The European Coffee Culture

Wafflestübchen

It's wonderful to be in my German home town, Unna. It brings back memories of 8 hour long car trips coming from Innsbruck to visit my grandparents. As a celebration of my mom's 50th birthday (last year), my Oma took us to the Wafflestübchen (Waffle house). It was a wonderful experience to once again sit in a restaurant for three hours, drinking coffee and tea, and enjoying each other's company. The coffee culture in Europe is something I never appreciated growing up, but it is something I really missed during my year in the States.I think I will try and continue the tradition of drinking coffee (or tea in my case) at 4 pm, come rain or shine!

Practicing the Coffee Culture :)

Starbucks knows how to make coffee, but it doesn't know how to drink it! There's something magical about sitting in a café under an open umbrella, gazing at cobble stoned streets and taking time to simply enjoy life! Putting culture into words is very hard to do, but I think it is safe to say that American life is busy, busy, busy. There's always the next thing to do, or the next place to go to. Maybe it's just college life, but I felt like I had no time to simply breathe and BE! That is what I value about the European coffee culture. It's not just the art behind drinking a cup of coffee, but it is the mentality of taking a break and sitting down, not having a: "Coffee to go".

I think the best part about being here again, has been seeing how much the German culture is, and ISN'T my own. I choose to adopt certain customs, like the coffee culture, but I also choose to ignore other customs. That is the blessing in the way I was raised, that I have no culture, and through that am my own culture. I can sort of pick and choose what I want. I am neither completely American, German, Austrian or French, and thus, I am completely my own. I like that!

Thanks to Noah for the awesome pics!