Staff at the City of Bonn press office are being asked this question on a daily basis right now. But it is not possible to give an exact answer, says employee Andrea Schulte. "We assume that it will start in mid-April," she says. The blooming period is also strongly dependent on the weather, she adds. According to the city, the flowering period lasts a maximum of ten to 14 days. Victoria Harlos has already put up the first blog post about this year's cherry blossom season. So far, only bare trees can be seen in the pictures. The owner of a small business in the Old Town has been running a "cherry blossom live ticker" since 2015. Here she keeps cherry blossom fans up to date. Her estimate is similar to the city's. "I think it will be three weeks from now." This year, there will also be an Old Town flea market to coincide with the cherry blossoms. According to the Altstadt initiative Bonn, the backyard flea market put on but those living in the area will take place on April 22. On twelve streets, residents sell used items from their backyards, house entrances and basements.

Equipped with selfie stick, cell phone camera or professional photo camera, tourists try to get the best snapshot every year. Harlos knows where to take the best photos in the Old Town. "A popular motif is the Jupiter Column in Heer Strasse. The street there slopes a bit, so the cherry blossom avenue looks like a pink blossom tunnel," she says. Another popular spot she sees is the Old Town sign at the entrance to Breite Strasse near the Stadthaus (Town Hall). In the evening, the lettering glows blue. The back part of Heerstrasse also provides a nice photo backdrop, she says. "Here, the trees grow so low that the blossoms meet at the treetops," she reveals. "If you stretch out your hand, you can almost reach the branches.”

The cherry blossom trees in the Old Town have been around since the late 1980’s. According to the city, planting the Japanese flowering cherry in the streets was part of an attempt to make the run-down neighborhood more attractive again. Harlos recalls that the hype started 15 years ago on social media. At the time, she held the first photo contest with pictures of the blossoms, which she uploaded to the internet. The cherry blossoms had their real breakthrough in 2012, the year one of the pictures taken during Harlos' contest appeared on the list of the Facebook page "Places to see before you die." Since then, Bonn has been internationally known for the cherry blossoms.

Most cherry blossom tourists come from within Germany, according to Thomas von dem Bruch. "Many of the Japanese and Chinese living in Germany come to Bonn in April to visit the cherry blossoms," says the managing director of "Rheinland Tourismus GmbH." But Chinese and Japanese travel groups also like to make a spontaneous stop in Bonn during tours through Europe when the cherry trees are in bloom.

"People in Japan and China traditionally celebrate the cherry blossom festival at the beginning of spring," reports Theresa Neuser from "Tourismus & Congress GmbH." Especially in Japan, there are many cherry blossom trees, says von dem Bruch. That's why Japanese and Chinese living in Germany like to come to Bonn to admire this wonder of nature that is popular in their home countries.

"As soon as the cherry blossoms are present on social media, the hotels register more inquiries and bookings," says von dem Bruch. However, it is difficult to determine just how much the bookings are influenced by the blossoms because hotels also have many bookings in the springtime anyway. According to Neuser, a large proportion of visitors are also "typical day tourists." Philipp Seufert, general manager of a hotel in the Old Town, advertises cherry blossom images on his website. He says there is definitely a demand. However, the hotel is not fully booked for that time.

In preparation for the expected rush of crowds to the Old Town, road closures are planned on Heerstrasse and Breite Strasse for the cherry blossom season. According to the press release, the streets will be closed to through traffic from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on each of the three weekends from April 8 to April 23. The closures will apply to the entire Breite Strasse and on Heerstrasse in the section between Kölnstrasse and Vorgebirgsstrasse. Residents and delivery vehicles are not affected by the closures. To avoid traffic jams, the city recommends coming to the Old Town on foot, by bicycle or by public transport.

The city will set up public toilets in the schoolyard of the Marienschule (Marien School) and near the town hall at the entrance to Breite Strasse. They are barrier-free and are cleaned regularly.

"The ornamental cherries in the Old Town have many petals," explains Cornelia Löhne. The petals are referred to as "filled," says the botanist from the University of Bonn. Normal cherry blossoms, on the other hand, have five petals as well as stamens inside the flower. "In the ornamental cherry, the inner petals replaced the stamens. As a result, the sexual organs are missing and no fruit can form," Löhne explains.

Cherry blossom trees are already blooming on Maxstrasse and also in other places in Bonn. Löhne explains that the blooming time depends on the variety. According to the city, different varieties of the Japanese flowering cherry grow in the Old Town and start to bloom from the end of March to mid-April. The famous cherry blossoms on Heerstrasse and Breite Strasse are usually the last to bloom. Their flowers are particularly lush and colorful.

Orig. text: Sonja Miklitz

Translation: ck