Saturday 6th January - shops in Bavaria are closed

Go shopping TODAY and go early as it'll be swarms of locusts later innit.

Why are they closed?

Thanks for that!
I guess it is because it is the drei Könige Tag!!

3 Kings Holiday to mark the end of Crimbo innit.
Just a pity it falls on a Saturday this year so no long weekend.

how long have you lived here, Kat?

Same question as Owain - how long have you lived here?
I know it's at least 2 years or maybe more...

Well your live reporter from the wonderful world of German supermarkets (better than the UK imvho ) can tell you that the one I've just been too is well stocked with extra on the shelves but the place is already rammed.

more like two decades.

I'm not Catholic, and don't give a rats ass about 3 kings day, that's why. Plus, asking is easier than hunting down a calendar. Get off your high horses, knowing it's 3 kings day will not make you superior.

what has it do with your religion? does it mean only catholics get a day off work or cannot open their shops or go shopping?

If you pay your church tax, you arent allowed to go shopping. There will be people on the shop doors checking your names off the big list. The secret police will also be in town doing random church tax ausweiss controls

Its definitly religous.

Also known as twelfth night which is when your Christmas Decorations should come down, if they haven't already!

Ignore my innocense, but is it a holiday in Frankfurt too?? Planning to do loads of shopping for my new apartment there!

Any help?

I think it's just for those of us this side of the Weisswurst Grenze, Preussen can go shopping.

i got the same feeling too... having used google... but just to be on the safer side !!

I put this table together to use at work. It applies to Bavaria only.
Shops are closed on all of these days, irrespective of which day of the week on which they fall.
Additionally there's usually half-day opening on Easter Saturday, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Mon 01.01.2007 New Year’s Day (Neujahr)
Sat 06.01.2007 Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige)
Fri 06.04.2007 Good Friday (Karfreitag)
Mon 09.04.2007 Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
Tue 01.05.2007 May Day (Maifeiertag)
Thu 17.05.2007 Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt)
Mon 28.05.2007 Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag)
Thu 07.06.2007 Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam)
Wed 15.08.2007 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mariä Himmelfahrt)
Wed 03.10.2007 Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit)
Thu 01.11.2007 All Saints Day (Allerheiligen)
Tue 25.12.2007 Christmas Day (1. Weihnachtstag)
Wed 26.12.2007 Boxing Day (2. Weihnachtstag)

Well I went out and bought all the Weltenbürger bier I could carry ( a lot).

This table gives a good overview of which holidays are in which states

Dammit, I miss that Barock Dunkel.

NOOOOOOOOOOO... I don't want to go to the shop with my toddler again today

I'm not being pissy JennyL but don't people check the paper headlines on the way to work or in the shops or whatever? The Abendzeitung today had a blue not a read banner, so obviously not publishing tomorrow as its a holiday.

Yep my personal favorite then the Assam Bock. On our first day in Volkshule our teacher asked if we had any questions about Germany. Mine was how can one ship Barock Dunkel in a suitcase without breaking any.

@Jennyl

I have plenty of bier for both you and I girl

Forgive me. I'm stoopid by default American. Also, I find newspapers irritating, so I rely on Toytown for everything. If it's worth knowing, it's on Toytown.

Really? I honestly never realized that. Learn something new everyday.

That sounds divine.

Does everyone else actually read the newspaper?

What a shame. I will have to forego the tempting delights of mouth-watering goodies normally on the shelves at my local supermarket.

Personally I am more concerned that we get screwed out of another bank holiday in this country, c'mon join the rest of the civilized world and move the holidays to a Monday or Friday

BTW did my shopping last night when there was still food to be had, ever try shopping before a bank holiday here? It's like a ghost town of food and forget about even getting any meat.

Don't go hungry. Come out to Frankfurt, shop, eat and party with Frankfurt TTers.

But the rest of the "civilised" world don't have nearly so many "bank" holidays (13 this year in Bavaria, May is an entire month of 4-day weeks, and tomorrow is the only one to fall on a weekend)

Blimeygirl, Pikeysava ie Plus had lots of extra stock in today but you do have to go early ish.

Don't worry JennyL, I rarely read the papers either except the excellent Munich secton of the SZ if I can find it on the U-Bahn. Toytown is much better and quicker most of the time.

Though a glance at the headlines on the stands is worth a while so you know what people are going to be gossiping about at work, Tjana Gsell's tits or how austria rips off German motorists usually.