Café Schimmel

Excerpt from the novel "Berlin-Expo".

"The Schimmel was the meeting place of the review Der Bruch; None of them had neither the space nor the comfort to receive. In addition, they preferred a public place, to feel in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city. The Schimmel also had the advantage of being close to other Westend meeting places.

Recently redecorated in a style that Paul called "art-deco" but which according to Heinz was a late "art-nouveau" and which Harry defined as "Bastard of viennese café and cocktail bar", the establishment had two parts at different levels, clearly circumscribed by a balustrade or metal grille, crowned by a wooden railing. The large columns, which divided the room into smaller spaces, made it appear larger than it was.

Each section had its clientele. The level at the bottom, closest to the entrance, was favored by the elegant ladies. The newcomers to the cafe also tended to settle there, no doubt because they were the first tables they met on entering.

The regulars preferred "the parterre". For the conversation, it was quieter and from there they had a view over the whole place.

Table eighteen, where Harry and his band sat, was known by the waiters as "the table of philosophers." There was also "the teacher's table", just by the railing.

The only one of the group that was actually a professor was an old gentleman who had taught history in high school. But there was also a certain Gregorius, who called himself a professor and whose specialty was "experimental astrology". He usually leaned on the grid to better observe the tables from below. Another regular at the table was a retired colonel with thick white mustaches and monarchist ideas.

But if the Der Bruch team spent much of their time at the cafe, they had little contact with the staff. Not by class prejudice but because they did not feel quite welcome. Perhaps because, always mowed, they left little or no tip. Harry had made this necessity virtue: "Tipping makes of the client a lord and of the server a serf, it is a feudal remain."

Vittorio was the only one who bothered to interact with the staff. Since he did not belong to the group strictly speaking, he was free to wander around the room. He came every other night, arrived about nine o'clock, and shortly after ten o'clock he set out again. To the Romanisches. He came to the Schimmel because he liked the young people of Der Bruch, but to maintain and enrich his social network, the Romanisches was irreplaceable. "