Civic Sundays

Sundays in Germany feel completely different than Sundays in the U.S.

All grocery stores are closed. All retail stores are closed. Some cafes, restaurants and bakeries are open, but with limited hours. The streets in the main part of the city are quiet, except for the clanging church bells that echo in the air. On Sundays the pace of life slows down.

Although the Hauptstrasse feels empty, across the river, the park and promenade along the riverbank is crawling with people. There are children playing on the playground. Couples young and old strolling down the path. A group of guys playing soccer. People relaxing on park benches. It is as if a German's civic duty on Sundays is to put all of their energy towards relaxing and having a good time with their family.

It took me awhile to get used to getting all my grocery shopping done before the weekend, but now I barely give it a second thought. And really, is it that big of a deal not to be able to go shopping one day out of the week? I'd much rather spend my Sunday afternoon relaxing at home or taking a long walk anyways.

Here are a few snapshots of our Sunday last week. We walked down the Neckar River and up to the Philosopher's Way. There was still an awful lot of snow on the ground, and between sledding, snowmen building, walking, and playing soccer in the snow, the townspeople were doing their best to make the most of it.