I am quite fond of the German tradition of ‘kaffee und kuchen’. The Germans mostly do this at 4pm, however the best time for my circadian rhythm is 8-10am, so I was pleased that Google AI recommended a café that opened at 9, an hour earlier than most of its fellow providers. I was looking for the best place in Dresden’s Old Town to try the local delicacy, Eierscheke.
Finding the place with Google Maps, and having enjoyed the walk past the Women’s Church and the pastel-coloured facades around it, I was now in an unfamiliar situation: The German sign on the locked door instructed the customer to wait until someone a previous customer exited, since there were no free tables at the moment. A seeming contradiction were the two tables and four chairs directly in front of high, open windows. I assumed the open windows indicated signs of life, and Google’s business database was pretty reliable, so I assumed that I would do the inconvenient thing of waiting in the wilting sun for someone to leave the miniature establishment.
After a few minutes I started to get restless. I tried the door again, and decided to call the café, but just as I was doing that a couple of Germans joined me in front of the door. It turned out they had also googled the best Eierscheke in town, but the white man two had an advantage over me: height. He could see people inside the cafe through the windows. We made small talk and mused over why nobody was sitting at the outdoor tables. The Black woman was rueful: “It looks like a scam.” The man opined that I had come from the “better” part of Germany when I shared I had come from Hannover. I was unwilling to disparage Dresden before having given it a chance, but this was not the first German to share such sentiments. I was, however, warming to them, and offered to share a table if a four-seating arrangement was available.
Just at that time a few people left the café, and soon we were seated. The wait staff was an elderly gentleman who treated each of us with attention. He gravitated to the new couple, with whom he could speak with in German, and I heard him recommend a restaurant I had already eaten at, known in town for its Saxon cuisine.
When it was my turn to order I did so in German, and continued, with a mixture of German and English, to show interest in the city by explaining that I was there for 7 days. He recommended a funicular experience which had not been in the guidebook, and for this I was thankful, but I wanted to stay on my feet where I could… I’d have many calories to walk off after trying the various desserts Dresden had to offer.
When the wait staff was attending to other tables I took note of my surroundings. There was Hollywood film memorabilia from previous decades on the walls, and something about ‘be friendly, please’. Having only four tables probably contributed to this cosy atmosphere, and the man’s warm welcome to me and the mixed race couple inspired me to return the warmth.
The cake? Delicious, but I was expecting that. The cappuccino was too bitter for me, so I added a little sugar. Eierscheke is a kind of cheesecake, the Eier meaning eggs, and this particular cake had three layers, one more sponge-like, and another more creamy. While I hadn’t had it before, I could tell that it was of exceptional quality.
The white guy felt it too, and communicated his appreciation with a fitting hand gesture as well as words. I commented on the cake’s freshness and superlative goodness in German, and got a smile from the senior.
Like many German interiors, the walls were white, and the colour came in accents: red and white tablecloths, light green curtains. Little ornaments and life-affirming sayings came in dark brown with white text. I got the impression of a lot of attention to detail.
Without my limited German, I would not have known to wait at the door, and may not have received the personalised recommendation. I’m thankful for the gift of language learning: appreciating that not everybody speaks English, or that even if they do, there is no language that feels like home more than one’s native tongue.
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