German Unity Day

We arrived by bus in Cham to a deserted railway station.

Cham lies within the Cham-Furth lowland, which is bordered on the south by the Bavarian Forest and on the north by the Oberpfälzer Wald. The city lies on the Regen River, which joins the Danube at Regensburg.

source: https://www.alltrails.com/germany/bavaria/cham

We went for a walk - our minds trying to find an explanation for the deserted streets and closed shops - my imagination went into overdrive - zombie invasion was on the top of my list - Les Revenants  coming to the front of my mind - I could picture the town people hiding in their homes, peering behind curtains through their windows - would we be their saviours?

source: https://www.theguardian.com

But no, no zombies, we found out later everything was closed due to public holiday.

German Unity Day commemorates the German reunification in 1990 and is traditionally celebrated with a festival around Platz der Republik, Straße des 17. Juni and the Brandenburg Gate. In 2023, there will be no festival. October 3rd is the Day of German Unity and a nationwide public holiday.

Note to self - try to avoid travelling on public holidays.