September 30, 2012 -- Black Friday on Sunday?

September 30, 2012 -- Black Friday on Sunday!

One of the things that you have to get used to in Germany (I think most of Europe) is that almost everything is closed on Sunday.  That's right, no grocery stores, no shopping malls, no IKEAs.  The only places that are open are gas stations, restaurants and bakeries (at least in the morning).  As you can image, stores are usually very crowded on Saturdays as a result.  Yesterday, Chris and I went to the mall and discovered that this mall was having Sunday shopping hours on September 30th from 1 pm to 7 pm -- we are not sure why?!  However, clearly an unusual event in Germany.  C left on a trip at 7 am this morning.  That left S, K and I with nothing to do.  S, surprise, surprise, suggested the mall.  (S is going to London for a Model U.N. Conference and needed proper clothing.)  So off we went to the mall.  I figured we would get there a little before 1 pm and beat the crowd.  The mall is about 20 minutes from us.  About a 1/2 mile from the exit for the mall, we hit bumper to bumper traffic.  After sitting in 25 minutes worth of traffic, we found our way into a parking lot and found a parking space.   Our shopping trip was a success -- 2 pairs of pants, a sweater and a skirt for S and 3 shirts for K.  The mall was crowded, but tolerable.  At around 4 pm, we left the mall for home.  On the other side of the highway, there was a 2 mile backup by the exit for the mall.  Truly, shopping in Germany on a Sunday is not as bad as Black Friday, but it is clearly an event!  Good thing, C was not home -- he would not have waited in traffic to get into the mall!!