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The Marx cafe is located right outside the Skalitzer str. entrance to Goerlitzer Park, a popular summer destination for unemployed punks, young hipsters, and grill-happy turkish families. Although a new and rather ugly cafe is being built diagonally across from the Marx directly on Spreewaldplatz, the cafe has little to worry about: Spreewaldplatz could use another location with terrace seating and in the summer the plaza is so lively and well-visited that another cafe will hardly make a dent in their thriving and long standing cafe business.
When you enter the Marx cafe you see a long counter with many bar stools, a generous selection of reading pouring out from welcoming shelves on the right side, and several tables. A closer look reveals a stone sculpture of the face of the philosopher that bears the cafes namesake. A much closer look, especially in the direction of the display cases, reveals luscious chocolate brownies (delivered by local company Tim's) and appetizing cakes. During this visit I am accompanied by roomates, P and a visitor from Paris. Marx is a nice destination after a long walk through the park and is a dreamy sight for sore legs. The service is a bit slow (and like in most Berlin cafes, there is only one person working counter, terrace and indoor seating) but the coffee is tasty. I relish it with even more urgency than usual because it also serves the function of washing down the very dense chocolate brownie that I've ordered. My roomates, P and the parisian visitor all take bagels, a random menu item reminiscent of capitalist USA, a place that Marx would surely criticize today. Irony aside, our visit is pleasant and we have a nice, long conversation. A visit to the bathroom takes you down a long hallway slathered in rock posters, the only sign of "personal taste" in an establishment otherwise very neutral (yet comfortable and welcoming). There are many signs up in the hall for rock shows, bands and rehearsal spaces, which leads me to believe that they specialize in connecting musician scenesters with one another. The chairs aren't comfy enough to spend all day in, although the relatively calm atmosphere makes for a good satellite office.
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