Meet Mata Hari

No better place to hang out after your daily shift than in the "Mata Hari Bar".

Niki et Jean, Paris, 1961

A mate's best mate and a girl

Thinking of becoming an nine to fiver? Need a change? Good so: Next job stop: rental car company. Chose the car of your dreams, do anything illegaly, and live like you always wanted to live. Insane, restless, complicated. But happy, really happy. And go for the girl of your dreams.... And never look back again. "A friend of mine" is now played in the local theatre.

Vegis paradise

Surprise, surprise - the Hells Angels have left their headquarters, but opposite a new vegi restaurant "Samses" got the thumb up by my friends, and I tell you: terrific.


Delicious home made pasta, great buffet food and comfy atmosphere, and yes, the service is great too. Get started in the Mata Hari bar and hop over :-).

Friday goes up

The Zurich based bag-manufacturer "Freitag" got some publicity by placing a cool Friday-tower close to the station Hardbrücke. The store is fancy and you can walk up the containers to the very top and get a great spot over the old industry district. Being up there, you feel the vibration of this hip area and on a map, you can follow the history of the company and check out where everything got started...

Helsinki in town

Cool, now there's a club in town called "Helsinki-Bar-Club".
And the best: Cheap drinks, great atmosphere and live performances in the evening. Simple as it's best, and heck, when the show goes on, it's packed and hot - so just walk in and never make it out...!

Salut Palu

The summer is saved, my bike dealer Palu is back in town. I love his Italian bikes, all the Moto Guzzis, the Vespas and the old Laverda from the 70s. Vrooooom!

1 indian and 4 carpet walls

Streetcrawling in Circle 4 around Helvetiaplatz and Longstreet, I fancy "kobal's curry & café" for food and drink. I like it, girls even more - even if the walls look dated and Bollywood is shown all the time...

Slotter's paradise

Goosh, spring is far away, rainy days forever - why not spending a day at "Slotter's Paradise".
Fulfill all men's dreams of being in control of the famous Le Mans - Gulf Porsche 917 or Ford GT 40? You can rent the whole place for your mates and youngster too, so I just say: "Gentlemen, start your engines...! Sorry, ladies too!"

Johnny round the block

The legend lives on - the cash machine too! Wish I went to see him in Hendersonville, Tennessee in 2001, but I just made it to Elvis' Graceland in Memphis. Heck, get me this double album then!

Lolo's factory - en avant!

Out of town and a trip to the French part of Switzerland, to Lausanne (or Lolo). Old industry sites have been converted into vivid entertainment locations for artists, galleries, restaurants and dance halls. The "Usine" (aka factory) is also the home of Sens Unik, one of the most popular Swiss bands. And the club "Mad" is one of the coolest places to be - Zurich is cool, but Lolo blows your head off, and the people very stylish - say hello to the French lifestyle :-)!

500 takes Abarth!

Fancy a city hot rod, 1.4 turbo, 150 wild horses and going 130 miles? Fiat is bringing back the famous Abarth in 2007.




Some memories are coming back when I once had an Autobianchi A112 Abarth for a night in 1989. Quite a little rocket and fun (1.0 four, 70 horses, 100 miles top speed)!

On screen soon: The life of others

Well, East Germany is history for years now, but the nightmare of being watched by the state's watchdogs remains. Chose life, and not another 1984.
Movie website: The life of others on sony classics
Detailed info: The life of others on wikipedia.org

Roadrunners and wild, wild west

Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris are performing on stage, soon in Zurich. Hmm, mixing the legendary Dire Straits sound with country stuff from Emmylou...

The album is called "All the Roadrunning" and Knopfler's guitar performances are as excellent as usual. And if you like Johnny Cash or Linda Ronstadt, you may get along with Emmylou as well.
For more info:
Mark Knopfler
Emmyloy Harris

Sweet dreams

Yummi - ever got hocked on these sweet donuts you saw in the movies, like Dunkin Donut?

Good news, there's a local one now in Meilen, Zürich, called Donatli. Delicious, crispy and really thick, just yummi!

Rat packing in the city of sins

There's always a reason to get there if tomorrow never comes...

A Streetcat's place in town

Damned, I neary got a flat in the circle 5 of my town (see red-white building on the middle left, 2nd top floor). Promised, nearly got the keys, but the jerk from the housing agency thought differently....

Walking with the man in black

Tell you, the movie knocks you down... just incredible!

Endless winter times

Ghotic underground

As far as I can remember we went underground to a ghotic party at the Palais Xtra, pretty dark, black leather, and girls I've never seen in my life... except the one next to me, that's Romy from Leipzig with the cool Volvo station wagon!

Tune in

Merry Christmas

LA stories - awardwinning!

Fall is on the way

Thank you, Cinema Paradiso

The story of a famous Italian film director who returns home to a Sicilian village for the first time after almost 30 years away. Once there, he is reconnected with the life and people he once knew—particularly the old projectionist at the town’s movie theater—and in revisiting the poignant memories of childhood, the journey brings back the highlights and tragedies that shaped his life and inspired him to pursue his dream.

I must have seen it around 10 times and I still love it. But see the master's cut - the love of his life, Elena, has not been far away from the movie theatre in all those years, but how could he have known, he left town and never looked back until he returned to learn the truth. The movies became his life, as he, by a lifespan of time, missed what he really loved but never got.

Light project

The city authorites are working on a project called "Plan lumière" to highlight the uniqueness of the big town and to improve the orientation in the night by placing spotlights to highlight the facade of the buildings.

Wow, till now I didn't get lost in the dark, but I must admit that it really looks great! So streetcats, hit the road and discover the city in a new light.

Weekend's special

I love weekends! Time to break free and to get crazy! Inside news: the girl next to me was my former boss at work in Santa Barbara, California...

Modern times at Sulzer's

In Winterthur, 20 miles from Zurich, the industrial complex of Sulzer is history now . The area is now being converted into a new city district of living, working and entertainment. Part of the old monuments remain and it still leaves a big impression. But in my ears, I still here the hammering of the steel pressing machines... when Sulzer had the reputation for producing the best turbines, turbochargers and diesel engines in the world.

Knock knock

After "Paris, Texas", Wim Wenders hit the film festial in Cannes with his latest movie called "Don't come knocking". Main roles: Sam Sheppard in the search of his past and the hope of future and and a terrific Jessica Lange.

The King, still taking care of business

Wow, another Elvis release, this time the Elvis home movie footage on DVD "Elvis by the Presleys".
Meet the King, meet Elvis the redneck, meet the guy who's still taking care of business, even 28 years after his death. For more than 4 hours. And enjoy it - live on your home screen. And for the soundtrack: Skip it, just the same old songs of any compilation.

For readers, I recommend Elvis' biography by Peter Guralnick "Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley" is a must-read for any rock or Elvis fan. The second volume, "Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley (Careless Love)" shows the inevitable downside of the King's fame.

Looking for superb Elvis: You might better stick on "The Lost Album", the "Album That Never Was": it packages all the master tracks from two Nashville sessions in May 1963 and January 1964 into one complete set. (Originally intended as an album, the May '63 tracks instead were used as singles and album "fillers" over the next few years.) Now collected together for the first time on this CD, it turned out to be the one of the best album Elvis ever released. Top pick for all Elvis fans.