Well, here we are, our last destination before we head home. In a way it's fitting that we visit the beaches of Normandy France and reflect upon what happened here on June 6th 1944. The fact that we have a home to go to and the freedom to travel can be attributed to the many lives that were sacrificed on these very beaches...
It was a bit of a long haul from Amsterdam as we had to take a bus to Paris first, then pick up our rental car at Orly airport (a place we know all too well!) then drive out to the coast. No big deal though,
Paris is trés easy to drive out of and we most certainly didn't get a little lost on our way...
We stayed in a very quaint little town called Malleville-Les-Gres, which is actually in Upper Normandy close to Le Havre, so it was a bit of a drive along the stunning coast before we'd reach the actual beaches of Operation Overlord... AKA. D-Day.
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| Our little cottage for a few days...(I'm standing in front of the bathroom taking the picture...) |
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| Major John Howard at the Pegasus bridge site where the British airborne division was tasked with capturing 2 key bridges that were important in the allied invasion on D Day. |
I could talk forever about the history of this place, and I'd really love to, but there probably isn't enough space in my blogger account for that! World War II has always been a keen interest of mine. I often question why? In the end I think it's just such an immeasurable amount of courage that these people exhibited and when trying to place myself in their position emotionally, well, I simply can't fathom it...
We spent a great deal of time simply driving up the coast and stopping at every memorial we came across. The thing that stuck with us the most was how much Canada is honored! It really makes you proud. I mean... you read about it... and know the history, but the amount of effort that is put into recognizing Canada and the sacrifice is truly humbling. Canadian flags are absolutely everywhere.
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| The spot on Juno beach where the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders landed. |
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| Dy, CL and Zac on Juno beach. |
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| A tank recovered from the sea and proudly on display near Juno beach |
One fact that I did not know is how large a part the bicycle was to play in the invasion. Seriously, many many troops that stormed the beaches were armed with the most unsuspecting of hardware...bicycles. They figured once on land, ground troops would be able to quickly get to their objectives faster by cycling there!
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| Pics of the troops with their bicycles |
Another "new to me" thing we came across was the Mulberry Harbour, a man made harbour that was built by the British at sea then dragged to the coastline. This would make it easier to land on the beaches as it would have broken some of the surf. An amazing feat of engineering as well as bravery. I'm sure it was nerve racking setting it up so close to shore under the eyes of the occupying forces.
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| Remains of the man made harbor. The pieces you see out at sea are also part of it. |
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| 150 mm cannon above Sword beach. The markings on the top are where it was hit by Allied fire. |
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| View from behind the cannon |
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| Dy standing in a small bomb crater |
We spent some time visiting the city of Dieppe where a different allied invasion took place. This time in 1942, with much less success. Again I'll leave you to Wikipedia for the whole story, but many Canadians were also sacrificed here for the freedom we have today.
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| Dieppe from up high |
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| Canada flags with French flags in Dieppe |
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| A monument honoring Canada in Dieppe |
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| Canadian grave site on the outskirts of Dieppe |
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| A simple grave site for one of many many soldiers that are unknown |
On top of the enormous amount of history that occurred in this area, we were also in constant awe of the natural beauty. The charming small towns, beaches and large shear white cliffs had our jaws dropping constantly! Every little town we'd drive through had our imaginations wandering about how difficult it must have been for the Allied troops to encounter enemies around every wall and corner, as well as the sniper fire from the endless number of church steeples and old towers.
Well, now it's time to head home folks... the question is, are we ready...?
