Husband and wife team from one of my regular pubs share a private moment - well not very private with me and my camera around..

Cafe Bohemia in Zurich is another of my morning haunts, but unlike Tibits and Globus I don't think I've posted a photo. It's much more of a brasserie than the other two although I like all three for different reasons. For that reason I gave the photo the "vintage" treatment like yesterdays Paris shot. It also has a free wi-fi connection so you can indulge your blogging activities till your heart's content. That said, I have to apologise for my lack of visibility in recent weeks on my favourite blogs.

Haven't posted a photo of the buffet for a while. Here it is - looking a bit more faded and sepulchral than it actually is. That's B+W for you.

I had an interesting chat with another photographer recently about B+W. He made the observation that some female friends thought that the use of B+W made for a rather "bleak" overall impression. That maybe there was a gender dimension involved. I have to say that I don't consider my outlook as bleak, but maybe that's not the impression other people have

I was in Paris for just one night, en route back to Zurich. I feel I need to explain this photo, something I don't normally do but it's the only one I have. On the face of it, it looks like I captured a guy at the bar staring at the waitress passing by. But actually it was just the characteristic atmosphere that appealed to me. Someone stands at the bar and is lost in thought. The waitress busies herself back and forth with the other customers. Drinks wait appealingly behind the comptoir. I sit and steal pictures from my seat. Brasserie life

A strike by Belgian railways kept me in Brussels for an extra day. Not too much hardship was experienced however..

Leica M4-2 35mm Summicron FP4

Late night, in the old, tiled Central Bar in Leith, Edinburgh. The band is called Homemade Jam, and the lady is from Cleveland Ohio. BillG probably knows her.

More info here

The interior is magnificently tiled in a fashion common to a lot of Edinburgh pubs from the late 19th early 20th century although this photo doesn't really show it off. Despite it's heritage this used to be a den of iniquity in the days of my youth. Nice to see it still with some character

Leica M8 28mm Elmarit

Replying to Bill, and not trying to court controversy, a photo of Liz would be very decorative, but I don't have one, so here's a pic taken in a pub. (Sorry if some people have been left behind by the last few comments)

I'm off to Lugano for a short business trip - and even the shortest business trip begins with Zurich Bahnhof Buffet

Leica M8 28mm Elmarit

Going over old ground, repeating myself, talking to myself even - all signs of advancing years. This photo blog is indulging my photographic whims much more than the visitors who might want to see a different Zurich from my endless morning coffee stops. Of course Ainz's blog is a good resource for that.

Anyway, here's the Globus cafe again - a bit later in the morning, so some sunlight. Various things I like about it, but I won't bore you with the details

Back to the Bahnhof, another regular early morning stop for me with it's old fashioned "Brief Encounter" feel

Leica M3 50mm Summicron Tri-x

A festive shot from my regular morning haunt - "Tibits".

Leica M3 50mm Summicron Tri-x

You can click on the image to see what I was lining up for the evening, but the original is 2mb and 3823px wide, so you'll need to scroll right and left to see it all (your browser may resize it to fit)

Leica M8 24mm Elmarit

A meeting of old acquaintances in Bruxelles, and an afternoon spent in La Mort Subite - a Bruxelles institution where the patina, waiters, beers and menu have not changed since I was last there 12 years ago

Bill here is trying to operate the menu system on his new (first) digital camera by willpower alone

My good friend chuckeroon liked the last one so much I just had to post another, looking in the opposite direction. And before anyone else says it first, yes, there isn't a single piece of this that's in focus. Still waiting on the first coffee.

Leica M3 50mm Summicron Tri-x

I'm the first customer in Globus cafe at 7am. The coffee is brewing and a veritable thrombosis of croissants is laid out in temptation (Gipfeli in Swiss-german). Plain butter croissants, big cornettos filled with vanilla cream or apricot, pain au chocolat - choose your poison. There is also birchermüesli if you are feeling virtuous

Leica M3 50mm Summicron Tri-x

This old fashioned establishment has featured here before, but that's the thing about old fashioned establishments, they don't go out of fashion, so here it is again

I seem to be taking more and more shots in the railway station these days. It's probably just laziness - this is where I fetch up on the short trip into the town centre

Globus is an upmarket department store with two main branches in Zurich - Bahnhofstrasse and Bellevue. They have foodhalls that are for me the ultimate temptations, and civilized cafes which merge nicely with the shopping

Leica M8, 35mm Summicron, cropped and monochromed

This is an image that might be nice to look at in a larger size (800k). The depth of field is shallow - it was shot hand-held at f2.0 - but the details show up nicely-

Among all the new and high tech buildings going up in Zurich Nord, there is an increasing demand to cater for people. Many take-away and temporary type establishments have sprung up, but Isebähnli is a bit different. It's been there a while, run by Elizabeth and Ow, shown here, and it's an old railway carriage. I particularly like the signs that say "Don't hang out the windows". Quality of the photo is not too great, but as they say....

In the small picture, the restaurant is the one on the left. There is also a little station garden, with seating outside

And if you can't find a Zurich drinking fountain, there are also other options...

Morning in the cafe of Globus department store at Bellevue. The cafe is open at 7am and is another regular haunt. Although not a sweet-tooth person I can often be seen negotiating one of their corniche vanille - a sort of croissant filled with vanilla cream. However I took this photo because it reminds me of Zurich, wakening up to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Tages Anzeiger

This friendly asian takeaway/sitdown/standup cafe is a favourite in the Niederdorf Area of Zurich if you just want something quick, tasty and generally nourishing. And you can take photos while you wait, if you ask nicely

Lecia M3 50mm Summicron Tri-x

"Imagine" is a bar in Zürich Hauptbanhof - for bright young things I think, hence the bright young backdrop to the bar. I've seen this as a regular theme in many bars in various cities in the last few years. It's quite effective, and photogenic, but maybe I'm getting bored with it now.

Tibits cafe - waiting for customers