i know most of us are not very fond of religious places. but when it's a part of history, and specially related to something as intriguing as the da vinci code, the curiosity peaks. this is an atypical church from a city called strausborg on the border of france and germany; strausborg, a city controvertial in it's own right ... a french town with a (very) strong german influence ... the people, their dresses, dialects, food and last but not the least, the architecture.

and this is the most contovertial part of them all ... if you have read the da vinci code, you will know it ... symbolizing astronomy, chistianity, jesus, and (well!) the holy grail

the church is a rare piece of stone and glass. it is 5 stories tall with just one ceiling. the tainted glasses are huge (about 1.5-2.0 stories) and were meant for natural light to (en)lighten the church in the era of no-electricity. night or day, nature lits up the interiors (the physics reminds my geeky side of the chapter "light" in the book of resnik and halliday ;-)

finally the dude for whom the church was made, the jesus himself. the gold, silver and everything used in this gaudy setting is (the davinci followers believe) "priceless". priceless or not, with the appretiating value of gold in eurozone, i couldnt help thinking of the discounted cash flow worth of this place that can feed a poverty stricken african nation for quiet a few months; me just trying to quantify an estimated net worth of the place with no intent to mix religion and humanitarianism. religion, like faith, "they" believe is priceless ...

as the freezing winter bites through flesh and blood, every heart screams with the adieu of the beautiful fall

and now the eiffel tower herself .... the only beauty in an otherwise subzero paris night!

have been, on most occassions, too busy or, in rare situations, too lazy to write. but here's some pics of paris from eiffel in the night!

while the french people are too particular about how they present their food, the germans have a more casual and simplistic approach. what surprises me even more is the fact that any french dinner takes about 2hrs (and that's why all the banks/shops in france have two hr lunch breaks!). a french dinner is a gaudy extravaganza of wine, full course meal, champagnes etc. and quiet ironically, most of french entrees have little or no taste. people say it's hard to "get" what french cuisine is all about, but once you "get" it, u will like it. but my point is why think when u eat? specially when u are so buzy. so the french cuisine has recently become a target of curse for all students and for most of us, the usual joke it "it indeed takes a lot of calibre to cook tasteless food like the french ;-)"
but then, look at germany. a neighbour of france, yet such different approach to eating. during my stay in munchen and germany, all i ate in the four days during my stay was sausage and beer. nothing gaudy, just simple sausage with mashed potatoes and ginger, with a tinge of mustard ... so simple yet one of the most tasty sausages i have ever had! and talking about beer, well! they dont even seem to have the slightest competition

(to be continued ...)