Saint Sébastien

We've had a couple of German St George's, now for a slightly resigned looking St Sébastien from Beaune.

You see a lot of St Sébastiens in France, I don't know why. Maybe being shot full of arrows was a daily hazard in the olden days

Autobahnkirchen

One thing I noticed in Germany in June was brown signs pointing to Autobahn chapels, but none of the stops we made actually had one.

Germany has hundreds of Autobahnkirchen, small chapels and churches beside motorways and truck stops, offering travellers a quiet pause from the road's. 

This is the Ecumenical Autohofkapelle at Schwabhausen, off the A4 in Thuringia. In August I made a deliberate stop there to photograph it - we didn't need fuel, we had filled up 10 minutes earlier. I knew it was there, because they're marked on maps. Opened in autumn 2003, it was the third chapel built by the SVG Hessen cooperative at its truck stops. Services are held on special occasions such as truckers' weddings and bikers' meetings.

Saint George II

I posted a photo of the Saint George of Eisenach yesterday, and commented that he looks effete. Susan reckons that the statue of Saint George in the castle of Wartburg (above Eisenach) takes that prize.

It's probably because this one doesn't have a monumental 'tache.

St George, Eisenach

This particularly effete looking chap is St George, patron saint of Eisenach. His armour dates him to the period 1550 to 1560, and is he is thought to have been cast from discarded tournament armour in 1549. As far as I can make out, he was always guilded.

He stands atop a sandstone pillar in the marketplace, and for many years served as the town water supply, water being piped through wooden pipes from springs above the town. The pillar has 4 extra little dragons which are the actual fountain.

Nice 'tache, though.

Girolles, Chanterelles and Trumpets

The Cantharellaceae family of fungi are all edible, but their nomenclature can cause a lot of confusion, and they have a few toxic but unrelated lookalikes, so you can't relax too much. The key is that Cantharellaceae do not have gills. They have irregular pleats on their undersides. Beginners need to really study them to be sure they can confidently recognise the Cantharellaceae pleats and not mistake them for gills. All of the toxic lookalikes have gills, so make sure you look carefully.

The current officially sanctioned vernacular naming system is that Cantharellus spp should be referred to as Girolles, and Craterellus spp should be referred to as Chanterelles (except for C. cornucopioides, which is referred to as a trumpet).

The greatest prize is the Girolle Cantharellus cibarius (Fr. Girolle). But these are not very common in the Touraine, so you might have to resort to buying them at a market. 

Winter Chanterelle Craterellus tubaeformis (Fr. Chanterelle en tube) and Girolles at a market.

Winter Chaterelles at a market. This species is abundant in the Touraine forests so you can forage your own if you have a good eye.

Yellowfoot Chanterelle Craterellus lutescens (Fr. Chanterelle jaune), foraged in the Forest of Loches. A localised but abundant species where it occurs.

Yellowfoot Chanterelle found in a woodland near Séligny.

Yellowfoot Chanterelle, showing the distinctive yellow colouring under the cap. Winter Chanterelles are grey under the cap.

Blackening Chanterelle Craterellus melanoxeros (Fr. Chanterelle noircissante), an uncommon species in the Touraine. These were found in the Forest of Preuilly.

Ashen Chanterelles Craterellus cinereus (Fr. Chanterelle cendrée), foraged in the Forest of Preuilly, and being cooked by me at home.

Ashen Chanterelles are an uncommon species, which I found in a small quantity in the Forest of Preuilly last year.

Ashen Chanterelles are very difficult to spot in the leaf litter.

Black Trumpets Craterellus cornucopioides (Fr. Trompettes de la mort) at a market.

Black Trumpets in the Forest of Preuilly.

All of these edible mushrooms can be found in the forests of the Touraine if you get your eye in. The rules in France are that you can forage up to 5 kilograms per person per day for personal consumption if you have the landowners permission. The outdoor market in Loches has several stalls in October and November that will sell wild mushrooms such as this, gathered by licenced commercial foragers.

Studies show that mushroom foraging for personal consumption is no threat to biodiversity, unless a site is badly trampled (compacting the soil). Using a rake is forbidden, because of the habitat disturbance, and in any case counterproductive, as you have to spend so much time cleaning and sorting the mushrooms from the leaf litter.

Not Chagall

I said on Wednesday that I confidently pointed at some stained glass windows in Metz Cathedral and told Susan "that's got to be Chagall".

I should have known I was wrong: Chagall is all swirls and freehand, and these are definitely cubist. These are the centre three panels of that set of windows, and they show The Last Supper, the crucifixion and the wedding at Cana. Looking at them I can see the last supper - the row of apostles' heads and plates down the left side. I can see the wedding at Cana - all those empty jars of wine. What I can't decipher is the crucifixion. I can see Mary in her traditional place (bottom right) but the rest is too abstract for me.

Jacques Villon designed the windows in 1957 for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Metz Cathedral. Charles Marq and Brigitte Simon made the glass, using acid etching. Villon was born Gaston Duchamp, brother of Marcel.