Germany 101: Holidays

funny thing about germany, it completely shuts down in august. i was on my way into the city the other day and was doing some planning. i called my chiropractor to find out he was on vacation until september. then i called my haircutter, and guess what? also on vacation or "urlaub". germans are serious about their vacations. they automatically get 6 weeks a year - 6! this doesn't even count the many holidays sprinkled generously throughout the year. once school gets out in july, these people take their families on month-long excursions anywhere but germany. that's why they're everywhere. can i repeat, 6 weeks?! many companies simply do not operate in august. when my friend, tara, ordered her funiture from IKEA they told her it would be 2 months before she would get her furniture because it was august and there was no one to deliver it. crazy.
this all makes shopping a whole different experience. all shops are closed on sundays - period. quite a few shops close early on saturday. and all shops are definitely closed on holidays. the twist here is that, seeing as how i am not german, these holidays creep up on you and you don't even know it's a holiday and you are stuck at home with nothing. shopping must be a planned event. do not expect to drop by the price chopper for your dinner that night. and don't expect to do anything last minute because all stores will be closed by 8pm for sure, if not earlier; no 24 hour anything... you have to plan ahead so that you can go to the 3 or 4 different grocery stores that will have that one thing that no other store has in order to make your master creation. or some weeks we have speciality foods at the store so you have to capitalize that week on "asian foods" or "grilling". you may not see these items for another year. no pressure...
i will have to say, however, that germans know how to vacation. they are off. they are not so concerned with having everything so accesible or that the world will stop spinning if they don't go to work. it is okay to put it aside and breathe. ahh...