Salzburg - Coffeehouse

Ahh coffee. Had I written this essay but a year ago, I might have been tempted to include a line about how coffee was the reason for my existence or how high the chances were of it being pumped through my veins, but alas I have since turned my appetites to more lofty goods, namely: this assig- I mean, reflection. 

It was in Salzburg that Bridget and I, after meandering through the DomQuartier for the afternoon, made Cafe Tomaselli our rendezvous for a pleasant coffee house encounter. We chose the upper room with mint curtains and lovely dark wooden seats. The only place we could manage to find seats amidst the bustling establishment.

With a cappucino and a Tomaselli mocha settled in front of us on its silver platter, Bridget and I reflected on the events of our excursion up to that point. Our conversations are admittedly quite condusive to topics such as our observations of beauty in culture or how misguided the modern American understanding of ‘wastefullness’ has become, but a hot drink is always a welcome companion for such occacions. 

Taking the time to sit down and have a conversation intended to exchange concrete opinions or flesh out half-formed opinions is a rare event in which I am fortunate enough to have experience. Though I do not have experience in the sharing of tobacco, I have been told that it is similarly condusive to deep conversations of politics, art, and the like. Personally, I would advocate for the repopularization of slow coffee drinking to cultivate more profound dialogue. The way it is set up has the ability to change the experience in ever so delicate ways. Having a coffee in public cafe versus hosting a guest to enjoy coffee in your own home are likely to give way to slightly different conversations. Going to Cafe Tomaselli will give you a different sense of being in contrast to going to Starbucks, even if in Europe. In one, I feel like I have the chance to touch upon a higher society of which I would not normally find myself a part; in the other, I would be surprised if I did not see at least three students in various states of pajamas disguised as ‘athleisure’, each at a different point in stressing over their due papers. 

The environment greatly affects the mentality you adopt once you step foot through the door, though it is of course not a final verdict. 

Whether it is coffee out in town or tea in one’s own home, making the effort to have more human interactions is something we must seek intentionally, and soon we will realize the fruits of our conversations trickling into and brightening the colors of our world perception.