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December 26th (Boxing Day) in Bavaria/Southern Germany

Posted by (Tacoma, WA, USA) on

We will be staying at an apartment in Ansbach (my mom's hometown) from December 23rd through 27th. We will try to stock up on food from the 23rd and the 24th for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We will be spending part of the time as a family together and part of the time with my grandfather and his partner and her grand/children.

We would like to do some sightseeing on the 26th. We are expecting most everything in Ansbach to be shut down, but are curious as to opportunities elsewhere (like Nuremberg or Wurzberg). Will all restaurants and museums be closed? How about grocery stores? If we just do a road trip and do outdoor sightseeing will gas stations be open? How about trains if we don't want to take our rental car? Sorry for so many questions!

Posted by
19274 posts

Cate, I rode an ICE from FRA to Karlsruhe on Dec. 26, 2001. Not only was it running, it was the fullest I have ever seen a German train (SRO). It is, appartently, a busy time on German Rail. As for museums being open, check on the museum website for opening dates. Many are close Christmas day and New Years, but not otherwise.

And, BTW, I think they refer to that day as Second Christmas (Zweiter Weihnachtenstag), not Boxing Day (I think that term is British).

I was in Germany for Dec 26, 2001, and took a train from FRA to Karlsruhe on the regular schedule and a streetcar up into the Black Forest. If the restaurants were closed I would have gotten hungry and remembered that, and I don't.

Posted by
671 posts

Thanks, Lee!

My German mom calls it Boxing Day, but she learned British English in school, so that might be why. ; )

Did you notice if grocery stores or restaurants were open at all?

Posted by
216 posts

Of course there is no Boxing Day in Germany - it's an English holiday. But be aware that Dec. 26 is a legal holiday in Austria and Hungary. It's St. Stephens, patron saint of both countries. It stretches the Christmas holiday a bit more (in fact, for some time Dec. 27 also was a religious holiday - Feast of the Innocent Children - but that has receded in recent year, and only in traditional rural areas is it commemorated.

Posted by
144 posts

I was in Germany on Dec 26 a couple of years ago, and all the stores were closed--a major inconvenience as my luggage was lost. Restaurants were open.

Posted by
2297 posts

Dec 26 is not called "boxing day" in Germany but it is still a statuatory holiday. Thus all grocery/retail stores will be closed. Restaurants and museums might be open but I would check their websites to be sure.

Gas stations will be open. And those are the places Germans will go to if they run out of food, snacks or beer! on a legal holiday such as Dec 26. Keep in mind that the selection there is limited and prices are certainly above average.

Trains will run on a modified holiday schedule but you can certainly get where you'd like to go.

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