There’s a motorcycle in this coffee shop.

I saw it when I walked in, of course. But I didn’t give it much thought until much later that day.

There’s a motorcycle in this coffee shop.

That’s pretty weird, right? But it’s also not. Because this is Cape Town, and very few things are weird here. The coffee culture is particularly unique, and becoming a big part of what makes this city so amazing.

There is no Starbucks here, and not many franchises. Instead, there are unique coffee shops — no, let’s call them spaces with coffee — every few hundred meters. Each one serves not only amazing coffee, but experiences that immerse you into its sense of place. In many ways it feels like the reincarnation of what coffee spaces used to be — a place to sit, discuss, debate, write, read, ponder.

So, yes, there is a motorcycle in this coffee shop. But it’s not weird. It’s part of this space — as much as the coffee cups are, and as much as I am.