I hate Sundays in Germany

As long as I live here I hope they never change the Sunday closure laws. That's the way it was in my home province in Canada before they screwed it up and opened it up for Sunday shopping. Now you have heavy traffic and noise on the roads every day of the week. At least in Germany you can have one day of peace and quiet.

At least in Germany you can have one day of peace and quiet.

I´m sure we can cope with a few video shops and a laundry or two. Anyway did not notice that much difference back home when they brought in and i´m from a city of 3.7 million.

I hate sundays in Germany too. They are boring and depressing and they always seem to interrupt my week. The worst thing is a sunday followed by a public holiday.
And yes I really miss Woolworth and Coles Supermarkets too, as much as 24 hour libraries.

There's more to life than shopping, there's a world out there waiting for you to explore it, don't waste the opportunity.

There's more to life than shopping, there's a world out there waiting for you to explore it, don't waste the opportunity.

I too hate sunday over here. I wish they have a 7 eleven store where I can run in and get some beer and open 24hrs.

I hate sundays in Germany too. They are boring and depressing and they always seem to interrupt my week. The worst thing is a sunday followed by a public holiday.
And yes I really miss Woolworth and Coles Supermarkets too, as much as 24 hour libraries.

I know what you mean Sir Realist. It's hard to get used to useless sundays, more so if you may still be adjusting to living in a different time zone.

I too hate sunday over here. I wish they have a 7 eleven store where I can run in and get some beer and open 24hrs.

... so if I want to do something on sunday I just wish I had the option.

Those Germans, how dare they not to open the shops on Sundays then I can do my stuff that day just because I do not want to do it any other day of the week.

I always find it hypocritical that a person who owns a little shop can't open on a Sunday to perhaps make a little extra money, but can go sell popcorn at the movie theatre or work at the soccer stadium or sell currywurst at the recreation centre to supplement their income, none of which are truly required. Either shut down ALL unnecessary places, or let them all open up. Shop owners will soon see if it is even worth opening on a Sunday. If nobody comes to buy, then the owner can choose to stay closed. But if there is a local demand, then why forbid it from being answered?

Yeah, never mind the people that work weird hours or have other commitments during the week that prevent them from shopping when it's convenient for everyone else. Jesus. What makes you think people are chomping at the bit to shop on Sunday just because they're lazy?

Giving people more options (with regard to shopping hours, food selection, or anything else) will not cause the downfall of German society!

You assume people are going to buy more food in the supermarket because it is open on Sundays. It does not work like that. People need food for 7 days therefore people buy food for 7 days, if the supermarket is open only 2 days a week, people still will buy food for 7 days.

And working "weird hours" is no excuse. A person works something between 35 and 40 hours a week, there is still plenty of time to buy the goods. If you have important commitments that prevent you from buying food, then you have a priorities problem.

I remember some years ago when supermarkets closed at 6 pm during weekdays and 2 pm on Saturdays, and as far as I know, nobody died.

In Germany, opening hours have long been restricted through the Ladenschlussgesetz. The 1956 law required shops to close for the weekend at 2 p.m. on a Saturday and 6:30 p.m. on weeknights, with opening until 6 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month, in what was known as the Langer Samstag, or "long Saturday". The law was changed, in the face of strong resistance from labour unions, to allow langer Donnerstag ("long Thursday") until 8:30 p.m. in 1988, and in 1996 opening times were extended to 8 p.m. from Monday to Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday; this was extended to 8 p.m. on Saturday in 2004.

In 2004, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled against ^[18] lifting restrictions on Sunday opening, which is still confined to some small bakeries and convenience stores inside railway stations and airports. However, in 2006, the responsibility for opening hours was transferred to the state governments instead of the federal government, leading to an end to regulated Monday-Saturday opening hours in several states, such as Berlin. However, there is still strong resistance to Sunday shopping from churches and politicians. The leadership of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has expressed an interest in allowing Sunday shopping.

Sunday trading in England and Wales was not generally permitted until 1994. This meant that shops such as department stores and supermarkets were not able to open legally. A number of specialist outlets were able to open legally, including garden centres, small "corner" or family run shops, and chemists.

An earlier attempt by Margaret Thatcher's government to allow Sunday shopping in 1986 was defeated in Parliament, with opposition coming from Conservative MPs who saw it as a threat to family life and church attendance, and Labour MPs who were concerned about workers' rights. This led to the formation of the Keep Sunday Special campaign, backed by church groups and USDAW, the trade union representing shop workers.

Several large outlets challenged the legal ruling in force before 1994 by opening on Sundays, and the eventual outcome was that large stores are now able to open for up to 6 hours on Sunday between the hours of 10am and 6pm, in practice this means that they open from 10am to 4pm or 11am to 5pm or 12pm to 6pm. Supermarkets usually open from 10am-4pm, whereas most other businesses open (and close) later. Christmas Day and Easter Sunday have been excluded as trading days. This applies even to garden centres, which earlier had been trading over Easter. Details of the changes to the legislation are included in the Sunday Trading Act 1994. In 2006, the government considered further relaxation of the permitted hours of business but decided that there was no consensus for change. ^[20]

In Scotland, there was no specific legislation regarding Sunday trading, it being left to the discretion of local councils. Consequently, opening hours are longer than in England and Wales, and large supermarkets remain open 24-7. In the Western Isles, where the Free Church of Scotland has a considerable following, there has been virtually no commercial activity on Sundays until recently. In many small towns and villages shops will still remain closed on Sunday. Unlike England and Wales there is no restriction on Easter Sunday opening and therefore this is a normal shopping day.

In Northern Ireland, Sunday shopping is regulated under the Sunday Trading (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. Opening hours are more limited, usually between 1pm and 6pm. This was to create a greater gap between Sunday services and the opening of large shops, in response to objections from churches, which have more influence than in the rest of the UK. Pubs were not allowed to open on Sunday in Northern Ireland until 1989. These laws make Belfast one of the few capital cities in Europe to have absolutely no 24 hour shops in its city centre.

Reality check: When in Rome, do as the Roman's do.

If you live alone, have you considered getting a mini washing machine, like those used for camping?