“We have the Bernabéu museum for ourselves”

EI Real Madrid strives to regain activity in the new normal generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. One of its last steps has been to reopen, once the government green light has been received, one of its great assets: the Bernabéu Tour. He did it yesterday in a reduced version (without access to the stands, grass and changing rooms) and as it has been happening in the last months in so many other spheres of life, it left very unusual scenes. Despite having the third most visited museum in the capital after the Prado and Reina Sofía Museums, almost four million visitors in 2019Yesterday, you could see the huge collection of jewelry from Madrid's history … as a family.

After 91 days closed, the Museum reopened at 9:30 am but the flow of visitors was almost symbolic. The new ticket office in front of the stadium (in Paseo de la Castellana, 140) and the monumental reform that 'wraps' the old Tower B that gives access to the Tour and which is reached by a passageway near door 30, make the visit in an initial gymkhana. “I almost went around the whole stadium to find the entrance …”, confesses one of the few morning visitors.

About to be inside, the feeling is almost unreal. The health and hygiene safety protocols, a priority for the white entity, join the traditional ones. “36.5 degrees, can pass”, a private security employee, digital infrared thermometer in hand, tells this reporter. Right away, the first Hand Sanitizing Station with hydroalcohol gel; also the protective glass screens between employees and visitors …

Unthinkable scenes

“Wait until I put my mask on to get better in this photo …”. Two friends, who prefer anonymity because they are passing through on the way to work, are recreated in the Champions League showcase. One of them drops that phrase, unthinkable four months ago. There is no rush, it is the most photographed area of ​​the museum but there are no crowds. “We have the museum almost to ourselves, it is a shame that it is for such a situation, but it is a unique opportunity”.

It is a journey in which there are almost more security personnel than visitors, a Madrid family here, a visitor with the official white shirt there, and there is no need to count the capacity, reduced to a third. The club urges (with a slight discount in the fee) the purchase of tickets for specific times with the idea of ​​not generating high peaks in attendance that did not take place yesterday. A timid reopening, but expected. “You can see the absence of tourists and visitors from other provinces, which represent a significant percentage of the fans who come, and also that now school visits cannot be made “, they explain from the club. “As time goes by, everything will get more.”

It will help, for sure, the moment in which the Tour can be completed in its entirety. The official store and two of the star attractions, being able to walk down the lawn and feel like a footballer visiting the locker rooms, are closed by the works, which work at full blast also inside the stadium. While football is temporarily transferred to Alfredo Di Stéfano de Valdebebas, the Tour at least keeps the old Bernabéu as the new …