Music from Bon Iver plays in the background of a cosy cafe in the heart of Mitte, Berlin. The cafe is elevated from street level, which gave me a different perspective of the street.
After a few days of cold mornings, the city had started to warm up a little bit. People will still wearing hats and gloves on the street, but the temperature was no longer as close to freezing as it was in the days prior. I took delight in the warmer weather and decided to go for a walk around the heart of the city: past Brandenburg Tor, up to Museum Island, then toward Mitte for a coffee.
I wandered, exploring and looking around with awe and curiosity. I stopped occasionally to reflect on the fog that enveloped the city — a fog so dense that the television tower on Alexanderplatz was mostly obscured. The fog reminded me of home.
I did as I often like to do with some free time: hopped between cafes as I strolled around the city. I went to a cafe I visit on every trip. I think the lovely discussion I had with the owner the first time I went there is the reason I keep going back. That, and the delicious coffee.
Following my first cafe trip, I decided to go to one more cafe before going to the airport. Scrolling through Google Maps, I found a place that looked cosy, with coffee and cakes. On my way there, I ran into a friend I had met over the last few days at the events I was attending. The chances are one in a million, I remarked when expressing my surprise that we should run into each other again. We had a good conversation, then I went to sit down in the cafe I wanted to visit.
On display were pastries and breakfasts. Among all, one stood out: a matcha and white chocolate cookie. I love both of those flavours and was curious about how they would go together. Having had sufficient coffee already that morning, I ordered only the cookie and sat down to gaze out the window.
It is definitely the later stages of autumn, I thought to myself. More people are wearing thicker coats and hats and scarves.
I sat and gazed out the window. After four days on my feet, having made many wonderful memories, I took several slow bites of the matcha cookie in front of me. I noted the cookie was delicious in my notes, an anchor to remind me of the moment.
I enjoyed the warmth inside, the conversations going back and forth in the background between patrons and staff. I reveled in watching the occasional tram pass by.
The trams were scheduled sufficiently far apart that my mind would wander and wonder when the next one would come. It was not an active thought, just one of those things that you think about in the background when you are relaxing. The last time I felt this way was when I was keeping an eye out for Tortured Poets Department-themed trams back home, decorated in celebration of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
Thirty minutes or so later, I stood up from my chair and went outside to walk around a bit more before preparing to head back home.
Bon Iver’s music continued to play in the background. I love it when I can recognize music playing in cafes.
