France July 2103 - Day 2 - Omaha Beach Normandy

Our second day in Normandy was spent in awe at Omaha beach and the American cemetery.  We both have a fascination with World War II history.  This day was unbelievable.  We spent the morning at the American Cemetery, where they have a wonderful museum that gives all the history of the war, with wonderful displays and documentary movie clips.  Then we made our way into the cemetery.  Wow.  I find it difficult to put into words the feelings I had.  If you have ever been to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, you will know what I mean.  The sheer volume of pristine white crosses is almost haunting. 

 

After we explored the cemetery, we made our way down to Omaha Beach.  It is not commercialized.  It is an enormous beach, comparable to Daytona Beach in Florida.  When we walked out onto that beach and I thought about all the troops that disembarked and fought their way across that enormous beach, dodging artillery and wicked looking German beach obstacles and mines, I felt my stomach flip flop.  My heart broke for all those men that stormed the beaches of Normandy that day.  I felt sad, angry, grateful, proud...all at the same time.  I went down to the water and looked back up the top of the hill, where the cemetery is, and thought how impossibly far it looked.  I thought about all the blood that was spilled by that greatest generation.  It was a very humbling and reverent morning.

 

We found a wonderful little restaurant on the beach and enjoyed our lunch at the beach. Then we got in the car and drove down the coast through charming small towns.  We saw Utah Beach, Juno Beach, Gold Beach and Sword Beach, a man made port used during the war and all kinds of old churches and buildings that were destroyed by bombings but have been since rebuilt.  They had photos of what they looked like before the war, during the war and after the war.  We stopped a few more places and saw trenches and foxholes and tunnels used by the Germans.

Manmade port at Juno Beach

Foxholes and tunnels.

 

 

 

 

 We ended the day at Pegasus Bridge, where the British gliders landed to take out strategic bridges to ensure the Germans couldn't advance.  This is the preliminary strike before our troops took the Normandy beaches.

It was a day full of history, emotions, beautiful weather, charming French villages and wonderful goodies found at out of the way bakeries.

We also realized how good it was to drive again.  It made us realize how restrained our lives are in Algiers.  We felt free and it felt good!