beaches of normandy

Breakfastroom
we started early this morning at the hotel for breakfast. this hotel, normandy barrier, is nearing it's 100 year anniversary. they don't make rooms like this anymore. 

Area
 got in the car and made the ride up the coast starting at pointe-du-hoc. this is where the rangers came on board between omaha and utah beach. the two beaches of normandy were primarily where the americans landed on d-day.

Bunkers
 what is incredible is the landscape.  the bunkers are still there.

Holes in ground
 the craters that the bombs created are still there.

Tur
 the turrets are still there.

Cliff
 the views are still incredible.

Memorial on omaha beach
 after we drove over to omaha beach.  there is a memorial.  memorials are abundant through out this region.

Omaha
 you realize how flat and long the beaches are and why they landed when it was high tide.

Museum
 we continued our journey to the cemetery.  as someone said to fred, the military does cemetery's well.  the museum tells what happened through a short tear-jerking movie and memorabilia.  i particularly liked this helmut and gun just sitting inside a glass structure with rocks on the floor.  kind of sums it up.  

Pool
 outside is a huge memorial with a wading pool in front.

Graves
 the cemetery.  perfectly lined up.  seeing all the grave sites is very powerful.  it is different seeing than knowing how many people died there.  hits you.

Rocks
 some of the tombstones are unmarked because they didn't know who they were, others are marked.  the jewish tombstones all have rocks left on them meaning they have been visited.  

Maps
 there were maps everywhere showing the strategy and how everything played out.

War museum
 we left and drove to arromanches to see the museum there.  an excellent museum.  this is the beach where the british stormed france.  there were a variety of replica's made with small soldiers and tanks outlining exactly how the port was taken.  a false port was built off short with floating docks in order to grab the ground quickly.  

Lunch
 my dad happens to be over here with his wife and another couple so we met them here and had lunch at the marine hotel.  nothing to write home about but the only place to really have a good lunch in town.  nice seeing them and hearing about their travels through france.

a great day.  josh and fred loved it.  really glad we came.  a piece of history never to be forgot and absolutely worth seeing where it all took place.  now a picturesque country side with old beautiful homes and buildings makes it difficult to imagine that one of the most important military events of the 20th century took place there.  

Comments (Archived):

  1. RJ Johnston

    Great post, with more pictures then Fred’s! Thank you for taking the time to share.

  2. Sunchowder

    Wonderful post. My Dad – American and my husband’s Father British both landed at different beaches on D Day. Beautiful tribute to them.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Wow. Then if you haven’t been there, you should really go. It is difficultfor us to really capture the intensity of what the world was like at thatpoint and time. I am sure you would be quite moved.

  3. cookiemoo

    This is definitely on my bucket list as my father-in-law was injured on Normandy Beach on D-Day and received a Purple Heart.

    1. Gotham Gal

      It is worth it. The towns are so beautiful and no more developed than theywere 100 years ago which makes it even more special.

  4. kenberger

    Just wait till you make it to the central coast of Vietnam, take a tour of the DMZ, China Beach, etc. Fascinating. You’ll see moonscapes of bomb craters purposely left untouched.

    1. Gotham Gal

      On the list.

  5. user312

    Excellent article! Normandy beaches just super! Photo of a beautiful and a lot of useful information. http://djanga.ru/2013/12/ro… Learned here are a few great ideas for future trips to Normandy, a small report on a recent trip to Normandy Waiting for the next article!