One of the most appealing things about Germany is its cafe society; places where you can nurse a coffee, read a book and watch the world go by. You are never hassled to move on, they serve breakfast all day long and usually have an array of freshly baked cakes. German cafes tend to have a handy stash of magazines and newspapers, so if you happen to leave your book at home, there's always something to read.

Writing at home is fraught with booby-traps: the laundry, the phone, members of my family, so I have spent large chunks of the last three years writing in Heidelberg cafes where I have no alternative but to knuckle down. I thought that over the next few weeks, I'd introduce you to some of my favourites.

The first candidate is my newest find, the Literature Cafe. On arriving in Heidelberg, the first thing we did was join the library, a lovely glass building overlooking a small park in the centre of town. It is light-filled, groaning with books and scattered with cushions for readers to lounge on. My family and I felt immediately at home.

The cafe has a small menu of hot and cold drinks, breakfast items, sandwiches and cakes, which are apparently baked by the owner herself. There is a short daily specials menu, and since I was there at lunchtime, I ordered the spicy vegetable coconut soup, which was delicious and an extremely reasonable EUR 3.50. Along with a large Milchkaffee and a mineral water, my bill came in at EUR 7.50. The service was polite and efficient, and in the German manner to which I have grown happily accustomed, not over-friendly. On Sunday, the Literature Cafe does a brunch for EUR 6.50 per person, which is a bargain. There is a selection of 50 newspapers from around the world, which customers are welcome to pick up and read with their coffee.

For me, the Literature Cafe's biggest selling point is its proximity to the library. You can get your books and head straight for the cafe to start reading. The clientele yesterday were mainly people on their own, either reading or writing. Those in couples or groups spoke quietly, as if in deference to the library next door, and the only person who broke the quiet was a four-year-old who had a spectacular melt-down but was quickly removed by his mother. I could still hear his screams of  'Mean Mummy! Mean Mummy!' going down the road as I smugly returned to my personal oasis of coffee and words.

Heidelberg's Literature Cafe can be found at Poststrasse 15. It is open Tuesday to Friday from 10am till 8pm, Saturdays from 10am till 5pm and Sundays from 10am till 3pm.

 
'Charlotte Otter is a South African freelance writer and apprentice novelist who has lived in Germany for 12 years. She has written a crime novel set in her homeland and has plans for a series. Charlotte blogs about writing, reading and living in Germany at Charlotte's Web (www.charlotteotter.wordpress.com)'

Charlotte's blog, 10 things I love about Germany, was one of the three blogs shortlisted for Expatica Germany's best blog 2010/2011 award.