On Saturday we decided to cycle into town. Our three year-old (coming on four) had her new bike, our three month-old hovered in her hammock in the Chariot cycle trailer. The sun shone and we rolled into Heidelberg happy and proud.

Then we went shopping. On a Saturday. It was of course very busy; we knew that it would be and planned for a nice hot chocolate reward in Schiller’s. In our experience it had been an oasis of calm where one could take time to enjoy a nice or unusual (sometimes both) hot chocolate and a home-made cake. Unfortunately, Schiller’s has become too popular. We were able to sit down and order, but the level of noise in there was unbearable. Our baby added to that by crying and not being able to settle for a feed. People looked at us, we looked at them. We paid for our chocolates and left as quickly as we could, not having enjoyed it at all. There was music beating in the background and conversation was stuck in a feedback loop of ever-increasing volume. Schiller’s has become a victim of its own success.


Worse, the traffic on the way back was heavy but flowing; engine and tyre road noise accompanied us all the way back home. We did not enjoy a single minute of peace in that outing and that was stressful.

I’ve never had the ability to deal with much noise, always preferring to step out of parties for longer than just a breath of fresh air when I was younger; but I have rarely felt so stressed by noise. I hope we find some quiet again soon.