The Tale of Snow White and the Building Authority
The late nineties had faded into the past, and the enthusiasm of the new millennium was beginning to wane.
I had graduated from the Technical University of Munich, packed away my Buffalo platforms along with the low-rise jeans and stashed them in the attic.
But slipping into the black turtleneck of the architecture guild in my late twenties didn’t quite feel right.
The creative spark of my studies had fizzled out in the dusty routine of office life, bogged down by liability clauses and dull government regulations.
I couldn’t muster much excitement for the idea of arguing with the building authority.
So my husband and I surprised our parents with the plan to open a café with a concept store.
Admittedly, we hadn’t fully thought through the fact that we’d still have to deal with the planning department. That’s how we learned just how crucial the size and distance of certain sidewalk markings apparently are to everyday life.
We were informed that guests and staff are welcome to share a restroom – unless alcohol is served. Coffee and juice spritzers apparently don’t cause a social loo-problem.
We were introduced to the concept of “air tax” (anyone who’s ever tried to hang a shop sign knows we’re not kidding).
And we discovered that what we had always called hot chocolate was, in the eyes of the law, a „cocoa-based milk beverage“.
In the end, however, the building authority seemed luckily unaware of our reservations and approved our project with friendliness.
So it happened that for fifteen years „Schneewittchen am Glockenbach“ was a place of happiness - not just for us, but for so many others.
It lives on as a cherished chapter in our story - one and a half decades of a little snow white world we built together, distilled into the friendships and moments we carry with us.
What we also took with us is a very personal understanding of what it means to feel like a guest - in a city, a hotel, a shop, a restaurant or, of course, a café.
Whenever we sense a true passion for hospitality, a love for quality and a commitment to sustainability, we know we’ve found something special.
With Bumblebee Magazine, we now want to share our favorite places with you, seen through our own eyes.
And if, along the way, we can open up a new little world - for you and for us - then that’s all the more reason to be excited.
