>not just shopping hours driving the Germans crazy
I love this left propaganda :D. Maybe I should emigrate, but then it's hard to find a better place to live. Australia? :-)

I've always found it so eerie when the KuDamm is shut down and it's only 6:00 o'clock.

Then again, I'm from Los Angeles - Nothing ever closes in Los Angeles.

As long as the German people support it, then I'm right along with them. It may be an inconvenience to travelers - but the well-being of those who live there is far more important than whether or not I can buy a sweater at 9 p.m. or s/t from an Imbiss at 3 o'clock in the morning to go along with my recently purchased jaegermeister.

As it happens, I live in Germany, and rather mourn this liberalisation of shop opening hours. Like most folk in this part of Europe, we don't forge our identity through what we purchase, and the functional business of purchasing / consuming is possibly best relegated to the margins of life. A few hours a day should surely be sufficient for those who do need to shop. And, to pick up another comment above, there is indeed something rather beautiful about Ku-Damm in Berlin when the shops are all closed. It is indeed sad that the relentless pressures placed on us by visitors from abroad and by profit-driven multinational companies are driving a change that does not seem, from the media here, to be welcomed with any great enthusiasm by voters in Germany.

Another problem. People don't have more money to spend because the shops stay open for longer hours. Small shops run by local owners cannot afford to employ more staff. So this would do a favour to the big chains only and destroy even more local businesses.

Westphalia down,
Brandenburg down,
Saxony-Anhalt down,
Thuringia down,
Rhineland-Palatinate 6am to 10pm,
I'm proud of my Bavarians :-)

>>>>>>
Like most folk in this part of Europe, we don't forge our identity through what we purchase,
>>>>>

really??? germany must be the most materialistic country in europe. biggest, most expensive flash cars, lots of luxury shopping, etc, etc. i don't dislike germany but to say it's not materialistic is pure fantasy. your post is all fantasy and political statement rather than reality.

Understatement is when you have two Maybachs at home, but use the Mercedes. I bet you don't even own Mercedes :D :D

whatever that's supposed to mean

You don't need to understand :-)

"germany must be the most materialistic country in europe"

Only after UK.

logos999, LOVED your definition of understatement. ;-)

logos999,

Understatement is when you have two Maybachs at home, but use the Mercedes.

you say understatement. not at all, if both drivers have their annual day off. you don´t drive a maybach yourself, this is newly rich, see?

>both drivers have their annual day off.
Won't happen. As long as shops remain closed on christmas day, there's no need to leave the estate on that day :-)

Interesting to read all these- from a total outsider/American, who would like our stores to be closed on Sunday. Not shorter hours, not for religious reasons- just to have a day of "unbusiness."

But regulation to that extent on so many things, it will damper personal initiatives and financial success on many individual fronts. Why try a small business? Not much encouragement for starting.

I have relatives in Germany and two families have moved. One goes to work in France. I understand it better now.

My people left in the very early 1930's for mostly financial reasons. Voted with their feet.