Café Sňvietski
01/03/06 15:01 Filed in: Other
All countries have their own way of satisfying their need for caffein. There are trends in the coffe culture, and what you eat with your coffe varies according to these trends.
I used to like to like going to cafés, drinking coffe and reading a book. In Stockholm you almost always need to go to the counter and get your own coffe and carry your purchase yourself to the table, ie there is no waiting. This used to be a nice way to keep the prices down and avoid tipping, something swedes have a hard time getting a grip on.
I think tipping is a very strange habit, that simply must have it's roots in slavery. If you feel for the poor slaves that bring you food, you throw them a penny. People should get paid for their efforts in a normal way, regardless of what they do. I have never tipped a police officer, a nurse, a store clerk or a bus driver. The only profession I would feel really comfortable tipping would be a lap dancer, but I've never done that either. (I do tip waiters. I just feel it's wrong, and haven't got the guts to live up to my preaching)
Cafés in Stockholm have in later years successfully blended the worst parts of several different coffe cultures. We have the spartan italian sandwich menu, the poor american coffe quality, the norwegian prices and the swedish service. Going to a café in Stockholm is a very Soviet inspired experience. You go to the counter and point at the sandwich you like. If the one you like isn't there, you can't get it. You take your tray to a table, that hasn't seen a cleaning in weeks, and pick up the remains of the last guests café visit. I could stand this if the price was very low. But it isn't. In fact, I think the cafés in Stockholm have prices to match the most expensive ones world wide.
The final step in this swedish coffe culture morph is that we have to tip the non-waiting waiter, I'm sure.
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