Easter in southern Germany/Austria?

Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are all holidays. Stores will be closed, but most restaurants, museums, etc should be open. Check with any of the places you wanted to visit. Lots of Easter events going on. Especially the Egg shows before hand, though some places will have events on Easter. Good Friday though, especially in the Catholic areas will be rather solemn, as in no music, bars may be closed, etc. Here are some Easter shows and egg info.
http://www.garten-literatur.de/Kalender/ostern/ausflugsziele.htm

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=103&article=44131

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=103&article=44132

Dear Lynn,
as Jo and James already have mentioned, pay close attention to the opening hours as many places are closed for the Easter Holiday in the southern part of Germany and Austria, which are predominantly catholic regions. Easter is THE most important holiday besides Christmas, and is prepared for and celebrated in various phases over weeks time, culminating in Easter Sunday.

I would really recommend that you'll try to attend an Easter service in a church. You will be delighted, and get the chance to see many local traditions, and families attending in their traditional holiday finery, speak Dirndls and Tracht.

In Austria families will bring lovingly decorated baskets to church. In these they carry hams (cured meats), horseradish, eggs and sweet, braided yeast-breads and lamb-shaped cakes, all covered by an hand-embroidered cloth and decorated with a daffodil, to be blessed during the service. This special part of the service is the official end of the 40 day fasting time, and cumulates in festive meals in the homes after church.

The week before, on Palm Sunday you might catch one of the many, beautiful processions, and don't miss out to visit the Easter Markets and farmers markets in the area. The beautifully decorated eggs are sure to catch your fancy! See Jo's links and a previous post from her about Easter!
In Austria people display their egg treasures on bouquets of pussy-willow branches.

Look in the local newspapers (websites) and notices posted by the church doors for services and processions.

And on Easter Sunday, let the sound of the ringing of the chuch bells fill your hearts and spirits, no matter if you are religious or not. It's a special moment:-))

Enjoy, Lynn :-))

In many towns and cities you will not hear the church bells the week before Easter: according to legend, they flew off to Rome during that time. Instead the local children will walk through their towns, spinning big wooden instruments, called Ratschen, to replace the bells. They receive candy and coins from the towns people. The collected money goes towards childrens charities for Third World countries.

At night you might also see the big Easter fires being lit, and you might hear gunfire echoing all around. It is custom for many gun clubs to dress in traditional garb and fire off salvos. You might also see groups of men whipping the ground with big whips. These customs, with pagan origins, are meant to drive out winter, attract spring and coax the seeds to start sprouting.

Like in the USA, the kids go on egg-hunts and receive candy eggs and chocolate bunnies.

The list of customs is long, and vary from region to region, but with your eyes and hearts open, you will get a glimpse into the deeply rooted traditions, which, even though connected to the Christian (catholic) calendar, are deeply rooted in pre-Christian, pagan times, and a fascinating mix of ancient fertility rites and Christian beliefs.