While I don't think that Europe is a nanny state, recently I learned that in Germany, most businesses are closed *by law* on Sunday. I think this is flat out insane, and basically marks the country off my list of places to one day live.
(Disclosure: I haven't done any research, and my understanding may be completely or partially wrong; I also have never been to Germany, though I'm going this fall, and looking forward to having my mind changed.)
Totally true. The relevant law is § 9 ArbZG (in German). It states that "Arbeitnehmer" (= employees) may not be made to work on Sundays and public holidays. There are exceptions (§ 10), but you won't be able to buy anything except food (in a restaurant) or entertainment on a Sunday.
Here in .nl, we've had similar conditions; before 1996, you couldn't even buy bread on sundays in the netherlands. In bigger cities, there were a few specialized shops which were open only on sundays, but those usually only opened after 1 or 4 pm.
I was going to question that, given that I've been in Hamburg on many Sundays and not seen anything closed, but then I remembered I spend most of my time on the Reeperbahn.
> Well, the commissioners looked at [ the list that the SFPD pulled out of their ass ], laughed at it, and approved our permit with no additional conditions over what we have now! I believe "Epic Win" might be the appropriate exclamation here.
Oof, the standards, they're lower than a green snake in a sugarcane field.
It was a pleasant surprise that the opening sentence turned out to not be sarcastic.
What I find amazing is how some Americans think we in Europe live in some sort of socialist nanny state. It would seem that it is worse in the US!
Most of those Americans probably think the same thing about California, never mind San Francisco.
Quite correct - my mistake. The USA is not one country - it is 50.
While I don't think that Europe is a nanny state, recently I learned that in Germany, most businesses are closed *by law* on Sunday. I think this is flat out insane, and basically marks the country off my list of places to one day live.
(Disclosure: I haven't done any research, and my understanding may be completely or partially wrong; I also have never been to Germany, though I'm going this fall, and looking forward to having my mind changed.)
Totally true. The relevant law is § 9 ArbZG (in German). It states that "Arbeitnehmer" (= employees) may not be made to work on Sundays and public holidays. There are exceptions (§ 10), but you won't be able to buy anything except food (in a restaurant) or entertainment on a Sunday.
Yes, quite correct. And that's why we can buy booze and food at the gas stations 24/7.
Here in .nl, we've had similar conditions; before 1996, you couldn't even buy bread on sundays in the netherlands. In bigger cities, there were a few specialized shops which were open only on sundays, but those usually only opened after 1 or 4 pm.
I was going to question that, given that I've been in Hamburg on many Sundays and not seen anything closed, but then I remembered I spend most of my time on the Reeperbahn.
> Well, the commissioners looked at [ the list that the SFPD pulled out of their ass ], laughed at it, and approved our permit with no additional conditions over what we have now! I believe "Epic Win" might be the appropriate exclamation here.
Oof, the standards, they're lower than a green snake in a sugarcane field.
Well... yeah.
Wow, that video player sucks.
I find it disturbing that the officer quoted Yelp reviews as part of his report.
Dandelion Chocolate had to wait 18 months for their permit. Sigh.