Advertisement
Published: October 23rd 2007
Feast of St Gall
Beatrice recites a poem about ChoucrouteAn interesting morning - attended a Catholic church service for the first time in many years. It was the feast of Saint Gall, one of the two Patron Saints of Niedermorschwihr. The feast was in celebration of the recent harvest and was a big celebration and family event. We attended the service out of respect for Beatrice and also Bernard (one of Beatrice’s cousins, who was also staying with them who happens to be a Priest).
So, together with the family members who were at home at the time we attended the local church at 10am and amazing as it may seem the roof did not collapse when I entered. The service was enjoyable and interesting, the choir and the organ sounded wonderful, the display of produce at the altar was also very special. The lighting in the church was very theatric, with the sun streaming in the eastern windows, giving a great back light to the Priests performing the service. Bernard co-celebrated with the local priest.
After the service the congregation gathered outside and shared some wine and snacks. We were introduced to some of the attendees, including
Feast of St Gall
Laurent & Myriam the local Mayor. It was a pleasant start to the day. Following the service we returned home for a marathon lunch. Joining us were a number of Jean and Beatrice’s friends, including Bernard and Eliane, their daughter Myriam and husband Laurent (who I had met 2 years before, they had married some time last year and were now expecting their first baby).
We had a wonderful afternoon, sharing a meal with friends and family is certainly one of the more enjoyable things you can do. The conversation flowed freely, with the warm sun flowing through the dining room window. It was hard to get up from the table after such a great meal, but I was in need of a walk to work off the lunch and wine. Cheers to Saint Gall!
Check out some info about Niedermorschwihr and the Church of St Gall here
Les Amis du Clocher Vrillé Niedermorschwihr 15th October 2007 - Mountain Drive We took to the Route of Crests today to see the mountains and also the Munster Valley. The drive via Trois Epis, La Linge, La Hohneck, Metzeral and Munster is very pretty. It takes you up and along the Vosges, with views back toward
the Alsace Plain and on the other side to Lorraine. The museum and preserved battle field at la Linge is a sad reminder of how cruel and brutal the 1st World War was (all wars for that matter).
From La Hohneck the road winds down into the Munster Valley and the scenery is very special. Made a quick stop at the cemetery in Metzeral to pay my respects to the various ancestors I have who are buried there. Sure they are long gone from this world but they have played a very big part in the story of why we have such a special connection with Jean and Beatrice. It is worth a few moments to stop and thank them for this connection that has spanned so many generations.
We also managed to make it to Kaysersberg and then the Beauville shop at Ribeauvillé for some last minute purchases in Alsace. Then we rushed back home again to say farewell to Jean-Frédéric who was departing back to Switzerland to continue his university studies. We would have liked to have spent a bit more time with him because he is a good friend, but we will get that chance
Feast of St Gall
Juliette, Jean, ? and Jean-Marie again I am sure. Just before he left he helped me prepare a short speech because we wanted to give his parents some small gifts to say thank you to them for their hospitality and ongoing friendship. I had the basic words, but my french grammar is pretty terrible so he helped me spruce it up a bit.
At dinner I made my speech in French and we gave Jean and Beatrice a quilt that my mother had made for them, plus Al and Melissa gave them a painting from our local area in Australia. One day I will spend enough time in France to perfect this language, until then I will continue to bumble along as best I can, with my Aussie accent, my terrible grasp of grammar and more poor memory. This is of course not the fault of my wonderful Professeur de Français, Michele, it is all down to me being a undisciplined student!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.31s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 33; qc: 152; dbt: 0.1934s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.5mb
