Strasse between the long-established store "Das Trachtenstüberl", which has not yet reopened in the old half-timbered house but in a passage next to it, and the outlet store of children's clothing brand sigikid. They, too, are amazed at how quickly the small town, a favorite destination of theirs for many years, has mastered the set-up. And they also have a suggestion for improvement for the city planners: "Concerts could be held in the summer on the small square by the market," say the couple. In any case, their overall conclusion after a short exploration and shopping tour is very good: "It's almost as nice here as always.”