Blindekuh
Cow - die Kuh
In 2005, I was listening to NPR and a story came on. It was about a restaurant called the Blindekuh (the Blind Cow). The restaurant staff are blind or visually impaired and you eat in the complete dark. I remember this story because Stephan and I talked about it that night, as we both heard it while we were at work. We said, we needed to put it on the list of places to visit and that's where it stayed for the 16 plus years... until this month. We realized that the Blindekuh was in Zürich and so were we! In honor of our 20th anniversary (it also happens to be their 20th year!) we ate dinner at the restaurant.
The story behind the restaurant and the mission are well worth more of a read by visiting their website. The restaurant is housed in an old Methodist church and run as a nonprofit.
As we first entered we were told to put all items, especially technology into the lockers in the entrance. There was a limited menu illuminated on the wall as we waited for our server. We opted for the vegetarian surprise menu so we had no idea what we were eating until we left and got the description. Our waiter met us outside the dining room and we formed a chain holding onto each others shoulders. We weaved through several curtains until the room was completely dark. The waiter took each individual by the hand and lead them to their seat.
As we sat down, we realized we had no idea how many people were in the room, what it looked like and how close our neighbors were - almost touching. As each dish was brought out we talked about what we thought we tasted, we savored every bite carefully and slowly, in hopes when we came out of the restaurant we would not have stains on our shirts. To be honest, it was one of the most romantic meals, we searched for each others hands in the dark, we sat only talking to each other - and the brief conversation with what we believes were 4 people next to us. We did not check our phones, we did not look at our watch, we did not look for an answer to a question using technology - we just talked, ate and sat quietly. Two and a half hours passed without us knowing.
There was a sense of dependency upon our waiter. We could not get out of our seat without him, he had to describe where everything was on the table and there was strange comfort when we came to serve. He would touch our left shoulders. He would give us instructions and we would follow.
When the time was up and we were lead out slowly through the curtains and hallway allowing our eyes to readjust to our normal sight. A daily experience we take for granted.
This concept over the past 20 years has expanded to their own additional branch in Basel, as well as, helping others develop their own restaurants.
