You may not know this being an American and all....I was pretty surprised myself to find it out, but Americans take the least amount of vacation days a year.
When I first came to Germany I was always confused because about twice a month in the summer there was a federal holiday.....which us Americans (Stephen, Rob, Alex, and I) never took. People were constantly off from work and they never knew the reason.....they would say, "it is some religious holiday I think." I started to wonder if they were making up these holidays. Not to mention that Germans are also required to receive a minimum of 6 weeks....let me say that again...a MINIMUM of 6 weeks vacation a year! I know...shocking!
In America I would say it is normal to get 2 weeks vacation a year and if you have been with the company for a while up to 4 weeks, but no one actually uses all their vacation....am I right? I can't imagine a couple taking off 3 weeks at a time to travel around leave their job behind. Here in Germany if you do not take at least 3 weeks at one time you are not getting a real break. It is common for families to take off the entire month of August and many factories even shut down for months at a time.
Here is a list of the Federal Holidays and they really take all of these:
Versus the American Federal Hoildays: (although your business is free to make you work)
Alright, I just wanted to give you another cultural differences and let you know that August is not a good time to travel in Europe...be ready to fight the Germans for a hotel room!
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