I knew I’d spend my birthday in Metz, the capital of Lorraine, when I organized my press trip. I knew I would be away from family and friends with only Twitter and Facebook to keep me company. I knew that Metz would join the dubious company of Athens, London, San Francisco, Paris,Vienna, Zurich, St Ives, […]
Photo Essay: Art Nouveau in Nancy
What is remarkable about Nancy is that its architectural heritage spans many centuries. I could easily have created a photo essay about its mediaeval town or its rococo square, Place Stanislas. But it is the art nouveau that somehow catches everyone by surprise. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 when Alsace and part of Lorraine […]
Swiss Romansch
As if Switzerland isn’t peculiar enough, it has a corner – or rather several scattered ones – where Romansch, its fourth official language is spoken. These corners tend to be where Italian meets German meets Frenchand that’s what the language looks like: a mixture between the three with a Latin-based vocabulary but with a German […]