Easter Weekend in Berlin
We went to the grocery store on Friday afternoon to buy eggs, perhaps a little chocolate bunny, and general groceries.
Good Friday: the grocery store was closed; everything in Germany was closed.
Saturday: just about everything was open again.
Easter Sunday: everything was closed. (Restaurants, flower shops, and a few tourist shops are the only businesses open on regular Sundays)
Today, Monday: everything is closed.
I’m always thrown off by German holidays. Our grocery store had no notice posted on the door to notify customers of the change of schedule. The website mentioned nothing. Why? Well if you are German or you have lived here for years and years, you KNOW that everything will be closed Friday, Sunday, and Monday.
I had to adapt to everything being closed on Sundays. I’m so used to the possibility of walking into an American grocery store any time I need eggs – even Easter Sunday at 10 at night.
Ahhh culture adjustments. The average American has a two-day weekend; Germans celebrate with a four-day weekend. So other than the grocery store confusions, I am totally okay with this. I think that Easter deserves days off to celebrate and embrace.
Plus I will tell you this. The Easter Bunny in Germany is amazing. I honestly don’t know how he did it. Or if Martin did it. Or what happened. Either way, I am beyond speechless with the goodies in our little make-shift Easter basket:
American peppermint paddies and a box of Girl Scout Samoa cookies. Oh thank you, thank you, EB!
Did the cute little guy with a puffy tale bring anything delicious to your house? Did you get your eggs dyed? Or did you struggle to FIND eggs like us? We weren’t even looking for an Easter Egg hunt. I’d love to hear how your holiday went. Or if you live in a country like Germany where the holiday continues today, how is it going?
April 5th, 2010 at 4:46 am
We had a great Easter, thank you! The weather is very warm in Greece so everything was a lot more fun.
Here the shops are closed from Saturday afternoon until Tuesday when they are opened again.
We went to church everyday as every day has something different to celebrate. We baked A LOT. We ate even more and now I’m in desperate need of a very strict diet!
On G.Wendesday we baked the easter cookies and the easter sweet breads
On G.Thursday we dyed the eggs and did all the remainings chores because
On G.Friday we did nothing at all as we mourned for Christ’s burial. We eat no meat or oil all day long. We went to church with a bunch of flowers and helped all the other women decorate Jesus epitaph. And then on night’s mass we followed the epitaph in the city with lit candles and sad hymns.
On G.Saturday finally ends the 40-day lent so after the midnight mass we eat a very very very late dinner and went to bed because
On Easter day we roasted the poor lamb outside and everyone had a glorious feast.
I think that Easter in Greece is the best celebration that a foreigner can experience as it is so much religious and family oriented.
April 5th, 2010 at 6:50 am
We had a nice relaxing easter it was in the Hi 80′s in dallas , but a little cloudy. There was a nice breeze which was great because we had bought my 7 yr old son. We got to go out and fly it for several hours. It was nice to spend some one on one time with him. I only have 16 more days till he leaves, my daughter, and wife leave to live in Germany. I wont see him again until I fly over to visit in Aug. This next year is going to very hard, so I am soaking in every minute I can with all of them.
April 5th, 2010 at 7:04 am
Wow, the Easter Bunny was so very kind to such a wonderful person living so far from
her first home! Happy Be-lated Easter!
April 5th, 2010 at 9:21 am
We went to the grocery store 9-10:30 PM Saturday night (because we suddenly realized they would be closed Sunday… just not thinking), and the place was mobbed! They were sold out… or nearly so… on MANY items; something we rarely see. Whole shelves and whole meat cases were EMPTY!
They have “meal deals” – buy certain things and get things free; in this case, $18 in free food. With other specials and the “meal deal”, we saved $30 (it prints it on the receipt)! The BEST meal deals are always on the holidays.
Sunday afternoon, the Easter Bunny had two of the neighbor children deliver a treat for DH and me. Here’s the Easter Bunny’s recipe:
1. Cook a packaged cake mix; when cool, crumble it into a bowl.
2. Mix in one tub of Cream Cheese (or Vanilla) Frosting; it will look like a grainy dough.
3. Roll it into a ball – about 2″ in diameter. Put a stick in it.
4. Dip the ball into melted chocolate; decorate with sprinkles.
(Eat carefully. The ball falls off the stick rather easily.)
[I'd like to try Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese frosting.]
This was so cool! I thought the Easter Bunny had forgotten me. He hasn’t visited in YEARS!
Kathryn Kistner in Texas
April 5th, 2010 at 11:05 am
I also walked to the grocery store on Friday to buy coffee and go to the bakery for Easter goodies and found out it was closed. I love that in Germany everything is closed on Sundays and holidays. Happy belated Easter!
April 5th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
We live in Hamburg and love using the long Easter weekend as an excuse to travel! Last year we were in Scotland and this year we visited friends in Heidelberg. Enjoy your Easter goodies! P.S. I found your blog through the Expat Bloggers in Germany bulletin board.
April 5th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
We had a very lovely Easter (imho) this year. I think, in part, because we were more focused on Christ and his crucifiction and resurrection. During our Bible time in the morning, the boys I went through the last week of Jesus’ life up through resurrection. At 16 & 15 they didn’t really want to color eggs this year. So I didn’t even do anything with Easter baskets. (Although I had a somewhat disappointed 16-year old because he still wanted some candy! Fortunately, they have an Oma and grandparents who kindly provided chocolate bunnies for them, so they weren’t candyless after all.) The entire weekend went well, our church service was excellent, and we had a wonderful Easter dinner with my entire family here at our home. As much as I want things open when I want them, I think there’s something rather calm and peaceful about NOT being able to shop all the time.
April 5th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
oh samoas! perfect easter basket!!!
April 6th, 2010 at 7:23 am
Ahh thank you, Amy.
Calliope, you’ve got us thinking Greece!
You all have such lovely thoughts and holidays. We’re trying our best to make those GS cookies last around here as long as humanly possible.
Katie
April 6th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
We had a pretty good holiday, though ‘Easter dinner’ was a little unorthodox. My husband is a pastor, and this is his first Easter as one, so we left the day wide open for anything that might happen. He had to be a part of four (FOUR!!) services Sunday morning, and then he came home and crashed. We were planning to have a picnic but it was a little too chilly out, so we ate our picnic food on the couch and put in a movie. It was nice :)
April 7th, 2010 at 6:56 am
I didn’t get refried beans, BUT I did get grits, which I’d rather have anyhow, and vegetarian baked beans, and Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers (b/c I like fake stuff sometimes, lol). We also have a ridiculously large amount of boiled eggs and Lindt eggs littering up the house. I’m making egg salad later this week…
April 8th, 2010 at 7:49 am
confession: it has never occurred to me to crave grits in Germany. But you just watch, Juliette. Now I’ll be dreaming of them – the good ol’ southern shrimp and grits nonetheless.
Katie
April 8th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
I colored some eggs and had a great long weekend :-). It is fine with me that shops are not open on sunday, tehre are so many nicer ways to spend that day…
You can get small german cal. or just google – deutsche Feiertage and get a list for a whole year. But if your husband is german he knows those dates anyway…