Well I could hardly resist the billboard invitation for coffee at the Goethe-Institut Cafe.
I studied a bit of Goethe in my university German course a surprisingly long time ago.
Indeed, the purpose of the Institut in Prague is to teach the German language.
I order a caffe latte and a piece of chocolate cake from the server, an old woman with shaking hands who may be either an employee or a volunteer.
The cafe looks like a small cafeteria, white wood and metal chairs, plain white tables.
There is no artwork on the walls, just a red clock made of twelve red dots imbedded in the wall and a couple of thin red arms in the middle.
The time on the clock is perfectly accurate.
Globed lights hand from the ceiling in mesh sacs.
And the floor is decorated with red contour lines, creating the illusion of mountains and valleys.
There are patrons at a few tables, likely students on a break.
At the next table sit three gentlemen, dressed in business casual and speaking in German about a project they are working on.
I imagine they are instructors at the Institut.
When they are finished, one of the men returns the dirty dishes to the old woman and he thanks her in Czech.
When I am finished, I also return my dishes to the server, and in my best accent, I say Děkuju.
She smiles and nods.
