"Only in Germany"

We've had a couple of "only in Germany" moments this weekend...

#1 - Yesterday (Saturday) was a holiday - "May Day." We still aren't quite sure what the meaning of this holiday is, but it means that the stores are closed. Combine that with the fact that stores are ALWAYS closed on Sunday, and that meant that Friday evening we had to make sure we had enough food (especially moo juice - we drink a lot of that:) for the weekend. (Note - our fridge here is SMALL - about 3 ft tall = a large "dorm" fridge in the US, so we can't just "stock up" - it forces us to shop more often.) So after dinner on Friday, we went to the grocery store. It was probably about 7:15pm when we went to the grocery store (it closed at 8:00pm). The produce section was well picked over, which does happen here. We were able to get what we needed, but it did remind us that grocery shopping and holidays here is different than it is in the US.

#2 - This morning. Sunday. 8:45am. As I drowsily got out of bed, I heard a marching band outside in the distance....
I said to Mike, "Did you hear that band?"
He replied, "I was playing that Tenth Avenue North (a Christian group) song."
me: "No, I mean a MARCHING band."
A few moments later...
Mike: "Oh, I hear the marching band now."
me: "See - I wasn't imagining it!"
Silence for a couple more minutes and then,...
me: "Mike, I hear it again." Walk to the window. "See - there's a marching band marching down the street!"

This was the popular topic of discussion at church this morning. Evidently there is a tradition of "waking up May," so a marching band walks around town, playing their music and waking everyone up on the first Sunday of May.

Only in Germany...