And they normally closed at 12am, so you can’t even stay out that late.
Most of what you said is unfortunately accurate for Germany, but this part isn’t. I live in a medium-sized city and bars around here usually close around 1-2 am on normal weekdays and 3-4 am on weekends. And in the bigger cities they usually close later. From what I’ve heard it’s similar in Southern Europe (Spain, Italy), so I don’t think this is universal for “the West”. Maybe you’ve been to an anglo country? From what I’ve heard pubs in Britain and Ireland often close rather early, but I don’t know for sure.
Pretty spot on, I was in the UK for a bit lol. Their shops closing at 4pm on Sundays was also a pain. Yes, let’s make it so no one can run errands on the one day they’re most likely to have time if they sleep in…
Well, on that point you’d probably hate how we do it in Germany. With small exceptions for restaurants, bakeries, and small shops at train stations and the like, everything’s just closed on Sundays. Although some states allow a restricted number of “open Sundays” per year. But I have to say that while it does make shopping less flexible, it does have advantages, too. It makes sure that almost everyone has a day where they can see their family and where everyone has a day off, even poorer people who might not be able to choose a job as easily and would otherwise be forced to work on Sundays (or just everyday). It also makes sure that almost nobody has to work when there’s an election, which are usually on Sundays.
We are also used to it, and since most people also don’t work on Saturdays that’s mostly the day to run errands for us. But it definitely is a common culture shock or at least a surprise to those who are not used to it.
