Cafe culture returning to pandemic-stricken Europe

On a sunny afternoon in June, Ermin Cetvrtak was sitting in a wooden coffee house in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, sipping Bosnian coffee from a small copper cup and enjoying time in retirement.

About 100 meters north of the city’s Latin Bridge, cafes dot the narrow streets. Cetvrtak liked to kill countless mornings and evenings in the neighborhood’s cafes before the COVID-19 pandemic captured Europe early this year.

Today, his coffee still tastes the same and the waiter still greets him like an old friend, but for Cetvrtak, all this feels a little different from what it used to be. A white face mask covers his mouth and nose and in a similar fashion the waiter also protects himself from virus exposure.

“Before the pandemic, I came here four or five times a week to chat with old friends. Now it’s only once a week,” he said, “but I’m here anyway, that’s the point.”

CAFE CULTURE BACK

As the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic began to loosen across Europe last month, the “cafe culture” that the coronavirus had threatened with extinction gradually reappeared in the streets of European cities like Paris, Rome, Vienna, Vilnius and Sarajevo.

Cafe de Flore, one of the oldest coffee houses in Paris, reopened to customers at the beginning of June. French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the day with a joyful note on social media. He said that the resumption of business in cafes and restaurants marked the return of happy times for the French.

The celebratory mood was no different elsewhere. In Europe, the cafe is a place where the literati draw inspiration, and where the locals enjoy their everyday life.

“There is no literature without a coffeehouse,” Hungarian writer Sándor Márai once said.

When Italy’s cafes and restaurants reopened for business in late May, people returned in droves to kick off their day with a cup of espresso. Someone noted on social media that “This is a ritual we have missed, celebrating life returning to normal.”

NEW RULES

As the pandemic is still raging in Europe, cafes and restaurants are reopening at different speeds. In certain regions, rules are still in force on how many guests can cafes serve indoors and on the mandatory use of face masks.