behold theman
Friday, March 17
During my first walk late in the evening on the first day in our district, Exarchia, one coffee shop in particular caught my eye: the “behold theman”. Although it was already closed that evening, I could guess the colorful and modern interior through the large glass facade and really wanted to go there.
A few days later, on Friday after work, Christoph and I finally had time to visit the café during its opening hours. It very quickly turned out that my first impression was correct: The Bauhaus-inspired café with its special furnishings, the self-made tables, the self-made mugs and the bright color accents in the classic Bauhaus colors red, yellow and blue, was simply very different from all the cafés I know from Hamburg.
The “behold theman” is super hip and modernly furnished, but at the same time not as soulless and interchangeably hip as you know it from some of the newest cafés in Hamburg and Berlin. There are splashes of color everywhere on the rustic exposed concrete floor, the walls of the café are partially covered with stickers and the self-printed tote bags and t-shirts are sold in the next room. All in all, you just feel totally comfortable in the this place and can easily spend a few hours there. On the menu you will find all the well-known coffee drinks, various hot chocolates and tea varieties, which are offered at an incredibly fair price despite the hipness of the café.
In order to document this unique café for myself, I immediately unpacked my sketchbook and drew at least part of the counter. As soon as I had my first cappuccino there, it was clear to me: This was certainly not my last visit to “behold theman”.
