Today, studenten, we will be learning about German über-physicist Karl Ferdinand Braun while taking a tour around a Hamburg coffee shop that bears his name. Café Ferdinand, by Aerogram Studio, has a pleasing retro university vibe about it, which is perfect for a little casual learning on the subject of one of telecommunications’ most important pioneers – Karl Ferdinand Braun.

There’s a reason Braun has been chosen as the figurehead for this café, beyond his general genius. We’re actually inside the city’s flagship Vodafone store, and they know as well as anyone that without the brilliant Nobel laureate, we’d all still be talking to each other using yoghurt pots tied together with string. Artist Natalya Posukhova’s big blackboard illustrates some of Braun’s most important achievements in wireless telegraphy including the directional signal antenna (he also built the first cathode ray tube used by pre-flatscreen TVs, fact fans), and there are some nice metal stools to perch on while familiarising yourself with his work. Custom-made classroom desks are an edifying place to eat, while decoration comes in the form of some attractive vintage telephones and academic display cabinets housing learned volumes and period scientific equipment. This assignment gets an A+ from us.