One very special thing about Germany is its city centers. Unlike in America, where most stores are in shopping malls with big parking lots and a rather artificial atmosphere, German cities have their center hub of activity in the Innenstadt, the city center, which often contains a rather large pedestrian zone and mixes old historical buildings and squares with modern department stores and speciality shops. On weekday evenings and Saturdays the Innenstadt is full of folks shopping or just strolling through the city, perhaps grabbing a coffee at one of the many Konditoreien. A Konditorei is a bakery specializing in pastries and usually serving coffee and tea with a pastry for a sit down snack. German pastries and cakes are out of this world, when I'm traveling on a budget I'll make that one of my meals, and grab some bread and cheese for another. Restaurants are fine, but you can eat well and cheaply on the road. The stores are only allowed to stay open until 8:00 on weekdays and until 4:00 or 6:00 in the afternoon on Saturdays -- they used to have to close by 6:30 on weekdays and 1:00 on Saturdays, the laws were recently liberalized. Most Germans agree that stores should be limited, noting that unlimited hours helps larger stores and might hurt the ability of small shops to compete and survive. Also they are concerned about having workers be required to work long and unstable hours, perhaps missing out on family life (family is very important to Germans). Sundays are still a day when most stores are required to be closed, though there are exceptions. Train stations, gas stations, restaurants, theaters, and the like aren't covered by the closing laws, and in the East some cities have been pushing the envelop and staying open on Sundays (which was typical in the old GDR). Bakeries traditionally were closed Sunday, but in large cities many open for a few hours in the morning so Germans don't have to go without their fresh bread!