With tranquil landscapes, Saxon Switzerland is a popular travel destination. But the image of the region is suffering increasingly – due to self-proclaimed “lateral thinkers”.
Bad Schandau – The town of Bad Schandau is located right next to the famous Saxon Switzerland National Park. In addition to the approximately 3,500 residents, numerous tourists also find themselves here every year. No wonder: the tranquil landscape around the spa town invites you to hike and linger.
But since Corona, a trip to Bad Schandau should feel very different, as a user on the Reddit platform reports. He believes that tourists could avoid the region in the future.
| Bad Schandau | |
|---|---|
| federal state | Saxony |
| district | Saxon Switzerland Eastern Ore Mountains |
| resident | 3511 (December 31, 2020, source: Free State of Saxony) |
| Mayor | Thomas Kunack (WV Tourism) |
Bad Schandau: Reddit users feel uncomfortable on vacation
Numerous shops would adorn themselves with “Schwurbel posters” on which it is written, for example, how harmful corona vaccines are, the user reports in his Reddit post “Bad Schandau – tourist resort in Saxony ruined by lateral thinking idiocy and failure of civil society”. . In a bakery, the controls of the 2G rule (access for those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered) are seen as government patronage. And for wearing a mask, one was also “looked at with hostility” in Bad Schandau, he told MDR. Saxony has the lowest vaccination rate of all federal states, as shown by data from the RKI. But the attitude and statements of the shops and bars in Bad Schandau go “beyond what is unfortunately already usual in Saxony”.
The “already miserable atmosphere” was “topped” during the recent fishermen’s carnival. The move in the town center, carried out by the local carnival association, was therefore all about Corona and a certain hostility to politics and science. Each poster was “reactionary, hostile and disturbing”. There were also personal attacks against Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and transphobic sayings. A video of the Fischerfastnacht parade even shows a person in a brown shirt and red armband – very similar to a Nazi uniform.
Bad Schandau: The image of the popular travel destination is deteriorating
Not only the author of the Reddit post apparently felt uncomfortable. The “Querdenker” elevator “really spoiled the mood” for other hotel guests as well. Statements such as “vacation in Saxony was not a good idea” were also made. Numerous users share similar experiences under the post. It is “disturbing” that the local population approves of all this – “there is no contradiction”. Above all, the population is harming itself, says the user. “Tourists are uncomfortable because the residents of a tourist spot are largely deserted,” he writes. That could “go badly in the eye for the place”, which has almost nothing apart from tourism. He would like a clear signal from the hospitality industry, but he fears that they too will share the “lateral thinking idiocy”.
When asked by the MDR, the chairman of the “Elbsandsteingebirge” tourism association Ivo Teichmann (AfD member of parliament) said that he was “not aware of any comparable statements from tourists”. Teichmann himself lives in Königstein, not far from Bad Schandau. It is said that he did not notice any “lateral thinker posters” there either.
Bad Schandau: AfD MP is head of the tourism association
According to MDR, he said the following about the procession of the Fischerfastnacht in Bad Schandau: “Tolerance and diversity of opinion are regularly demanded, but hardly lived. In addition, the satire inherent in carnival parades, in particular, is that it is deliberately ‘exaggerated’. This is not a special phenomenon in Saxon Switzerland.” In general, the AfD politician is happy about the continuing popularity of Saxon Switzerland as a holiday region. A strong increase in booking inquiries proves this. For this, Teichmann always experiences discussions about the different corona rules in Saxony and in the Czech Republic, which is adjacent. In Saxony, the AfD regularly does well in elections.
The Saxon Switzerland Tourist Association did not want to respond to an MDR request. It only said that the members would work for open-mindedness, tolerance and hospitality. (lrg)
