After Disneyland Paris, we headed to the coast of France to see Normandy. Ever since getting to Germany, in 2012, Normandy has probably been one of our top desired locations to tour, I knew we would regret it if we didn't make time to see it. And I'm so glad we did.
The first beach we stopped at was Gold Beach. This was the beach invaded by the Canadians, so not much American connection here. Kason wanted to get in the water but apparently it was freezing so he spent the rest of the time on the sand. The big chunks of cement you see in the water are casemates that the troops would line up, and use to get to the shore from their ships, out at sea. Several of them are left on the shores of Normandy.
We didn't stay long at Gold Beach, as we wanted to make sure we had enough time to enjoy the others. It sure was a beautiful view with a quaint little town.
Next up, we headed up the beach a little to enjoy Omaha Beach. This was probably the most somber and life changing moment of the trip. It seems extreme to say that! But, it's really true. It was incredibly humbling to walk those beaches and think that 70 years prior, 34,000 men stormed these waters to fight for freedom. They had no knowledge of what their outcome would be but, still they were willing to fight. 2400 fought to the death on Omaha Beach alone.
I can't even imagine coming off the ship and knowing you would instantly be shot at by the German's on shore. Yet, somehow, that knowledge didn't phase the soldiers. They fought and ran to their safety, while watching their fellow soldiers fall beside them left and right.
Absolutely humbling.
I will never forget the feeling I had while I walked the sandy beaches of Omaha beach. So much love, gratitude and pride for the soldiers of WWII.
These are a couple of the memorials that are scattered along the beach...
This is the view directly up from the beach, the enemy had so much coverage! I can only imagine it being a daunting task, even thinking about making it to the edge of the grass. All over in the grass were German bunkers, with crazy thick cement. On a few of them you could see dents where bombs had barely touched the surface. The bunkers were open so you could go in and explore, which Kason and Brad had a blast doing. It was surreal to stand in there and see the view the German soldiers had of the beach. A clear, perfect view of the American's storming the beaches.
This was the view from inside one of the bunkers:
And the thick walls, barely scathed by the attacks:
On the beaches, you could occasionally find pieces of metal that have lasted 70 years. The enemies would put them on the beaches to deter anyone from approaching the "safe zone".
The rest of the time on the beach was spent exploring the bunkers, collecting beach treasures and just enjoying the scenery. It really is beautiful. Hard to believe something so awful happened here.
After a couple hours on the beach, we wandered back to the car, to grab some dinner and some zzz's!
The houses in the Normandy region were CHARMING. I wanted them all. This one was one of the favorites that we passed:
We found a restaurant, near Gold Beach actually, to enjoy some dinner. While looking at the menu, Brad saw something that he thought was similar to a dish he would eat on his mission in Uruguay, (I believe small intestine), which he loved (not sure why anyone would love that!?). So when the waiter came out to take our orders, Brad went to order that and the waiter asked, "You know what it is right!?"
"Oh yeah! I love it!"
Well......turns out, it wasn't intestine, it was actually stomach. Which Brad cannot STAND. Ha! He knew as soon as he smelled the dish, he wouldn't be eating much other than fries that night for dinner. However, we all had a good laugh about the experience! Never a dull moment in European travels!
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