Opening Hours
Most shops open between 8.30 and 9.00 in the morning and close between 8 and 10 pm in the evening from Monday to Saturday. The only places where groceries are sold on Sundays for an extra charge are railway or petrol stations. Bakeries are usually open til miday on Sundays.

Food
Do not worry – you will not be forced to survive on cold meats alone during your stay in Germany! It is true that Germans love hot and cold meats in every conceivable form and nearly every region has developed its own particular specialties. But the choice of food in Germany is so vast that you (and, indeed, many Germans, too) can avoid meat altogether. In the last few decades foreign residents have contributed significantly to making German food more varied and today no one could imagine what it would be like without the many restaurants and shops from all over the world. In the countryside foreign produce is not so common but in the larger towns you can literally find everything your heart desires.

It is always worth comparing prices carefully. What you can assume is: delicatessens are the most expensive, while specialist shops (bakers, butchers etc.) are not necessarily more expensive than supermarkets. What are considerably cheaper are discount shops (at least 20%) but the choice is smaller, the shops are simpler and there are less people to serve you. Highly recommendable are the popular weekly markets where you can buy fresh products from the region. By contrast with many other countries it is usual to weigh your fruit and vegetables yourself in German supermarkets. You simply put them on the scales, press the button with a picture of the product and stick the price tag on the plastic bag. Germans are very ecologically-minded and hence many shops charge about € 0,10 for a plastic carrier bag. Furthermore, you have to pay a deposit of between € 0,10 and € 0,35 on most bottles and cans which will be refunded to you when you return the bottles. If you shop at the market you must take a bag or basket with you as your purchases will usually be filled into your bag loose or wrapped up in paper which is bound to tear before you get home.

Clothes
With regard to other goods you can also assume: specialist shops are not necessarily more expensive than stores – compare prices before purchase. In specialist shops you will often get better advice, but you should not let yourself be pushed into buying anything. In the summer and winter sales (Sommer-/Winterschlußverkauf – SSV/WSV) you can get particularly good bargains. Strictly the sales only begin on the last Monday in July and the last Monday in January, selling goods left over from the previous season at considerably reduced rates. However, most shops start offering reduced-price articles and special offers long before the official date so that all that is left on the shelves when the real SSV or WSV begins are sub-standard goods specially manufactured for the sales.

Second-Hand Goods
In Germany you can spend a fortune on clothes but you can also look great for very little money. As well as ordinary shops every town with an institution of higher education has second-hand shops selling clean, undamaged, used clothing at cheap prices. Some second-hand shops have specialized in babies’ and children’s clothes and equipment, others in household equipment and furniture. You should look out for the free advertising newspapers in your town in which private individuals offer used cars, bicycles, furniture, clothing etc. for sale. Apart from this, you can visit flea markets where you can find used clothing and household goods at very cheap rates. Dates and locations can be found in local papers and town magazines.

Exchanging Goods
On principle you can exchange goods you have purchased within a week or two, providing they have not been used and you can still produce the receipt. Goods which cannot be exchanged include swimming costumes, underwear and reduced goods and articles from the summer and winter sales.