German Holidays & Shopping Woes

While the plethora of German bank holidays sprinkled throughout May and June are definitely appreciated because they result in days off of work, the next holiday, which is on Monday, does not bode well for food shopping. Stores are already closed on Sundays, so a Monday holiday means two days in a row that I cannot shop. Because we shop differently here and go more frequently, shopping before the weekend and not being able to go back until Tuesday means running very low on fresh food! I went to the store Friday afternoon and that was a big mistake. Not only was it crawling with people who were also trying to get groceries before the long weekend (to the point that anywhere I put my cart or stood someone was in my way or I was in theirs), but the food selection was entirely picked over. Usually there is a whole display of beautiful red, ripe strawberries and yesterday there were none. The avocados were ripe to the point of being mushy to the touch and the sweet potatoes were nowhere to be found. Jill and I were shopping together and neither of us had much cash (groceries can be paid with card) so after going through the whole store without any inspiration of what to get for dinner, we settled on buying a sandwich from the Der Beck bakery which is in the store, but a separate area. Notice I said sandwich (singular) because since neither of us had cash and this place is cash only, so we literally had to scrape together enough coins to purchase this sandwich for 2.30.

Since I never got my sweet potatoes and I specifically need them for a recipe I want to try out, I went to the Rewe store today, which is a bit farther away. Since John is in Paris, I have the car, so I can expand my errand zone a bit because I don't have to walk. The Rewe was a bit better and they actually have some items that Kaufland (our regular store) does not. I found some really nice looking raspberries, a mixed container of salad greens that are already chopped (I recently had an incident with a very gritty head of red lettuce (and I washed it several times!)s o this was a pleasant surprise). I got some asparagus too, which Kaufland has been out of all week. Rewe also carries the paper Bio bags with flat bottoms which I much prefer because they can stay standing while housing all of the vegetable peels, egg shells, and other junk that goes inside rather that falling over and spewing said items all over the counter. So there were some good finds, but the crowds were there too.

I have noticed that people walking in parking lots here have no regard at all for cars trying to navigate through the small while attempting to avoid bikers and pedestrians. People walk directly in the center of the parking aisle (this frequently burns us up at Ikea) and today a teenage boy walked right behind my car as I was trying to pull out. I am not used to driving anymore, so I drive with extreme caution because I feel like it's an obstacle course with people/animals/bikers/carts jumping out at me. I always try to give cars space so they can do what they need to do, so I walk on the side of the aisle, but that is not the case for most people here. It's funny because when I am out running or walking, I feel like the cars don't stop for pedestrians and don't give a rat's a@! about people walking, yet when I am in the car, I feel like the walkers and bikers are the ones who just do what they want and don't yield to cars when it is appropriate to do so. Guess I am never happy! :0) But really, a car should stop for two ladies running and waiting at the crosswalk and walkers should move to the side instead of walking in the middle of the driving path in a parking lot. I feel justified in my disdain for these situations!

The weather has turned gorgeous overnight and the forecast calls for sunshine and temperatures in the 60's and 70's all week! Poor John will miss out, but I guess being in Paris at the French Open isn't so bad... Because of the holiday on Monday and having Friday off as well, I realized I have a nice little four day weekend to enjoy. I am working on a paper for my politics and policy class and will be skyping in with my group tonight at 6. I've already done my errands so I am getting ready to bring my laptop outside on the patio to get some work done.

Here are a few pictures from John: