Visitors and inhabitants in Germany do enjoy shopping. Shopping in Germany is like a national pastime. All conceivable items, be it for person and household, home and garden, is available as quality products. Favorite items of the visitors in Germany include clocks, music boxes, nutcrackers, beer steins, wood carvings, figurines, beer mugs, tableware, cutlery, precision instruments and local costume items such as lederhosen, dirndls and Tyrolean hats. Liepzig is a perfect place to buy super quality musical instruments—this town has witnessed the evolution of many a great musicians such as Bach, Mendelssohn and Wagner. Do visit Harz Mountains for purchasing Toys and woodcarvings. Wood-carved religious statuary from the Alps and Christmas decorations from Franconia are other all-time favorites.
However, the mal culture has not developed so well in the states of Germany. Downtown has the most of the good stores. Good transportation further makes it easy to shop by car and cities have revamped their downtown shopping areas and made them pleasant places to be. Outdoor cafes, sidewalk musicians, benches, fountains, trees and shrubbery grace the shopping street. For expatriates, Germany shopping is always a memorable experience. Those who reside outside of EU, they can obtain refunds of European nations' Value Added Tax when returning home—it pays when high value items are purchased. What with VAT's running as high as 25% in some countries such as Sweden, 21.6% in France or 16% on most items in Germany, any significant purchase being taken out of the country can put substantial cash refunds in one's pocket. |
