One common denominator: serving as the butt of jokes by northern neighbors.
We, however, will lavish praise on them.
When Germans try to explain Bavaria to foreigners, they often use the comparison with Texas to illustrate some traits.
We have, for example, listed the sense of being substantially different from the other member states of their respective federations, the importance of religion, self-reliance, and cultural pride.
A recent chance meeting prompted us to add the Mediterranean island of Corsica to the mix of explaining Bavaria to foreigners.
Corsica sees itself in a similar way with an even more pronounced bent toward indepence from an overbearing northern ruling power. Unlike Texas, both Corsica and Bavaria have real mountains but no oil. Then there are their regional language variants, different from those of the northerners, and their penchant for celebrating a life that has, for a long time, been harder than that of the satiated northerners.
Corsica is the most politically independent region of France, and Bavaria has been proudly carrying the name Free State of Bavaria for over 90 years.
The confluence of all this came to a surprising apex at a cultural event in Corsica some time ago.
The event, La marche des écrivains (march of the writers), had had a rocky start. There was palpable tension between the mainlanders and the islanders, the event was on the verge of falling apart.
Right then, a man walked up to the microphone. His mediterranean looks made bystanders expect another Corsican. He took the microphone and immediately had the full attention of the audience as he introduced himself as coming from "the Free State of Bavaria".
Among the applause for the son of the Free State, he started to read from a poet of Bavarian poet and writer Oskar Maria Graf.
A riveted audience instantly forgot their quarrels, and the event went smoothly from then on out.
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