Beluna Cafe

Beluna Cafe is located in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Kitzbühel is a small medieval town in Tyrol, Austria, situated on the Kitzbüheler Ache river. It has a population of 8,204 (as at 1 Jan 2010) and is the administrative centre of the district (Bezirk) Kitzbühel. The town is situated in the Kitzbühel Alps about 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the state capital of Innsbruck and is a ski resort of international renown.

The Organ Grinder

Organ Grinder at Place du Tertre, Paris by HighlanderImages

The organ grinder was a musical novelty street performer of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, and refers to the operator of a street organ. This lady in Place du Tertre, Montmarte, Paris was entertaining the customers at the side street cafes with her organ mounted on a scooter.

Period literature often represents the grinder as a gentleman of ill repute or as an unfortunate representative of the lower classes. Newspaper reporters would sometimes describe them cynically or jocularly as minor extortionists who were paid to keep silent, given the repetitious nature of the music. Later depictions would stress the romantic or picturesque aspects of the activity. Whereas some organ grinders were itinerants or vagabonds, many were recent immigrants who chose to be street performers in order to support their families. Those who actually owned their barrel organs were more likely to take care of them and pursue the "profession" more seriously. A few organ grinders still remain, perhaps most famously Joe Bush in the United States.

Exceptionally, the grinder could be a woman, or small child, cranking away on a smaller organ or on a large organ mounted on a pushcart that was sometimes pulled by a donkey. More often than not the grinder was a man, bearing a medium sized barrel organ held in front of him and supported by a hinged or removable wooden stick or leg that was strapped to the back of the organ. The strap around his neck would balance the organ, leaving one hand free to turn the crank and the other to steady the organ. A tin cup on top of the organ or in the hand of a companion (or an animal) was used to solicit payments for his performance. There was an endless variation in the size of the organ. The size varied from a small organ with only 20 notes weighing only 18 pounds to a huge barrel organ with hundreds of pipes weighing several hundred pounds. Larger organs were usually mounted on a cart, although organ grinders were known to carry an instrument weighing over 100 pounds. The most elaborate organs could even have mechanical figures or automata mounted on top of or in the front of the case.

Isadora's Cafe

This dapper young man was parading around the Easter Parade in New York on Easter Sunday and when I asked to take his photograph he proudly whipped out this advertising card for Isadora's Cafe. Nothing to beat some free advertising!

Happy Hour

This is a typical scene in Amsterdam late afternoon/early evening when people kick back and have a happy hour drink. These little corner bars and cafes are usually set up very well with outside seats so you can sit and relax in the cool evening air and watch people either heading home on their bicycles or sitting at the bar/cafe opposite you doing the exact same thing! This particular bar/cafe was on the Prinsengracht canal and very close to the hotel I was staying at so it was always an easy option to drop in for  a cleansing Dutch beer.

The Chocolate Corner

Every street, side street or back lane in Brugge seems to have numerous cafes and of course little chocolate shops with delightful temptations .... ideal for the weary tourist to stop, relax and succumb to temptation.

The Markt

The Markt ("Market Square") of Bruges is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about 1 hectare. Some historical highlights around the square include the 12th-century belfry and the Provincial Court (originally the Waterhall, which in 1787 was demolished and replaced by a classicist building that from 1850 served as provincial court and after a fire in 1878 was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1887. In the center of the market stands the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck.

In 1995 the market was completely renovated. Parking in the square was removed and the area became mostly traffic-free, thus being more celebration friendly. The renovated market was reopened in 1996 with a concert by Helmut Lotti.

Around the Markt are numerous restaurants, cafes and bars where you can sit and take in the sights of the many historic medieval buildings and sample some of the Belgian food and beer.

The Small Cafe

Came across this wonderful tiny cafe in the backstreets of Vienna, Austria which spilled out onto the street with a collection of tables and chairs. "The Little Cafe" does sell coffee, but the most popular drinks on the menu seem to be made of rather stronger stuff. Owned by actor Hanno Poschl, the Kleines Cafe draws a pleasant bunch of artists, students and leather-clad odd-bods with giant moustaches. As the name implies, the interior's not on the gargantuan scale, but in summer the chairs spill out onto the picturesque Franziskanerplatz, offering a perfect spot for a sunset sip. Peckish adventurers can order up some light bites, but beer and wine remain the main fodder.

President Cafe

The President cafe is a mamak style restaurant in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur offering many of the local favourites such as roti canai, nasi campur, mee goreng, nasi briyani and ayam goreng. It's a wonderful place to stop for a teh tarik and a snack which is exactly what I did during a photo walk in the area to capture images of the famous Coliseum picture house.

Old China Cafe

The Old China Cafe lies in the heart of Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur and entering this cafe brings you back to those nostalgic, pre-war colonial days.  The saloon doors on the entrance give you an impression of a some sort of cowboy town establishment. The building used to be the old guild hall of the Selangor & Federal Territory Laundry Association. The guild was set up at the turn of the century and moved to this part of Chinatown in the 1920s.

Many of the architectural details of the building have remained unchanged, even the interior doors still have wooden latches. Inside there are two large mirrors that face each other and these are traditional feng shui mirrors that Chinese believe would perpetually reflect the good luck when the first rays of the morning sun light up the interior.

The cafe now serves a range of southeast Asian cuisine which originates from the Baba Nonya communities of Malacca and Penang which features Malay spices as well as Chinese ingredients and cooking techniques. The Old China Cafe tries to maintain a semblance of the Chinese community’s old social life which will unfortunately soon fade into history.

The Pink Sage

Tucked away in Jalan Dang Wangi, Kuala Lumpur is a new style hawker food outlet called "The Pink Sage" which calls itself a diner and pantry. Breakfast here is special with apparently the best pancakes in town - the main star being the stack of three thick, fluffy pancakes served up with corn and boysenberry syrup. Or you can choose the artery-blocking Greasy Breakfast with corned beef, hash browns, beef bacon, eggs and tomatoes. The homemade burgers are what customers come back for and the American Classic Cheeseburger being voted one of the best. The restaurant has a simple but appealing design and the clever use of glass makes it spacious and airy. Check it out.