One of the best moments in a new city is always walking out of the train station. It speaks of possibilities, roads not yet wandered down, buildings to be seen and layouts to be discovered. Before leaving this station, I had already done my research on coffee shops to go to. It is irritating how the term coffee shop, in Europe, can refer to a drug-oriented establishment. Equally frustrating how the term “cafe” is impossibly broad. An American cafe is more likely to serve nothing but coffee than a European coffee shop is. This leads me to try to find the most Americanized establishments in any given city, which is not necessarily a bad thing. In many situations, Americanized simply means modern. In any case, there were many cafes in Paris, for instance, I would feel far to culturally distant from to go into.
Walking out of Nuremberg Hauptbanhof, I was struck by a realization, a result of traveling more than it is my business to in recent years. I still recognize and see the value in having “new cultural experiences,” though it is no longer what I look for. My search online for modern coffee shops revealed to me what I am looking for. It is the same thing that I dress for. It is what I listen to certain music for. What I am looking for is the opportunity to feel as though I belong to a group I want to belong to. I suspect that like many of us, I seek communion with select people and lifestyles.
In general, what I look for is a space that is occupied by young, intelligent people. A space you would find around a university, but less juvenile and uncertain. Kaffe Horna featured “Scandinavian design features” that practically every online review of the place told me about, but something nonetheless that has always appealed to me. They were also playing the song “Charlie” by Mallrat when I walked in. I only know this song because it appeared on my Discover Weekly Spotify playlist about a month ago, but it fits the vibe that I am looking for almost perfectly. I bought a latte, served in a tall glass as they are frequently presented here in Germany. It was delicious, but I regretted my decision as their selection of regular brewed coffees (the V60 brewer was prominently advertised) seemed fantastic. The furniture was quirky and the tables were exceptionally short, possibly to discourage people from sitting on their laptops as I had planned on doing. No matter-I brought out my New Yorker and comfortably finished the article I had begun on the train before moving on to the next shop.
I like being around clean, modern lines and industrial, uncluttered spaces. These environments best allow me to think clearly and promote productivity and original thought. It would be a lie to say I do not prefer the shop to be occupied mostly by young, hip people. The second shop I went to, White Bulldog, nearly achieved these things but missed on what I was looking for. I had learned from my foolish latte and ordered a regular brewed coffee which was fantastic. The music that was playing here was purely instrumental, a piano that was unintrusive yet stimulating. Oddly, the tables were very low here as well. found that in Paris a lot of the coffee shops would not allow you to have a computer out on the weekends. Maybe working cafes are being replaced by coworking spaces and weworks.
The main fault I found with White Bulldog was that it had the look, feel, and decor of a place that I could slap together myself. The pillows were not from IKEA, but looked as though they could have been purchased at asimilar if German furniture store. The hallmark of a good business is one that immerses you in the experience so well that you forget said business is being run by fallible human beings. You believe in the business as its own institution, which of course it is. The final shop I went to (by way of a beautiful park running alongside the Pegnitz river) was Machhorndl, purportedly one of the best roasteries in the area. THis shop was clean and stylish, but lacked something that I felt at Kaffee Horna. This could easily be my own fault, as I butchered the order in German and bought an espresso instead of a brewed coffee, resulting in a very awkward exchange with the barista which made me feel a little unwelcome. The coffee was rich and full-bodied with chocolate undertones (something I personally love) but short lived (it was an espresso, after all). I spent the least amount of time in this shop, but it did not invite me in the way Kaffe Horna did. I read a little bit of “How to Write a Thesis” before leaving to catch the 3:45 train back to my town.
I am not a food critic, a coffee expert, or businessman. Kaffe Horna simply appealed the most to my Personal Aesthetic.This casual Sunday journey to explore a few coffee shops in a relatively new city (I have been there once before) was simply a fun exercise in local exploration and adventure. I am fortunate enough to live in a foreign country and be able to explore essentially to my heart’s content, yet after a over a year of this life, it is not new, radical things that I try to do. I have learned that such “cultural experiences” are often quite phony and problematic-the only way to truly experience even a limited wedge of any given culture would be to speak the local language, become friends with people who live there, and accompany them on their daily lives.
Even with this approach, you are still little more than a journalist, an anthropologist looking in on an unfamiliar scene. It is not necessarily more beneficial though certainly easier to simply seek out places that most resonate with each of our individaul Personal Aesthetics. Plenty of people I know who live abroad delight in finding a restaurant that serves wings, hamburgers, or even just eating fast food. The familiar is safe. This is their communion. I delight in finding the crossover between cultures that makes me feel welcome. This Sunday, it was a shared interest in Scandinavian design, Mallrat, good coffee, and a quality space. In future travels, it may be skiing, art, or new food that makes me feel a kinship with people I may never otherwise meet. The Personal Aesthetic plays a major role in determining all of this. I am looking forward to where it will take me next, even it is just toward more trendy, Millennial, Instagram-worthy cafes. There’s gotta be quality there too, right?
