It’s been twenty-four hours at least. Our fingers are getting itchy.

I know, riding your motorcycle on Sundays!

Noise in Germany keeps a strict schedule. Every night after 10 p.m. and on Sundays, Germans are required by a medley of federal, state and local laws to keep schtum. That means no spin cycles, no vacuuming, no power tools and no mowing the lawn.

As the world went into lockdown this spring, a drop in noise levels was recorded across the globe. But in most of Germany, it wasn’t much quieter than an average Sunday, when socializing is done sotto voce and the peal of church bells is about as loud as it gets.

“Many villagers have stopped using their gardens on sunny weekends.”