Shopping hours in Germany?

Friends from Germany,

I heard that in Germany shops close at 5pm on week days and 2pm on Saturday and doesn't open on Sunday. Is it true? Here in the US, we are used to 24 hour Wal-Marts and wonder how life is in Germany, where you could forget an important item to buy on Saturday morning and have to wait 1 1/2 days to buy it on Monday? Just curious!!!

Indira

Dear Indira..(btw, I have always liked that name!)

Those were the opening hours for stores in Germany some years back. Luckily..or unluckily..depends on which view point one has(!)..it has changed now. In most big cities and many towns, the shops have longer opening hours and some are open even on Sundays. But it might be different in very small towns.

L, Kamla

Thanks Kamla for your response and for liking my name. You have to thank my Mom for coming up with this name :)

Did you live in Germany? Were the shopping hours as I mentioned while you were there? Did you ever feel that as a constraint?

Indira

Hi Indira,Kamla,

The opening hours for supermarkets were wierd in Norway too. They wld close at 5pm saturdays and open only at 9am Mondays. The worst time was Easter when shops would close for almost a week. It was very irritating in the first year, when we did not know this.

In Norway, supermarkets are allowed to sell candy etc to children only on Wednesdays. This is based on a recommendation from the Dentists and Schools council. Atleast until a year back, when I was there. Is it the same in the US also?

Hi Indra, kamla and Vidya,

I am in Saudi Arabia and here they will close and open shops at their prayer time. That is every day 5 times they close and open. During SALA TIME (PRAYER TIME) they will close the shops and we must stand on the road and wait. Even banks they will close at that time.

Now a days they are allowing people in side the malls, to stay and shop but no one can come inside or go out at that time. They will close the doors and after SALA they will put bill.

In the time of RAMADAN, waaw! it is a wonderful experience to be in Saudi. All the shops will remain open full night. We can pur. full night. With out any fear we can return home at any time. But in the day time almost all the shops will remain closed, and we are not suppose to eat or drink anything outside than our house.

There is a news paper news that in Saudi they sell food items 10 times more in the month of RAMADAN.

Dear Friends,
I seemed to have missed this thread.....sorry for responding late....
Kamala, can you believe , we have big malls open now till 10 and on sundays also. All this started during the soccer season, and now in Christmas time , each area would keep the centrums open on different weekends, and on one week day it was upto 10. Now also in Frankfurt, the normal shops are open till 10 it seems. The rule has been changed , and shops are allowed to keep them open for longer!
Of course when i first came, my sugar or salt or coffee powder, would get over and i would be wondering where to go on sunday....of course some shops are open in main station and airport. So for emergency , these are there.
But things are changing slowly! Lets hope we too have 24 hous shopping here....