Our Caffeinated Road Trip 1 - The Barn at Café Kranzler Berlin Germany
Me and The Barn, we go back a long way.
It all started a bunch of years ago, when Berlin became “our place” for punk rock gigs.
After all, Berlin was already in our heart, after back in ’11 we saw there No Use for the last time, but I digress.
As if by coincidence, when we started travelling to Berlin once or twice a year (following Frank Turner, Dave Hause and many more), it was also the time when we fell in love with specialty coffee, so it was natural for us to check some of the nicest coffee shops in town, and The Barn was at the top of the list.
We use to reach the Little Barn early in the afternoon, choose a V60, sit outside and just relax and enjoy.
Enjoy the coffee, enjoy the sun.
Enjoy life.
And then a stroll around Mitte before grabbing a bite, and reaching the venue.
It was a simple life.
Fast-forward to spring 2019, when I flew to Berlin to have a trial for a barista job, guess where? Yep, at The Barn.
It all went smooth and a couple of months later I moved to Berlin, and started my job as a barista.
As the rest of the team, I started working in all different locations, until I accidentally had a shift at Café Kranzler.
Historical note: Cafè Kranzler is huge, famous and kinda historical. The branch in Charlottensburg opened in 1932, the current flat-roofed Kranzler-Eck building, with its distinct rotunda and red-white touched awnings, was erected in 1957/58, and back then, located as it was in West Berlin, it became a major tourist attraction of the Wirtschaftswunder era (the West German “boom” period right after WWII). It was the place where to go in the ‘50s, the place for the rich and famous, where to have a slice of Kuchen and a cup of “Caffecrema” after shopping.
In a way, it was “the place”.
So, it’s not difficult to understand why working at Café Kranzler was kinda awing: a mix of wonder and reverential respect.
After all, even after 70 years, customers were still looking for the “Old Café Kranzler”, and we were so different.
But at the same time the place itself, and working there, was just awesome.
The café sits only on the second floor, but in a way it feels like you’re on top of the world, standing above one of the coolest crossroads in town, with the bustling streets, the sparkling lights, the rich and the famous and tons of tourists shopping, or just strolling around.
The big terrace lets you soaking up the sun while you enjoy the view and drink a lovely V60 (and if it’s on the menu, go for the “Volcan Azul”, one of my favorites ever) just resting, chatting and fully enjoying your life.
Plus, working at Kranzler gave me the opportunity to witness all of it, feeling a bit like “part of the history”.
Wanna know my favorite moment?
Christmas time, for sure.
The Xmas market just around the corner, the Xmas lights along Ku’damm, the snow topped Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
And most of all the crowded café, bustling with joy.
How to forget it?
Cover Pic by @joannagarm0n
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