In the Dark
By from April 21, 2005
I recently returned from a trip to Spain and Switzerland. While I was in Zuerich, I went to a restaurant called Der Blindekuh. (The name is a pun, since "blinde Kuh" is the name for the game we call Blind Man's Bluff.) It is run completely by blind and sight-impaired people, and it's completely dark. The idea is to give sighted people a sense of what it's like to be blind.
It was a completely fascinating experience. I thought I knew what to expect, but when you enter the dining room and all of a sudden you can't see anything at all, it's pretty shocking. The waitress (who was blind) leads you to a table with you holding on to her shoulders in a train. She then drops you off, tells you where everything is (we were at the bar) and tells you what the bartender's name is. This is very important, because you of course can't meet someone's eyes to get their attention, so if you need anything you say the waiter or bartender's name out loud, and they appear to help you.
In the total dark, against logic, you find yourself straining to see, as if willpower could help you. You don't know where anyone else is, how many people are around you, what the layout of the room is, or anything. It makes you feel vulnerable and much more dependent on the staff. When the bartender came first he touched my hand gently, and I felt so relieved to know where someone was.
I noticed in general that if I wasn't touching anything, I had a weird kind of vertigo feeling, or at least I felt detached. I felt much better with my hands on the bar, or with my shoulder touching my friend's. We also both noticed that we smelled things much more strongly. We knew when someone's fish dish had come out because we could smell it go by, and both of us actively noticed and enjoyed our coffee more than usual. We also had a dessert of chocolate flan, and I found myself much more aware of the texture and temperature of it. It's also extremely difficult to eat when you don't know how much is left, how big the plate is, where on the plate it is...about half the bites I brought to my mouth were empty.
It was really an extraordinary experience, and very affecting. When we came out everything seemed so bright and loud. And after hearing the people around you talking, you start to develop a mental picture of what they look like, but then when you see them they're usually radically different than you thought.
My friend Cyrille told me a funny story about one time he was there, and the Italian woman next to him put her hand on his knee and asked her husband, "is that you?" Cyrille answered in Italian, "no, it's me," and she almost jumped out of her skin.
That doesn't generally happen in a normal restaurant.
<< | Posted on April 21, 2005 at 11:40 AM | >>
There really is no light coming in at all. If there are windows in the dining room, which as far as I can tell was an interior room, they were completely covered up, and you go through three draped entrance curtains on your way in, so there's no light coming in from the lobby. Keep in mind too that since the bartenders, servers, and chefs don't need light, there's none being used elsewhere in the dining room or kitchen. I'm guessing they've had to do some strategic covering of on lights for appliances and the like.
When you go in you obviously can't just walk in. The server came out to the waiting room and announced our names. We had to remember to say "that's us, we're here" instead of just standing up, or she wouldn't know we'd heard. Then she explains how it all will work, and what the name of the server will be. Then you grab onto her shoulders (and others behind you, like a conga line) and in you go. Once you get to your table she stops, tells you that "the table is to your left, your server's name is Lotte, and just say his name out loud if you need something.
Whenever they served us something they would tell us about it, e.g. I'm putting the coffee down in front of you. I'm turning the handle towards you. It's hot. There's sugar on the saucer." or whatever.
Posted by freddy @ April 21, 2005 12:29 PM
I really enjoyed reading this...closed my eyes..and almost fell asleep. I guess there isn't as much stimulation in an office.
d
Posted by dani @ April 21, 2005 12:31 PM
I wonder if you do this for other senses. Like no sound. Or all the food has the same texture... oh man, that seems sort of gross.
Posted by Mikey @ April 21, 2005 2:36 PM
holy shit. This is such an intense entry. I would like to go to this restaurant so much. It's amazing to think of the workers and how to them it is not intense, it is just the way life is. And they know where the bottles are and how to pour you a drink! and how your server knew where your table was in order to tell you. Mind-blowing to contemplate. It sounds incredible. Such a great idea for a restaurant!
Posted by ritchey @ April 21, 2005 5:20 PM
Cyrille says that he was there once when a glass got broken. If you are blind, how do you clean up broken glass?! Yet, again, it's not like you have the option not to do it. I guess you have a system.
Roomba, maybe.
Posted by freddy @ April 24, 2005 1:31 PM
Thanks for going and sharing your experience at Der Blindekuh! This is exactly why sex while blindfolded is so hot--all the others senses are heightened.
Posted by Capt. Jack Sparrow @ July 20, 2005 9:38 AM
Does anyone know if another of this type of restaurant exists elsewhere in the world? If so, please post. It seems like an unbelievable experience that I would very much like to have.
Posted by Lloyd @ March 21, 2008 8:15 AM
This style eatery started in Berlin Germany! They have folks with night vision goggles on. If something is spilled or broken they are there in an instant to see to proper cleanup! It is 100 percent pitch dark. As a memember of the media I got a full tour one night (after the dark experience) It's an awesome sensual evening and I highly urge everyone to try it, BUT go with friends you trust cause it's more then just a night out! ALSO you'll find that the longer you're in the dark the quieter you'll talk yet be totally intuned to your group! When you sit, there's a larger gap than normal between seats to allow the blind servers better access! GO ENJOY it will change your life if you let it!
Posted by Hans Frei @ March 23, 2008 9:29 PM
Post a comment:
I 'm surprised that your eyes didn't adjust after being in there for awhile, perhaps I'm assuming there is some kind of light shining through the windows?
We had an event at the theatre recently where the majority of the people in attendance were deaf. I had to have an interpreter with me to communicate, and we had to crank the music so that everyone could "feel it."
Posted by J_John @ April 21, 2005 12:21 PM