Sarah G.
Yelp
Something that tends to set Europe apart from the states is coffee culture. While you'll find great little cafes sprinkled around European cities they aren't quite the same as the cafes in the US. In my opinion "coffee shops" as we tend to think of them here in the states have more of a coffee first focus, where there is a lot of emphasis on how the beans are ground, brewed, and enjoyed. The difference in Europe is that a European "cafe" tends to be more about sitting down to have a coffee and maybe enjoy a pastry or some bread. It's more of a place to visit and take in the ambiance or read a book and less of a place to seek out the best coffee. Just my opinion, but I find cafes in general in Europe to be really hit or miss on coffee flavor and quality.
All of that being said, when visiting Heidelberg this past spring I woke up and in need of a good cup of coffee started searching Yelp for options. Enter Coffee Nerd. It fit my criteria as it had a good rating and was walkable from my hotel. I convinced my sister to get dressed and out the door we went. It was easy enough to find and is fairly centrally located - not too far from the historic part of town, but definitely more city center and likely caters more to locals than tourists. When we walked in the door it was like walking back into the USA. It had the clean lines and minimalist design of any hip coffee house I'd find back home, which oddly enough was somewhat comforting. The menu was very simple, but that was okay as all I really wanted was some cold brew. They did have cold brew, but being Europe they were not as accustomed to folks taking it to go so they put it in a hot to-go cup for me which kind of made me chuckle, but it tasted right and I was really grateful for the stop. Why four and not five stars? Pretty much because it really lacked options and I would have liked to have seen maybe a few house made syrups to choose from, and a more robust pastry case. All in all, if I had been staying in Heidelberg more days I'm sure this spot would have stayed in my rotation.