Brand indoor swimming pool

"They even come here from the deepest Eifel. Höfen, Monschau. One guest has been coming from Kalterherberg twice a week for ages. The pool in Monschau isn't open early in the morning," says Markus Rebsdat. The pool manager at the Brand indoor swimming pool knows his people: "It's a family atmosphere here. The regulars know each other and of course we know them too. There are cliques that have been coming for 20 or 30 years. If someone is missing, they immediately call each other to make sure everything is OK." Somehow his family too, it seems.

Some older people only come to shower and go into the water briefly: "They sometimes say, 'The main thing is to get your swimsuit wet and meet the others'." A kind of communication center for daily chats. Important, says Rebsdat, for social contact - especially at an age when some people are already alone.

Aachen's smallest indoor swimming pool, which has been open since 1974, is a cozy place - even though many Aachen children have school swimming lessons here. The catchment radius is also large, from Kornelimünster, Walheim to Brand, Driescher Hof, Forst and even down to Schönforst. Then it gets loud sometimes. But nobody gets upset. You know how it is. Rebsdat is also glad to have a good team - despite all the problems with new recruits in his job. There are currently three trainees. Two on the poolside, one in the water. Training is also part of the job. "I always hope that many of them will want to stay." There is also a lifeguard doing his rounds around the pool. They are extremely popular and important as an addition to the pool team.

Outside of school hours, the hall also has a lot to offer for children: playtime on Wednesdays and Saturdays and fin swimming every Sunday. "A vacation pass for the fall and Easter vacations costs just seven euros, and 20 euros in summer. Children and young people can use all the municipal swimming pools every day. Unbeatable value for money," the pool manager immediately advertises. And for those who can't yet swim themselves, there's the "Wonneproppenstunde" every Wednesday. Moms and dads can get their little ones used to the water at almost bathtub temperature. "Swimming lessons will also start again after the outdoor pool season in October," says the pool manager. Yes, you can still feel the effects of coronavirus: "The children used to be five to six. Today, they are sometimes ten years old."

"I still enjoy doing the job as much as I did on the first day; apart from my interest in sport and contact with people, the decision to train was a rather curious one," says Rebsdat. "You're not actually allowed to say that," he smiles mischievously. But you can, it's long past the statute of limitations. "Well, in my wild youth, I was once thrown out of the south hall for playing harmlessly with a ball. But I was allowed back in a week later. When I asked the swimming instructor how you can learn the job, he just said 'you won't make it anyway'." Young Markus didn't take that lying down. Three years later, he was an apprentice and back with the city straight after his military service. Now he has long since become a master craftsman and pool manager: "But you have to have heart and soul!"

He also runs the hall with heart and soul and a portion of pride. He is particularly proud of the sanitary facilities, toilets and changing rooms for people with disabilities. "Here with us, everything is on one level. People can drive right up to the hall in their wheelchair and ring the bell. Then we let them in and they roll straight into one of the special changing rooms." From there, they transfer to a wheelchair that doesn't mind water so much. Off to the shower, where everything is at the right height for people in wheelchairs. From there, direct access to the hall. The lift is already waiting there: "We just got it. The Mercedes of lifts." The old one was broken. The new one is much better and more convenient - also for the swimming club for disabled people, which visits regularly. "We are the pool with the highest number of people with disabilities."

The pool has been wheelchair accessible since 2019 and there was also a new three-metre tower at the time, made of stylish stainless steel. The old concrete one had been eaten away by the chlorine in the air. New technology was also installed: Pumps, filters, water treatment - all state of the art: "After the outdoor pool, we are the most modern pool in terms of technology." Of course, this is also reflected in the electricity and water consumption, which have fallen noticeably. There it is again, the pride in "his" pool.

3 questions for Markus Rebsdat, pool manager of the Brand indoor swimming pool