Learn Hardcore German: Am Wochenende will ich einfach abschalten und im Garten sitzen. - At the weekend I just want to switch off and sit in the garden.

Im Wochenende / in dem Wochenende would sound wrong in this context. In with time is used differently (e.g. im Januar, im Sommer) but not for weekends.

What case is Wochenende in, and why?

In am Wochenende, the noun Wochenende is in the dative singular.

am is the contraction of an + dem
dem is the dative singular article for neuter nouns
das Wochenende → an dem Wochenende → am Wochenende

So the preposition an (in a time expression) governs the dative case.

Does will here mean English "will" (future), or something else?

In this sentence, will is the 1st person singular form of wollen and means want(s) to, not the English future will.

Ich will abschalten = I want to switch off / I want to relax.
It does not mean: I will switch off (future).

German normally uses the present tense with time expressions to talk about the future:

Am Wochenende will ich … = This (coming) weekend I want to …

Why is will in second position and the other verbs (abschalten, sitzen) at the end?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule:

One element in the "first position" (here: Am Wochenende)
The conjugated verb in second position (here: will)
The rest of the sentence, with infinitives at the end (here: einfach abschalten und im Garten sitzen)

So:

Am Wochenende (1st position)
will (2nd position, conjugated verb)
ich einfach abschalten und im Garten sitzen (remainder, with infinitives at the end)

Why is abschalten not split (e.g. schalte … ab) here?

Abschalten is a separable verb:

Present simple: Ich schalte am Wochenende ab.
(verb schalte in 2nd position, prefix ab at the end)

But with a modal verb like wollen, separable verbs stay together in the infinitive at the end:

Ich will am Wochenende einfach abschalten.

So because of will, we use the infinitive abschalten and do not separate it.

What does einfach add to the meaning here?

Einfach literally means simple or simply, but in spoken German it often works like English just or really just to soften or emphasize a wish:

Ich will einfach abschalten ≈ I just want to switch off / I just want to relax.

It doesn’t change the basic meaning; it makes it sound more natural and emotional, a bit like: Honestly, I just want to relax, nothing more.

What does abschalten mean in this context?

Literally, abschalten means to switch off (like a device).

Metaphorically, when talking about people, it means:

to switch off mentally,
to disconnect from stress,
to relax / unwind.

So einfach abschalten = simply relax / just switch off and stop thinking about work or problems.

Why is it im Garten sitzen and not im Garten zu sitzen?

There are two infinitives here, both depending on the same modal verb will:

will … abschalten
will … im Garten sitzen

With modal verbs (wollen, können, müssen, dürfen, sollen, mögen), German does not use zu before the infinitive:

Ich will gehen. (not: Ich will zu gehen.)
Ich will im Garten sitzen. (not: Ich will im Garten zu sitzen.)

Because und im Garten sitzen is just a second activity joined to abschalten, it also stays as a plain infinitive without zu.

Why isn’t will repeated before im Garten sitzen?

When two verbs share the same subject and modal verb, German usually:

says the modal verb only once,
puts both infinitives at the end, connected by und.

So:

Am Wochenende will ich einfach abschalten und im Garten sitzen.

means:

Am Wochenende will ich einfach abschalten und (ich will) im Garten sitzen.

Repeating will would sound unnatural in German here.

Why is it im Garten here and am Wochenende earlier? Why different prepositions?

Because they express different kinds of relations:

am Wochenende – time
- an + dative for days/parts of days → am Montag, am Abend, am Wochenende
im Garten – place (location)
- in + dative for being inside/in a 3D space → im Garten, im Haus, im Büro

Both am and im are contractions:

am = an + dem
im = in + dem

Why is im Garten dative and not accusative?

German two-way prepositions like in, an, auf take:

dative for location (wo? where?)
accusative for movement toward something (wohin? where to?)

Here we are talking about being in the garden, not going there:

im Garten sitzen → Where? In the garden. → dative
Compare:
- Ich sitze im Garten. (dative, location)
- Ich gehe in den Garten. (accusative, movement)

Could I also say Ich will am Wochenende einfach abschalten und im Garten sitzen? Is that different?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

Ich will am Wochenende einfach abschalten und im Garten sitzen.

Main difference: what you emphasize slightly.

Am Wochenende will ich …
Emphasizes the time frame (As for the weekend, what I want is…).
Ich will am Wochenende …
Neutral, everyday word order, focusing more on I want.

Both are fully natural; the version starting with Am Wochenende just highlights the time more.

What’s the difference between ich will and ich möchte here?

Both can fit, but there’s a politeness/softness difference:

Ich will … – direct, strong: I want to…
Ich möchte … – more polite/soft: I would like to…

In a sentence about your own plans or wishes (like here), ich will is perfectly fine and common. In requests or when talking to others, ich möchte is often more polite:

Ich möchte am Wochenende einfach abschalten und im Garten sitzen.
= I’d like to just relax at the weekend and sit in the garden.