We already suspect that the beginning of the year will be ruined by this Omicron. So we have no choice but to collect every scrap of good things from the past year and at least brighten up the balance sheet of the past. In this last Bavaria column of the year, this is exercised using the example of Regensburg. But probably works with any Bavarian city. So what was good this year?
Let’s start from the back: For example, Regensburg could imagine for a few days that it would hold the only Christmas market in the Free State, the “Romantic Christmas Market” at Thurn und Taxis Castle. While all other markets closed or did not open at all, the organizer probably spread the hope throughout Germany of finally being able to celebrate Advent again on the champagne hill in the castle garden in 2021. As is well known, this was not the case, but for a short time the ticket portal collapsed under the inquiries. You can certainly live off that much euphoria for a long time.
Then there were all sorts of things that were good because they didn’t happen – starting with the fact that Gloria von Thurn und Taxis didn’t perform songs from the balcony of her castle as usual because of the canceled Christmas market. But there were also positive reports from more secular areas: For example, the city of Regensburg refrained from buying a public toilet for almost half a million euros on Jahninsel in good time. And back from the toilet to Thurn und Taxis Castle: There was no castle festival this year, but this also meant that Xavier Naidoo, who likes to spread conspiracy myths, could not perform either.
And when it almost looked as if Gloria had single-handedly saved the year, she invited Cardinal Müller, who was believed to have finally got rid of him, to her castle. To give the former Bishop of Regensburg the opportunity to utter dangerous nonsense like Xavier Naidoo at a kind of conference among like-minded people. In the end, Gloria screwed it up and there is something reassuring about that: parts of 2021 were as always.