Blindekuh

It's Saturday night and Adeeb, Tracy, and I decided to have dinner at "Blindekun" a restaurant where you eat in total darkness. The wait staff is blind and the experience simulates the feeling of blindness. So we hop on the tram and head to Dornacherstrasse which is about 20 minutes from our apartment building. When we arrive they gave us the menu so we could make our selections prior to taking us to our table because you can’t read in the dark of course. Ok, not so strange... Then we are informed of the lockers so we can store our wallets, purses, phones, or ANYTHING that could produce a glimmer of light. After locking up our belongings we are taken the waiting area. While in the waiting area we encounter other guests leaving the dining room covering their eyes and struggling to re-adjust to the light. I thought how bad could this really be or are these people just being dramatic? I guess we'll see:) Then we are introduced to our waitress "Alexandria" or "Alex" for short who is completely blind and speaks very little English. We are instructed to place our hands on her shoulders and form a line so she can guide us to our table. Along the way there are no steps or articles to bump our head (that's a relief). I volunteer to be first and off we go! At first it feels like you are entering a haunted house where you can’t see anything and you only have your sense of smell and touch to protect you. I started to see spots which made me laugh uncontrollably to the point where tears were running down my cheeks. The dining room was completely full and I could hear other guests laughing, talking, and eating. The sound of their voices was overpowering and very loud. Once we arrived at the table we fumbled to our seats and I started to think is it going to be completely dark the whole time? My eyes still have not adjusted to the light and I start to feel cross eyed. I try closing my eyes hoping that it will help me relax. It would be impossible for me to maintain this for the rest of dinner, so I open eyes and give into the darkness. It's important for you to know where your silverware and glasses are so you don't spill anything. Of course during the meal people at other tables were breaking and/or dropping their glasses. Which opens to a discuss at the table " How can they clean up glass in the dark?" and "How does Alex or the other wait staff clean the table after every group?" This is when we start to realize what it must be like to be blind. You have to do everything in the DARK all the time! Eating dinner at Blindekuh was one of the strangest experiences I have ever had. It was fun, exciting, and thought provoking all at the same time!

If you want to visit their website to learn more click here:: http://www.blindekuh.ch/