Ah, yes, the Huguenots. There was a small settlement called Blauband close to where my father's family lived in Upgand Schott and Marienhafe, in Ostfriesland. These protestant refugees from the catholic French homeland settled among the reluctant Christians who were still smarting from the betrayal of their chieftains who had forced them to convert under the guidance of the Irish monks. It was a purely political move- another example of how mixing religion and politics can never come out well.
The Huguenots settled in one little place and supposedly kept to themselves, but my guess is that some fraternizing must have taken place because there were many dark-haired, blue-eyed Friesians in our family tree.
The Huguenots eventually sailed across the ocean, and many of them settled in Nova Scotia. Around the same time, Menno Timmons started his radicalized preaching against the catholic church and gathered followers from all along the North Sea coast to set off across the Atlantic. Mennonites are now my neighbors here in Upstate New York. I buy eggs from them and have my boots and leather goods repaired in one of their workshops. And I must say that I get along better with them than with my fervent born-again neighbors.

@Spinliesel Great story,...you have an interesting background.