The sun has made some Zug restaurateurs happier than they've been for a long time

From Monday, April 19, hosts can reopen the outdoor areas of their restaurants. Up to now, however, the people of Zug have only made limited use of the opportunity to eat or drink on terraces. This may also be due to the cold temperatures, whereby at least the Bise wind has died down. For others, this half-step does not pay off at all, and they haven’t bothered opening.

The Canadian province of Ontario has closed its borders since Monday morning. On Saturday, the populist prime minister of the same province, Doug Ford, decreed that open-air meetings would only be allowed with family members. Compared to this harsh regime in Ontario, Switzerland is currently in almost paradisiacal conditions.

After the Federal Government repeatedly tightened up its rules, the Federal Council (Bundesrat) has now allowed food to be eaten in the open air again, as long as there is respect for the rules and social distancing. Fitness centres could also reopen on Monday. Janosch Nietlispach of CrossFit Zug, former Zug kickboxer, says: "People are really pleased."

Everyone can work on keeping fit on their own, but the experience of doing this with fellow enthusiasts is something completely different. This was quickly demonstrated by the training session that Kristian, Thuri and Patrice completed in the Crossfit Zug in the Bösch industrial area in Hünenberg. Kristian, who sets the pace in this trio, adds that, with the available relaxations, "the training possibilities are much more varied".

The training room has weights and dumbbells in various configurations, and if a distance of more than one and a half metres to the training neighbour can be more than maintained, a protective mask does not have to be worn. In the Migros-Fitness in the Eichstätte in Zug, the rule is that the mouth-nose cover may only be removed for showering. It's like many legal sentences. There’s room for interpretation.

The great joy of the first sitting guest this year
The Zug Landsgemeindeplatz is a source of joy and well-being on beautiful summer days But the people of Zug only took up the opportunity tentatively on Monday. Two women sat in the sun in front of the Olive & Oregano restaurant. Janine is from Zurich, her friend Irina from Lucerne. She says: "Meeting in Zug makes sense, because we both only have to travel half the distance."

Janine adds, however, that she had made the arrangement with Irina before the Federal Council announced the Corona relaxations: "Now we can talk to each other and have a drink." Angelo Finelli from the Restaurant Widder is also in the best mood: "We are really happy that it’s finally starting u again." He hasn’t had any guests yet, but the manager of the restaurant is prepared.

Edi Waldesbühl sits at a table in a relaxed manner in the Restaurant Fischmärt below the Zytturm. He landed in this restaurant in the heart of the old town of Zug by chance: "I brought my car to be serviced, and I then decided to go to the old town." He didn’t regret his decision.

Photo 1:  Janine and Irina in the restaurant Olive & Oregano.n Zug
Photo2: Training in the CrossFit Train
Photo 3: Daniela Fusco at the takeaway stand in Unterägeri.
Photo: Maria Schmid (Zug, 19 April 2021)

But there are also restaurants that haven’t opened their doors at the first opportunity. The doors of the traditional Restaurant Schiff were still closed on Monday. A display case reads: "Because of our offer of fresh food, opening is only worthwhile during a longer period of fair weather." And the "Casino" will only welcome guests again from Thursday, April 22,. In the meantime, the seats in the "Olive & Oregano" have almost completely filled up.

Pure sunshine was also available in the Hirsgarten Kiosk Restaurant in Cham. The operator, Erol Karadag, and his team were still working on the construction of the infrastructure shortly after noon. Karadag says: "We have also operated the kiosk as a takeaway. Now we have more possibilities again."

The restaurateur, who also brews beer, praises his hot dogs in particular. Apparently justifiably, because two guests pick up a "hot dog" during our short visit. In any case, the "Hirsgarten" is a "viewpoint" in the sense that, from there, everyone can check whether the top of the Rigi is still white. As long as this is the case, according to the older generations,  the offspring have to miss out on ice cream.

An elderly gentleman sits in front of a drink in the square in front of the Catholic Church of St. Jacob in Cham. He seems to be waiting for a colleague. Convivial get-togethers like this had been missed in the time of the shutdown.

It’s unfortunately still a little too early for the summer break on the mountain
Day one went a little more timidly in the mountain areas after the complete restaurant lockdown. Sitting around outside was not really a pleasure in Unterägeri. People preferred to walk along the lake shore. One or the other later landed at the Fusco snack bar below the Theresiaheim. The mobile catering company has been lucky in the sense that takeaway sales have always been allowed.

As Daniela Fusco, who helps her husband with the mobile snack bar, explained, they didn’t have more hungry people on Monday than under the previous rules. Regular customers come along in any case. It’ll take some time before the other catering companies in the canton can serve their regular customers and, of course, many more – and there’ll also need to be warmer temperatures.

In the case of cinemas, this is likely to be the other way around. The Seehof cinema (two halls) reopens in Zug on Thursday. You can see "Wonder Woman 1984" and "The New Gospel". Seeing a film on the big screen again – what a pleasure!