Normandy

This will be my last post while in Europe, at least on this trip! We have just returned from Normandy and really enjoyed our time there. It is a solemn place and we felt the presence of all those soldiers who were there 66 years ago.

We were gone for 5 nights. The drive from Sablet to Arromanches, the beach town where we stayed, is quite long and we didn't try to do it all in one day. The first night, we stayed in the Loire valley, just outside the little town of Vouvray. We stayed in a large country house and enjoyed a delicious dinner in town with a local white wine, of course! The next day we drove to Caen, the regional capital of Normandy. It has a wonderful museum that shouldn't be missed! One could spend a day there easily. There are many movies and audio visual effects, plus pictures, objects and written commentary. Our GPS got us off the freeway and into the parking lot just fine. We spent half a day there, becoming informed and being appropriately prepared for what we would see on the coast.

When we got to our hotel in Arromanches, we were impressed with the community. The town is at the site where the British established an artificial, floating harbor so that men, vehicles and supplies could be unloaded quickly after D Day. Some of the harbor is still there; some far out in the water and some on the beach where it can be closely examined. The town still has posters up thanking their liberators and there is a well done museum, mostly about the Mulberry project (artificial harbor). This engineering feat had never been done before - it is quite amazing!

On our first full day there, we went to the museum and also to a 360 degree presentation in a special facility nearby. It concerned D Day (Jour J, as they call it) also. Then we drove down the coast toward the American beaches. Our first stop was at the best remaining German gun battery. It was unsettling to see the gun bunkers and to imagine their power. As we walked around, we observed the pattern that we would see repeatedly. The adult visitors were quiet as they carefully looked at each bunker, weapon etc. They were respectful and thoughtful. The young children saw cannons as things to climb on and the hills above to jump on. Even they however did not scream and shout at each other. They knew that something important had happened there.

After the German guns, we drove further and arrived at the American cemetery. Again, a very subdued place. A wonderful movie, featuring three soldiers who gave their lives on June 6, 1944, is shown and there are visual displays worth seeing inside the building there as well. Then we went outside. We walked to the overlook to Omaha beach, where 1200 Americans died. Their marbles crosses and stars of David were behind us and we walked through them to the small chapel in the middle of the cemetery. Then we went back to the major memorial and arrived in time to see the American flags retired for the day and to hear taps played. Visitors from all over the world stood at attention and Jon and other veterans saluted. A very moving moment. We were ready to drive back to the hotel.

The following day we drove directly to Omaha beach. We walked from a parking lot until we were underneath the cemetery and could see the flags. We found small pieces of metal; even though hundreds of tons were removed right after the war, many more small pieces still remain. It felt like hallowed ground, where so much blood was shed. We didn't talk much. I could sense what it must have been like for my father who arrived in Normandy a couple of days after D Day. What he must have seen there, and in the rest of Europe. He would never talk to us about it much. I felt him with me there that day.

From there we went to Point du Hoc, the steep cliffside that the Army Rangers scaled in order to wipe out the devastating German guns there. The ground has been left as it was then, with deep craters from the intense aerial and naval bombardment there in the soil. Three fourths of the Rangers were either killed or seriously wounded in that struggle.

We went on then to Ste. Mere Eglise, the little town made famous by "The Longest Day" as the place where the 101st. Airborne division paratroopers landed in support of the beach invasion. On that day, one soldier got caught on the top of the church and was shot since he was in plain view of the Germans. A parachute and mannikin hang from the church today to remind visitors of those brave airmen. There are also banners over the streets and shops full of military objects and clothes as well as another museum.

As we drove back to the hotel, we noticed how few buildings survived the heavy fighting of the Allied invasion. Some churches, walls etc are there, but most have had to be rebuilt. Only seven buildings were left standing in Arromanches, for example. The French people suffered terribly and rightfully claim to have contributed in a major way to the Allied victory in Europe.

On Monday we drove from Arromanches to Le Mont St. Michel, the famous abbey on the little island just off the coast. We did not go completely across the 2 mile causeway to get to it, but did stop and take photos. It is very picturesque and causes one to stare as though it is not real! We had a delicious Bretagne crepe lunch and then continued on to the city of Poitiers for the night.

The next day we drove south via Toulouse, and west via Carcassonne, Montpelier and Nimes and finally back to our own village of Sablet. I wish we could have explored the Dordogne, known for its Cro Magnon cave paintings, and Carcassonne, the incredible walled city from the 11-13th. centuries. The latter caused us both to gasp as we saw it from the highway - it looks too perfect! We were glad to arrive "home" though and enjoyed ribs for dinner in our favorite restaurant in the center of town.

Today we have been packing, doing some laundry and turning our attention to the homeward journey. My final post will let you know that we made it!

Photos, from top left: the view from our hotel window in Arromanches; "Arromanches the key to the victory in Normandy"; low tide reveals the remains of the floating dock; the German gun placements; craters in the earth at Point du Hoc; Omaha beach today; the American cemetery; signpost; small pieces of metal on Omaha beach; Point du Hoc; Ste. Mere Eglise church and the paratrooper; the abbey at Le Mont St. Michel.