The Harmony House Cafe

I was an hour early for my gig at a house-concert in Fly Creek. I'd never been there before.

Looking to kill the hour the most pleasant way I could, I drove into the hamlet of Fly Creek in search of a cafe. As a magician, I love to sit in cafes and work out new tricks and psych myself up for gigs. I lived in Europe (mostly Germany) for 18 years, and always loved the Cafe-Kultur. It's really hard to find a cafe in the States with the right ambience.

So when I saw the sign for the "Harmony House Cafe," I was interested. They have a nice big parking lot, where I parked, and got my assorted magic props (deck of cards, half-dollar coins, etc. ) and notebooks out of my car.

I was totally stoked when I got into the cafe. There is a well-lit, wide bar with nice deserts on display. Just what I was looking for!

I was greeted by a friendly guy, who had just the hint of a foreign accent, but I wasn't sure. I took the chance and asked him if he was originally from somewhere else.

"Germany," he replied. Bingo!

"Dachte ich mir," ("I thought so") I said. And that lead to a discussion of where in Germany he was from, and how come I spoke German. It turns out that the gentleman's name is Dirk, and he's originally from Wiesbaden, which is very close to where I'd lived in Frankfurt. So we had a nice conversation.

Well, the coffee was excellent, as was the desert. I'll be back the next time I am anywhere near Cooperstown, NY (which I get to often, luckily). Next time I'll bring my wife. We're always looking for nice places to visit that are a bit off the beaten path.

(The picture is of Dirk's wife, Lisa, manning the coffee machine)