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Is your german good enough for this challenge? Here is the same tip in a simplified german version (german and english side-by-side)

On a Sunday you can go into restaurants and movie theaters. But you can't go shopping. Amusement parks are open. Most recreational facilities are open. Museums are open. But you can't find a doctor other than emergency services at hospitals. We Germans love our gardens and are working almost every day in it to make it look even more beautiful. But not on the day when we appearantly have most of the time. Never on sundays! Most german cars look like they just came from a car wash. But did you ever see a carwash open on sunday or see someone washing his car on a sunday? Never on sundays!

What is open and what is closed? Is there a law regulating this and if so: What is allowed and what not?

There is a law, the so-called "Feiertags-Gesetz" (law about holidays). It allows all jobs, that are mainly for keeping up law and order and for keeping up other important functions of the community such as health services, traffic, public transportation and so on. The law also allows all the jobs needed for typical leisure time and recreational needs of the population. Here it is getting interesting, because we obvioulsy define "leisure time and recreation" different than you might think.

It is obvious, that the law allows all activities of restaurants, movies, museums, amusement parks, swimming pools, health and fitness clubs etc. It is also obvious, that the law does not allow any typical labour and comercial activities like industrial production or office work on a sunday.

Interesting is, that we consider shopping to be NO leisure time or recreational activity! Shops are closed on Sunday. By law! The fact, that shops in train stations and shops of gas stations are open on a Sunday is based on an other law. I will explain this later....

Resumee (1): If a job is needed for keeping the state functioning, for emergency services or for recreation and entertainment, then it is allowed to work on sunday. If the job is only of a commercial interest, then sunday work is not allowed.

Example: If your have a problem with your water supply and this floods your house or may cause damage to the walls, an emergency service will fix it on a Sunday. No doubt. If it's just a leaking faucet, no one will come. And no service will come just to install a new bath tub on a Sunday.

What can you do at home and what should you better avoid? First: Whatever you do within your home is okay. As long as possible noise from your activity does not bother others. Second: Whatever your neighbours seem to accept is okay. As long as no one complains: No problem! It really depends, how many neighbours you have, what they do by themselves and what they tolerate ....

I personally would not test the tolerance of all my neighbours with any activity that needs loud machines. No cutting grass on Sunday. No repairs or work in house or garden with drilling machine or saw or something that produces noise. Never on Sundays. I would not wash the car outside (seems we have a special problem with washing cars and Sundays!) However, what you do in your garage is up to you.

If I decide to rearrange some plants around my patio, I would do this even on a sunday. But I would not spend the entire afternoon in typical "garden work". This is a good hint: If your outdoor activity could be described by using the word "work" (e.g. garden work), then you better wait till Monday.

Resumee(2): Everything is allowed, as long as your neighbours do not complain. No neighbours and you could do everything. The noisier your activity and the more it looks like work the higher the risk that someone will complain.

What I almost forgot: On all other days there exists a time of rest, in which noisy or loud (private) activities should be interrupted. This is from 1300 to 1500 hrs (1 to 3 p.m.). No loud machines (driling machines) an no cutting gras. Again, it depends on what your neighbours tolerate and how your neighbours do themselfes. I know many areas (such as mine), in wich this rule completely is ignored by everybody. But I also know areas and big apartment complexes, where this law and its observation always is a reason for controversial discussions.

tip30: never on sundays! (english/german) - living in Germany, living, in, life in Germany, life, live, Stuttgart, Germany, germany, deutsch, Leben, Leben in Deutschland - tips and infos for your time in Germany check it out! - today: things you should not do on sundays..... (english and german side-by-side)