This morning I had the shock of my life :shock:
I walked into my office and stole a quick glance to the right to look at my assistant while I was taking care of my coat and purse. Next to him another subordinate was busy retying his knot of his tie and honestly it really looked as though he was redressing :lol:
It was funny because of course I went to them and with a pretend shocked expression I wonder what the hell they had been doing. One got the joke right away, the other just stuttered about the knot having looked all wrong. The expression on his face was priceless :D And now I'm in the best of moods even though today is a very busy day!
So let's back to Alsace and set some facts straight. No Lobo, Le Petomane (which can be translated the Farter :roll: ) is not Alsatian. He probably could have been, with all the sauerkraut we're eating :lol:
And of course Linsey got it right the most famous child of my beautiful region is Albert Schweitzer.
He was born in the same village as my grandmother, Kaysersberg. i guess most of you know about him. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Price and he founded and sustained the Lambaréné Hospital in Gabon.
But another Alsatian sculpted the probably most famous lady in the world. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, born in Colmar, created her. I'm sure you know who I mean?
Yep that's right, that's her :D I'm sure I don't have to say anything more ;)
Want a glimpse of my native village? It doesn't have anything really special compared to very typical villages in Alsace. It's not particularly big, the houses are not really beautiful, but well it's home.
I like our church. It's called Saint Michel and I must say it's a rather good looking one for a village that small (less than 3,000 inhabitants). It was built at the end of the 18th century. Let's have a little look inside because it's pretty :D
Nice no?
One specificity of Alsace is that compared to France or even Germany nearby there is an equal number of Roman Catholics and Lutherans in the region. Most villages were under the protection of either the Catholic Church or the nobility and depending on that you had either religion.
Weyersheim was Catholic whereas all the villages nearby were Lutheran. It sound a little outdated to speak about 'war of religion', but the competition between Catholic and Protestant villages has been fierce until the late sixties. My great-grandmother who was a very religious woman told me at a young age that I would never be allowed the entrance of her home if I'd ever marry a Lutheran :roll: I know that's crazy :shock: But really think she meant it :?
Well I need to go back to work. Next time I'll post about Alsace I'll talk a little about Strasbourg, the capital city of the region.