"This year we had unforeseen tile work," says the 27-year-old. Some of the tiles on the pool walls had cracked and had to be replaced. The outdoor pool team, which usually does a lot of the work itself, had to call in experts to complete the work. Water was left in the pool over the winter and pool walls protected against ice pressure by means of ice-softening covers. But the weather was so cold in the interim that the water froze anyway, pushing up against and damaging the tiles.

The water was drained before the repairs started so that the tiles could be scrubbed. Providing nothing else happens, it will be finished in a week and a half, the pool manager explained.

They have worked hard to get everything ready as quickly as possible. Beach chairs have been set up, and the quality of the water is good. The lawn has been mowed, the greenery cut back, wooden benches in the small children's area have been sanded down and repainted so that guests do not get splinters. The team also inspects the paving stones around the pools, which are connected by a stream. Mittler finds they are not ideal, as individual stones were repeatedly coming loose.

The team has also made sure that the geese, which have been breeding on the same spot in the outdoor swimming pool area for the past two years, have now found a place close by. "We laid out wooden pallets in this area," said Mittler. And the employees were on the grounds a lot, which was not pleasant for the migratory birds.

Nobody knows what summer will be like. "But we don't necessarily have to top the last one," says the director. The city recorded almost 96,000 visitors, a good half of them in July and August 2018 alone. In addition, there were around 50,000 visitors from schools and clubs - a lot of work for the employees. They had to completely clean the showers, toilets and changing rooms after every well-visited day, making for many long evenings. A lot of garbage had to be picked up as well. Mittler makes an appeal to pool guests: "There are rubbish bins on every corner."

All Bonn outdoor pools have a new cash register system and new admission tickets. Old tickets are only valid through June. The city has announced that at the moment, one has to pay with cash only at the the pool cash registers. Season tickets, which are valid for all Bonn outdoor swimming pools, must be ordered and paid for online at www.bonn.de/saisonkarte; they cost 120 euros, (some qualify for reduced rate of 60 euros). With proof of purchase and identity card, the season pass can be picked at the ticket office. Since the pass is reusable, you pay a deposit of three euros.

The Hardtberg outdoor pool is open this weekend from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. next week.

Orig. text: Stefan Knopp Translation: Carol Kloeppel