Coffee For the Soul

I typically don't chat a lot about coffee shops or bakeries in Germany.  I've probably wandered into three-hundred of them during my time in Germany.  There typically two types.....the 'cheapo' and the 'regular'.

You typically get a sweet roll of some type or a piece of cake.....with a four-star cup of coffee, then sit for ten minutes while sipping the coffee.

Most German coffee shops can serve a fairly decent roasted coffee....as good as Starbucks or Caribou Coffee.  Germans kind of demand exceptional coffee and have done so for decades.  For all the talk that people do over Starbucks.....it's mostly over the coffee....not the atmosphere.  It's a couple of pictures on the wall.....some music....with a theme or character that is lacking.

Today, on my way out of Wiesbaden and heading back to my village....I departed the bus at a point where a small coffee shop on the corner of Bierstadter Strasse and Alwinenstrasse exists.

Two years ago, it was an small empty building related to newspapers and magazines.  Someone picked up the building.....put a fair amount of money into the structure....new windows, paint-job, and exterior appeal. I'd never been there and had some time to waste.....so I stepped in.

The Living Bakery Cafe surprised me.  Once inside.....it was like the image that you had of a real five-star coffee shop.  At best, they could have handled twenty-five people sitting in the place.....with the kind of cushioned chairs that you don't see often.

In the background....jazz.  It was that ambiance that you'd dream about for a coffee shop.  A dozen-odd cakes lay there.....begging you to pick one up.  Various sandwiches were prepared and ready to throw under some grill heater device.  Friendly staff were obvious.

So ordered a coffee and cake.....sat down by the big plate-glass window....looking out at soft rain falling on the street and listening to some decent swing and ragtime mixed with various other tunes. My blood pressure probably dropped by ten-percent over ten minutes, and I felt like I was somewhere else.....somewhere far away and less hectic.

It's a small shop.....no great parking opportunities.  It's along the main drag going into Wiesbaden but if you mentioned it to a thousand people.....fewer than a hundred probably have noted it while passing in the bus.

There's two small tables by front entrance way and it'd be a fine place in the summer period to stop for an afternoon tea or just to chill out with an espresso.

So, if you happen to be in Wiesbaden....along Bierstadter Strasse and Alwinenstrasse....needing some refreshing coffee, a bit of jazz to sooth your soul, and seeking to recharge your enthusiasm for life....then stop for thirty minutes and get some relief.