German Unity Day

Yesterday was a federal holiday for Germany; German Unity Day. It celebrates the day that East and West Berlin became unified. This is not to be confused with the day that the wall came down (November 9th). November 9th was also a day that a huge Nazi-led massacre against Jews occurred, so to be clear, German Unity Day does not equal the day the wall came down.

Now that we have that settled, yesterday, being a holiday, was a day that the government closed and school was out. So, again, being a major holiday, I expected this to be a good day to do some shopping. Back home in good ole USA, holidays are a time that stores open early, close late, and have major sales. One would think that the rest of the world would follow suit, as it is time to make a profit off of the consumer who has the day off. Apparently, in Germany, this is not so. Most (if not all) stores are closed. Few restaurants are open, but they likely close early. If you're like me, you're blinking a lot and very confused. What? Stores and restaurants are not open? This does not make sense. Needless to say, shopping was a failure and will have to take place at another time.

Since nothing was open, Jack and I decided to take a long walk in Volkspark Wilmersdorf. To get there, we must walk down a few streets. What are usually very crowded and bustling streets were empty. Very few people were on the sidewalks. We were wondering if everyone in Berlin just got up and left for the day? We decided that we would google what people do on this holiday once we returned home.

Then we got to the park...google would not be needed...we found where all the people were. EVERYONE was at the park. Yes, it was a nice day, and yes, everyone was off work, but there was no events happening at the park. They were all just playing or laying down or doing Tai Chi in the grass. This holiday is not just a day to sleep in and play video games or watch movies all day. It further demonstrates Jack and my observation that Germans love to be outside.

After returning home, we did look up what people do on this holiday. At the Brandenburg Gate, there is a festival until Saturday afternoon, but other than that, it is a day to relax and celebrate German unity. We plan to go check out the gate tomorrow and see what festivities take place.