Just when I think I’m beginning to get the hang of living (temporarily) in Bavaria, life shoots me another surprise! Woo hoo! This is why I travel! So that I am always a little off balance. It keeps me young. Or, it will kill me. The verdict is still out!

So I’ve learned the hard way that food stores are closed in Germany on Sundays, so you had better plan in advance if you want to eat on the day of rest. Restaurants are open, so it isn’t a catastrophe unless you are not located near one.

But that was Berlin! And now I’m in Munich. Capital of Bavaria if you didn’t know (I didn’t until now).

Today I walked to the little food market near my apartment to fill my little refrigerator with the finest of Bavaria fruits and veg for the coming days. There is a little cafe attached to my market, serving coffee and pastries. These pastries in Germany are my undoing. I love them! And I am trying my best to avoid them so I can continue to wear the 3 outfits I brought in my backpack on this (planned to be short) sojourn that has been extended by circumstances having to do with the availability of my new Florentine apartment (is isn’t going to free until end, way end, of September).

As I was walking to my market this morning, I noted that the little parking lot was completely empty which seemed odd. I’ve never seen it full, but I have seen it moderately active with locals filling the trunks of their cars with cases of beer. I’m not being judgmental. I’ve seen that every day I have been at the market. Germans drink A LOT of beer. It’s not a stereotype for nothing.

It looked from a distance like the lights were off in my market, but the lights were on in the attached cafe, so I thought the market must be open too but the intense morning sunshine was making it hard to see the lights. As I got nearer the door, I saw the lights were off, but I proceeded. There are 2 automatic sliding glass doors that admit one to the market. When I approached the first one, it opened and I stupidly entered to see if the other one would also open, even though by then I could see the lights were off in the market.

So now guess what happened? I was now trapped in the vestibule between 2 glass doors, neither of which would open. I panicked.

I had seen the cafe employee sitting outside the cafe about 20 feet from where I was trapped as I approached the building, so I knocked hard of the unmoving outer glass door, assuming she would hear me and come over to investigate. Unfortunately, this employee was not snoopy like I am, and she was unmoved. I added a yell for help. She did not come.

I had my phone, so I thought about calling my apartment building manager for help, and wondered when the market would reopen. I was panicking still

I knocked and yelled some more, but she didn’t budge. I couldn’t see her, but I knew she could hear me.

About 5 minutes later I saw a man arriving on foot and he obviously thought the market was open too. He saw me and I stared waving. He approached slowly, seeing a crazy woman caught behind glass in a closed market entrance, but he approached. When he got into the right position, the door slid open and I slid out, happy to be free. He and I asked the employee if the market was closed for the day and she said yes, its some Christian holiday in Bavaria today.

He left, I lingered. I asked her if she heard me and she said yes. I asked her how you call for help in German and she said “helfer” or something, but that almost all Germans speak English. We laughed together for a moment and I left.

Back in my apartment, I Googled “holidays in Bavaria.” Here’s what I found out:

August 15, 2024:

Note: Assumption Day is only observed in predominantly Catholic communities in Bavaria.

According to Roman Catholic tradition, Assumption Day is the most important feast to “the Blessed Virgin,” who gave birth to Jesus Christ. It is not exactly the belief that Mary “ascended” to Heaven, but it is believed that her body and soul were “assumed,” meaning taken by God into Heaven, on this day.

Not until the fifth century A.D. does belief in the Assumption first appear in the historical record, and it was not established officially as a Catholic feast day until 451 A.D. at the Council of Chalcedon. The date of 15 August however, was not fixed until about 700 A.D.

Mary is thought to have lived with the Apostle John, into whose care Jesus entrusted her as he died on the cross, and to have travelled with him to reside in Ephesus when John became pastor of the church there. Both Ephesus and Jerusalem lay claim to the death-place of Mary. Her grave has been identified by some in Jerusalem, but Catholic tradition continues to maintain her tomb is, like Christ’s, an empty one.

In Bavaria and Saarland, there are many special masses, ringing church bells, and religious pilgrimages on Assumption Day. When two churches are close to one another, they often ring their bells in unison. In some areas, there are processions and summer festivals on 15 August as well.

I had to laugh a little about this experience, because today is a holiday in Italy of course too, but having been gone for 2 years, I forgot.

I hadn’t known that Bavaria was so Catholic, because I am uneducated about Germany. I am learning about the 30 Years War that followed Martin Luther and becoming a bit more informed. It’s why I travel. To become more educated and I assure you I will not forget today and what I learned!