EIn the year after the devastating flood, Altenahr is a place in the shell state. at best. Hammering, sawing, grinding and drilling can be heard from all sides. Excavators and articulated lorries push their way along the dusty paths. But in the case of a number of houses, the owners of courage, strength and confidence seem to have left. Dozens of window caves stare at the Altenahrer steep slopes, where the wine grows, as if nothing had happened.
Some roofs are still provisionally sealed with gray plastic sheeting. Heaps of rubble lie where front gardens may have once been. It’s hard to believe that Wilfried Laufer wants to reopen his restaurant in the Seilbahnstrasse on Friday. The cable car road is also heavily drawn. One house has collapsed, another – still covered in mud – has its windows and doors barred.