A renaissance man for the twenty-first century!
I find this kind of interesting. The word “steit” is written here starting with “st…” but it is pronounced “scht…” – so it is quite interesting why some words in Bärndütsch are written like they sound (e.g. chunnt dri) but other words (e.g. “steit”) are not written that way.
This may be one of those mysteries that nobody probably knows the answer to!
This is Pope Leo IX, or at least a statute of him, in downtown Eguisheim in Alsace, France:
And thirteen popes later we have Pope Leo XIV,
Clearly, both of them are wielding big sceptors – call a ferula. The one on the statute has three bars – which differentiates itself from those from archbishops (two bars) or bishops (1 bar). But . . . it raises an interesting question: when did popes stop sporting beards?
The city of Biel/Bienne in Switzerland is a strange place – more so, because it has a lake. You see, in any normal city with a nice lake you’d find grebes like this doing what grebes like to do, namely, floating around on the nice lake, diving, and eating some tasty fish. What inspired these grebes to park themselves on a roof – I have no idea.
You find these all over France, and I’ve read they were ordered by Napoleon to provide shade for marching troops – but I’ve also read that this is an urban legend – so I guess this is still a big mystery for me to clear up one day!
The Via Tolosana goes through the sleepy Provence town of Saint-Gilles-du-Gard – but at one time, it was the fourth major stop on the Via Tolosana pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
The entire village is filled with hidden and not-so-hidden references to this route!
You can see the Arles Amphitheater in the background. Very interestingly, the fountain is dry – they shut off the water. One wonders if this is due to global warming?
Another breathtaking view of Pont du Gard
One of the oldest and pretties villages in Provence – but sadly I did not stop.
Continuing the series,
