Hipster Coffee with Friends

On Thursday, Fritz and I hung out on campus at Goethe Universität, the school with which Fritz is affiliated.  We met up with Johanna and Frederic for lunch at the Mensa.  It's similar to a dining hall in an American University, but German universities are different because the vast majority of students do not live on campus.  

Being at Goethe and among students made me appreciate the unique energy of a college campus.  There is something very special about the hustle and bustle of an academic environment populated by 20-somethings as they scurry off to class, gossip with their friends over coffee, or sit with their notebooks cramming for an afternoon exam.  It's exciting to be surrounded by so many people who are more or less my age (sadly they are getting to be less my age... 30 is right around the corner!), who are hungrily soaking up as much knowledge as they possibly can.  What a luxury it is to spend your days doing nothing but learning and mingling with your friends.  I'm sure I didn't see it this way when I was in college, but I remember the energy well, and I can see that it is the same regardless of what country you are in. 

Johanna and Frederic brought us to the "hipster cafe."  The dude who owns it won a national barista competition and is serious about his coffee.  We were warned not to put any milk in our coffee.  This kind of behavior is frowned upon here.  We were allowed to get latte macchiatos, on which the barista left loving foam designs. 

We had to squish around the end of a long table.  The place was packed!!! 

The coffee shop was kind of a bare-bones establishment with only a few pieces of art, which reinforced the owners commitment to his craft as you can see. (Sorry about the f-bomb Mom.)  

That's the owner behind the counter.  He's the guy on the right.  I was scared of him so I asked Fritz to order while I saved our seats.  He sure did make a very nice latte macchiato!