I'm just back from my latest visit to Normandy.
My girlfriend very kindly paid for the trip for my Christmas present!
We were over there in June, for the 70th anniversary, but so much was either shut (for VIPs) or rammed full of people that we didn't get to do half of what we wanted to.
We arrived on Thursday, and headed straight towards St Mere Eglise. We wanted to visit the Airbourne museum, and along the way we stopped of at Brecourt Manor....
The museum was almost empty when we got there. It's a good museum, with some really nice, personal touches.
I thought this was really moving, as it showed the bonds created by young lads all training together for something so daunting....
There's some other nice bits there too....
The next day we'd decided to head up to Pegasus Bridge. The weather forcast was crap, so we planned to spend as much time inside as possible!
On the way, stopped off at Dead Mans Corner.
They have some excellent 'Band of Brothers' artifacts there....
The weather was just starting to turn when we arrived at Pegasus Bridge, so we spent a good hour wandering around the museum, before venturing outside between showers.
I love this place. The skill and bravery involved in this operation is mind-blowing.
When you see the path the gliders had to take to land where they did...and then land where they did, is some piece of flying!
Next stop was the huge musuem in Caen. I knew I was going to love this when greated by a full size tiffie replica in the entrance hall!
The rest of the place didn't disappoint. There were 3 main parts to the place. Pre and post 1944 (it reminded me a bit of this site
) and then an underground German command bunker.
It was all great. Some of the holocaust information made very uncomfortable reading, and I've read a fair bit on the subject. They expanded more on the less well known targets, like the disabled and gypsies. There's a photo in there showing smiling German women, outside a place where they experimented on disabled children, that sent a chill down my spine. Very moving.
Another thought provoking exhibit was a section of wall that a member of the French resistance was executed against. There were 6 clear holes in the wall, in the rough shape of a body. This was where the head would have been...
To be able to actually touch the back of the bullet that ended this brave persons life was really quite strange.
I really quite liked this outside the main hall too...
The weather had changed completely by the time we came out, so we decided to go bunker hunting along the coast. We struck 'Gold'
That was the end of day 2. We booked into our 2nd b&b...and what a place! The farmhouse is smack-bang between two old Advanced Landing Grounds (temporary airfields) that were occupied by American P38 squadrons soon after the landings.
The pilots actually used the farmhouse, and surrounding barns, to sleep in!
The owners have spent a lot of time, and money, transforming the b&b into a living museum.
The Husband, Laurent, had a Cousin who flew B17's during WW2, and is buried in Belgium after his plane was shot down on xmas eve 1944.
He's really passionate about this period of history, so we hit it off pretty quickly
I can safely say that this is the finest b&b I've ever stayed in. Everything was perfect. The room was spotless, it had a huge roll-top bath (handy for valentines ) and the breakfast each day was unbelievable.
Laurent spent the morning marking out things for us to do for then next few days, and was a wealth of knowledge.
The third day dawned wet...very wet! We had planned to visit the Commonwealth Cemetery, in Bayeux, so headed straight there. By the time we got there the rain had eased of slightly so we had a good walk around.
The ground was really sodden, so we didn't spend as much time there as we'd have liked.
What I really liked about this cemetery compared with the US one is that it was far more personal. There were messages on the stones, much like you'd get in a civvy cemetery.
I also liked that there was a corner dedicated to German graves. These laid close to the Commonwealth graves, with only a slightly different design. Class!
These 2 unkown Soldiers were probably found together, so they're buried together.
Next stop was Arromanches. Laurent had told us to go to the museum to watch the new film they had on there. It was pretty good, but I prefered the other film they showed about the making of the artificial harbour. British engineering at it's finest!
There were some cool things to be seen outside, and it had stopped raining!
Our last visit of the day was to the US Cemetery at Coleville. I'd been here a few times before, but had never been into the visitors centre....this was a mistake! Laurent had tipped us off about how best to navigate around it, and it was amazing. We watched the film first. This is 20 minutes long, and tells the stories of 4 of the soldiers buried in the cemetery.
The next thing was a black cylinder, called voices of the war. This is actual recordings of veterans recounting their stories. I loved this.
This is what it's all about for me. Hearing their amazing tales, some funny but many sad, was one of my highlights of the whole trip.
Maybe not the most romantic of ways to spend Valentines day, but I made up for it with dinner at a fantastic fish restaurant that evening.
After another amazing breakfast at The Spirit of 1944 (a fry-up....served in a 1944 US mess tin, complete with original cutlery!) it was time to say good-bye to the D-Day beaches, but not before a visit to the German Cemetery at La Cambre.
What a contrast here to the other cemetries visited.
There are over 21000 soldiers buried here, but it's tiny compared to the US cemetery. Maybe this is down to some graves containing 4 unknown soldiers!
The best part of this visit was this wreath in the entrance hall, form British school children. I actually shed a tear when I read the card....
Again, this is what there places are about for me. Those children will never forget going there, and hopefully get to live their lives in peace.
I left the last of my rememberance crosses here. It seemed a fitting place to finish our mini tour.
We had another day in Normandy, but that was poncing about at Mont Saint Michel so I doubt anyone is interested in that
My girlfriend very kindly paid for the trip for my Christmas present!
We were over there in June, for the 70th anniversary, but so much was either shut (for VIPs) or rammed full of people that we didn't get to do half of what we wanted to.
We arrived on Thursday, and headed straight towards St Mere Eglise. We wanted to visit the Airbourne museum, and along the way we stopped of at Brecourt Manor....
The museum was almost empty when we got there. It's a good museum, with some really nice, personal touches.
I thought this was really moving, as it showed the bonds created by young lads all training together for something so daunting....
There's some other nice bits there too....
The next day we'd decided to head up to Pegasus Bridge. The weather forcast was crap, so we planned to spend as much time inside as possible!
On the way, stopped off at Dead Mans Corner.
They have some excellent 'Band of Brothers' artifacts there....
The weather was just starting to turn when we arrived at Pegasus Bridge, so we spent a good hour wandering around the museum, before venturing outside between showers.
I love this place. The skill and bravery involved in this operation is mind-blowing.
When you see the path the gliders had to take to land where they did...and then land where they did, is some piece of flying!
Next stop was the huge musuem in Caen. I knew I was going to love this when greated by a full size tiffie replica in the entrance hall!
The rest of the place didn't disappoint. There were 3 main parts to the place. Pre and post 1944 (it reminded me a bit of this site
) and then an underground German command bunker.It was all great. Some of the holocaust information made very uncomfortable reading, and I've read a fair bit on the subject. They expanded more on the less well known targets, like the disabled and gypsies. There's a photo in there showing smiling German women, outside a place where they experimented on disabled children, that sent a chill down my spine. Very moving.
Another thought provoking exhibit was a section of wall that a member of the French resistance was executed against. There were 6 clear holes in the wall, in the rough shape of a body. This was where the head would have been...
To be able to actually touch the back of the bullet that ended this brave persons life was really quite strange.
I really quite liked this outside the main hall too...
The weather had changed completely by the time we came out, so we decided to go bunker hunting along the coast. We struck 'Gold'
That was the end of day 2. We booked into our 2nd b&b...and what a place! The farmhouse is smack-bang between two old Advanced Landing Grounds (temporary airfields) that were occupied by American P38 squadrons soon after the landings.
The pilots actually used the farmhouse, and surrounding barns, to sleep in!
The owners have spent a lot of time, and money, transforming the b&b into a living museum.
The Husband, Laurent, had a Cousin who flew B17's during WW2, and is buried in Belgium after his plane was shot down on xmas eve 1944.
He's really passionate about this period of history, so we hit it off pretty quickly
I can safely say that this is the finest b&b I've ever stayed in. Everything was perfect. The room was spotless, it had a huge roll-top bath (handy for valentines
) and the breakfast each day was unbelievable.Laurent spent the morning marking out things for us to do for then next few days, and was a wealth of knowledge.
The third day dawned wet...very wet! We had planned to visit the Commonwealth Cemetery, in Bayeux, so headed straight there. By the time we got there the rain had eased of slightly so we had a good walk around.
The ground was really sodden, so we didn't spend as much time there as we'd have liked.
What I really liked about this cemetery compared with the US one is that it was far more personal. There were messages on the stones, much like you'd get in a civvy cemetery.
I also liked that there was a corner dedicated to German graves. These laid close to the Commonwealth graves, with only a slightly different design. Class!
These 2 unkown Soldiers were probably found together, so they're buried together.
Next stop was Arromanches. Laurent had told us to go to the museum to watch the new film they had on there. It was pretty good, but I prefered the other film they showed about the making of the artificial harbour. British engineering at it's finest!
There were some cool things to be seen outside, and it had stopped raining!
Our last visit of the day was to the US Cemetery at Coleville. I'd been here a few times before, but had never been into the visitors centre....this was a mistake! Laurent had tipped us off about how best to navigate around it, and it was amazing. We watched the film first. This is 20 minutes long, and tells the stories of 4 of the soldiers buried in the cemetery.
The next thing was a black cylinder, called voices of the war. This is actual recordings of veterans recounting their stories. I loved this.
This is what it's all about for me. Hearing their amazing tales, some funny but many sad, was one of my highlights of the whole trip.
Maybe not the most romantic of ways to spend Valentines day, but I made up for it with dinner at a fantastic fish restaurant that evening.
After another amazing breakfast at The Spirit of 1944 (a fry-up....served in a 1944 US mess tin, complete with original cutlery!) it was time to say good-bye to the D-Day beaches, but not before a visit to the German Cemetery at La Cambre.
What a contrast here to the other cemetries visited.
There are over 21000 soldiers buried here, but it's tiny compared to the US cemetery. Maybe this is down to some graves containing 4 unknown soldiers!
The best part of this visit was this wreath in the entrance hall, form British school children. I actually shed a tear when I read the card....
Again, this is what there places are about for me. Those children will never forget going there, and hopefully get to live their lives in peace.
I left the last of my rememberance crosses here. It seemed a fitting place to finish our mini tour.
We had another day in Normandy, but that was poncing about at Mont Saint Michel so I doubt anyone is interested in that
