Days of Rest

Back when I was in college (all of a couple months ago), one of my favorite political science professors devoted an entire lesson to "Days of Rest" and their cultural, socioeconomic, political and religious implications.

In Israel, when they were developing their system of governance and designing their days of rest it came to great debate as to whether choosing days other than Saturday or Sunday would put certain groups of citizens at an economic disadvantage because the rest of the world would be working.

At the time, I didn't think much of this. Days of rest don't mean much in the United States. Other than strict office jobs, most people go into work.

This is not the case in Germany.

After we moved into our apartment, Douglas and I eagerly embarked on a journey to stock the fridge and shelves. Instead of a short hop over to the store (which is only half a block away), we discovered that the first store was closed. Strange, we thought. But it didn't occur to us to think of it as a sign-a message from the beyond saying "Go Home, Worry about it Tomorrow". No, no. On the contrary, we kept searching and searching for store after store, getting more and more lost in our quaint little mini-hub of Berlin. Finally, a glimmer of hope as we spot a sign marked "24-7". Our hearts skipped a beat as we made our way to the front door, only to be greeted by dark windows and a sign translating to "Closed on Sundays". Don't these people know what 24-7 means? At least an hour and a half later, we drudge back into our apartment, dejected, hungry, sweaty, and with no food or laundry detergent.

So a note, Berlin is closed on Sundays. Everything is closed. Maybe a couple kind-hearted cafe owners take pitty on hungry Americans, but for the most part--zilch.

I can't imagine store owners in America ever taking the kind of financial loss that I would guess German stores take by not opening their doors on Sundays. It takes resolve to say "Screw you customers, shop Monday-Saturday!" And you know what I have to say about that? Kudos to you, Germany. Kudos to you...