I heard of the regions, or rather, the words 'Alsace' and 'Lorraine' as part of 10th standard history of the world wars. Not knowing much about where they lay and what they are, they were then just words to be learnt by heart, a part of two history chapters that made the world wars sound as if they took place within a day of each other, and lasted only about that long.
Anyway, I had found out since that these words are regions, and that today they are in France, and that one of them - Lorraine - is actually the closest french region from Düsseldorf. So, I immediately grabbed the opportunity of the easter break to plan a visit. Alsace, of course, is still pending, maybe I will make it there next easter.
Lorraine: contested between germany and france for years, occupied by one or the other at their whim, and today with open schengen borders, only 300km away. It is a region that is said to have had strong german influence at one time: the village names still make me believe that, but the people have completely and perhaps knowingly broken from that unwanted history, and have bid to become more french than france itself. I had instances of people being offended and disdainful when asked if they speak german, and just about deign to try a few words of english.
Metz is the capital of the region, and is home to a wonderful cathedral and an old city on the Moselle river. The obvious comparison to someone staying in the Rhineland is of the Metz cathedral with the one in Cologne, and despite Metz having a far prettier colour and masses of beautiful stained glass, Cologne for me remains far more impressive.
The Lorraine countryside has an important series of historical monuments from the world war period: The so called Maginot Line, a series of fortifications along the border designed to hold at bay a frontal German attack until the french army could be mobilized. The germans, though, simply entered france around the Maginot Line instead of attempting a passage through, resulting in the fact that most of the Maginot forts faced no action at all, and are still considered by the french as an embarrasing piece of history.
Nancy is the traditional capital of Lorraine, and for a tourist it is completely dominated by the grand Place Stanislaus, at the city centre. With wonderful weather, the city was full of sidewalk cafes and restaurants, and the square was lit at night in a way that the french manage make much better than anywhere I have seen in germany. All in all, Place Stanialaus was for me the most impressive single city square I have seen in Europe so far.
