Exploring Metz: Visiting France’s Eastern Stronghold by Savvy Mom Ruth
Paget
My
husband Laurent and I took the Autoroute de l’Est (East) to Metz. Once we passed Eurodisney, the landscape
became hilly.
Woods,
stretches of forest, and champagne vineyards rolled by the car. The landscape surprised me. I thought that the East of France was flat
and a little war-ravaged still with patches of unkempt fields and many war cemeteries
with their uniform white crosses.
When
we arrived in Metz, I did not expect to see a spot that shimmered with such
lush, green colors. It rains frequently,
which makes everything grow easily.
Several
islands break up the Moselle River. A
canal is attached to the river as well.
There are many pathways alongside the river, which allows everyone to
take advantage of the flower-filled walks.
When
we met Laurent’s cousin, I said, “Metz is beautiful” with a strong emphasis on
the “z’” on the end of the word.
“We
pronounce the name of our city as ‘Mess,”” his cousin told me.
She
certainly knew how to pronounce the word as she was a high-ranking government
official in the Préfet’s Office. A
French préfet is the rough equivalent of an American governor; they are
appointed by the French president and not elected.
I
had unknowingly touched upon some sore spots with my foreigner’s pronunciation
of the final “z’ in the word Metz. This
northeastern region in France has been fought over by the Germans and French in
two world wars in the 20th century.
Metz
is bisected by the limpid Moselle River with tiny island parks. German architecture lines the fashionable
Avenue Foch.
Every
apartment building on this street seemed to sport a stepped, triangular façade
typical of German architecture along with heavy, stone masonry.
The
thick, floral garlands decorating the German homes seemed heavier than the
narrower versions on French homes with their tall windows and smooth,
light-colored stone exteriors.
There
have been hideous wars between France and Germany with Metz on the
frontlines. However, there is a fusion
of cultures in Metz that is artistic and beautiful. (The Jews have a long history in Metz as well
despite the fact that they no longer live there.)
The
most obvious manifestation of contact between the German and French cultures
appears in the famous name of Quiche Lorraine.
The name “quiche” comes from the German “küchen,” which means cake.
Housewives
in Lorraine make Quiche Lorraine with a mixture of cream, eggs, and ham in an
absorbent pie crust with ridges.
Sometimes grated gruyère is added to the recipe along with onions.
Every
“mamiche” or “Lorraine Grandmother” has her own recipe.
Some
French cookbooks with specialties of the Lorraine in them include:
-Saveur
Cooks Authentic French: Rediscovering
the Recipes, Traditions, and Flavors of the World’s Greatest Cuisine by the
Editors of Saveur Magazine
-Paris:
Authentic Recipes Celebrating the Foods of the World by the Editors of
Williams-Sonoma
by
Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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