I'm in the French region of Alsace, visiting an old friend from graduate school who I probably haven't seen in twenty years (yikes). He lives in an area that's right near the borders of both Switzerland and Germany, and only about 8 miles west of Basel, Switzerland.
A brief history of Alsace from Wikipedia:
The name "Alsace" derives from the Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "Seated on the Ill",[2] a river in Alsace. The region was historically part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV and made one of the provinces of France. Alsace is frequently mentioned in conjunction with Lorraine, because German possession of parts of these two régions (as the imperial province Alsace-Lorraine, 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries, during which Alsace changed hands four times between France and Germany in 75 years.Probably the most striking thing about the region is the homes. To me, at least, they look awfully Germanic and Alpine. A bit like ski chalets. Except not quite. There's an abstract quality to both the colors of the home, and the seemingly random design of the lattice. Have a look.
Oh, another thing you'll notice, everywhere, are the flowers. The small villages around here are flower CRAZY. And it's great. They're everywhere along the roads. My friend Frank says "they" even give out stars to the villages, to denote who has the prettiest flower arrangements, so it's a bit of a cold "flower" war along the Franco-Swiss-German border.
A bit more of the funky home colors:
And finally, a few other styles, mixed with the ubiquitous flower arrangements.
