Continuing on where we left off: we were on our way to Caen last I wrote.

Those who are familiar with WWII history may have heard of this port city in Normandy, located near the D-Day landing beaches and heavily involved in the battle of Normandy in 1944.

We arrive by train around 21:00 and walk 10 minutes to our Airbnb. Tomorrow is a big day, we will be visiting the Memorial de Caen as well as taking a guided tour.

Monday – The Airbnb was well supplied with everything we need for breakfasts, which was very convenient! A quick breakfast before we leave, bus/tram passes secured, and we made our way to the nearest bus stop. Our goal was to make it to Memorial de Caen by 9:30 when they open, hoping that would give us time to go through all the exhibits by 13:00.

A short bus ride and a quick stop at Carrefour (grocery store) and we are equipped with lunch and snacks, all for 8€. Quite nice, I say. Now to get to the bus line that goes to Memorial de Caen… I was leaning quite heavily on Google Maps for bus routes and schedules, since I hadn’t spent a whole lot of time mapping out our transit in this town ahead of time. Unfortunately, Google Maps does not seem to account for temporary route deviations. Frustrating. Once we figured out the intended bus would not be coming by the bus stop we were waiting at, we set out on foot. Half an hour later, we arrive at a bus stop further along the line, where the bus does stop. Long story short, we got to Mémorial de Caen a little later than planned.

The museum mainly covers:

• France under occupation
• The build up to “Total War”
• Holocaust
• A detailed exhibit on Operation Overlord + Operation Neptune (D-Day), as well as the suffering of civilian population in the area during the Battle of Normandy.
• The end of the war & rebuilding

There are also a few other sections we didn’t get to, including a large exhibit on the Cold War. We really could have spent all day there I think…

Our tour was scheduled to leave at 13:00 from Memorial de Caen. After a quick packed lunch, we met up with our group: our tour guide, Gabrielle, Rick and Ingrid, a couple from Connecticut, and Andréa, the driver.

The 3 stops on the tour today are Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery. As we made the 45 minute drive through the Normandy countryside, Gabrielle kept us well entertained with an assortment of WW2 and D-Day knowledge.

Pointe du Hoc – located between Omaha and Utah landing beaches, it was one of the stronger fortifications on the Atlantic wall. If you are interested in the details of the importance of Pointe du Hoc, and the happenings here on D-Day, here’s a link to a recap if it.

As you may take note in the picture above, the area around Pointe du Hoc is still peppered with craters from the bombings that took place.

Omaha Beach – “Bloody Omaha” was one of the American landing sites. The difficult terrain, exposed beach and fortified defenses, among other factors, made it the Normandy landing beach with the highest casualties.

It was rather sobering to stand here, with a greater understanding of the odds that were against them, and imagine for a moment the hopelessness of being in some of the first waves of soldiers that landed here. In the sector we were in, Gabrielle told us the casualty rate for the first wave would have been 90%.

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial – over 9,000 graves of American soldiers buried here, as well as the Wall of the Missing, engraved with the names of soldiers who were missing in action during the invasion, and whose remains were never found.

Thoughts and impressions of the tour: first of all, our tour guide was great! A wealth of information, presented in a very interesting way! Jesse & I both enjoyed being in a small group guided tour, and would highly recommend it if you’re ever going to this area! I did not consider myself ignorant of the D-Day happenings before going, but of course there was much more knowledge to uncover. Ahead of time, I had wondered how worthwhile the Cemetery tour would be, but I actually found it quite interesting! Our guide took the time to walk us by a variety of graves, telling the stories of the soldiers  which brought home the reality that these were people from all different areas with families and loved ones left behind. We were also there during the lowering of the flag ceremony, which happens every day at 16:00. A short but sober ceremony, that felt a little like attending a funeral.

After not making it to our planned supper spot in time, we reconsidered and settled on a Crêperie in the historic quarter of Caen. The menu: a delicious galette (buckwheat savory crêpe), sparkling water, and a honey/almond/orange crêpe for dessert.

I may have gotten a little longer winded in my description of the day than intended. So, on to the next day…

Tuesday – A visit to the Château de Caen is the first thing on our agenda for today. After checking out of our Airbnb, we take the tram to the Château.

This castle was built around 1060 by William the Conqueror, and is one of the larger medieval fortresses in Europe.

While we were aware that it was under construction, we did not realize how little of the grounds, buildings and ramparts would be accessible. Oh well… Fortunately there were a couple museums open, focused mainly on the history of Normandy and the city of Caen, so our visit was not completely in vain.

Thierry & Chandra pick us up by the Château around noon. Next destination: Mont Saint-Michel! It’s been on my bucket list for quite some time…

Mont Saint-Michel is a tidal island, approximately 1 km off the coast. Around its base, medieval walls and towers, above which rise the clustered buildings of the village with the abbey crowning the mount.

Pictures don’t really do this place justice. It is more impressive in person than I had imagined! Everything is uphill as we walk through the medieval streets, up steps, onto the ramparts, up some more… And finally to the abbey.

Since it is nearly November and not peak tourist season anymore, its not too packed, but we definitely are not the only ones here!

If we come back here some day, I think it would be worth it to take a guided tour, as it seemed the tours were getting to go quite a few places we couldn’t. Whenever we go places like these, I’m always wishing to explore the “secret passages” and “the way less traveled”… But not this time. We stuck to the way most traveled, and still saw a lot (it is still well worth it without a guided tour). Our tour took us through the abbey church, the cloister, the refectory, multiple crypts and the scriptorium, to name a few.

After our visit to Mont Saint-Michel we have a little drive to Dinan yet, where we will spend the next few nights. Along the way, we stop to pick up some groceries for supper and “petit-déjeuner”.

Saint Malo

From the desktop of Bruce

On Wednesday Hugues’, Thierry’s, and us loaded up and headed to the city of Saint Malo. 

On the way there, we took a detour to visit a historical site called Champs de Roches. This spot is an oak grove with 65 menhirs of white quartz stone aligned in rows. The stones would have originally stood upright and are believed to have been placed before 2000 BC. The Celts used it as a druidic sacred site later in the 5th century. After the rain during the night, the grove was quiet and peaceful. It was interesting to imagine what significance these people might have attributed to “just a bunch of rocks.” A collection of oak trees from around the world planted around the site, some with some weird bark, almost like cork. After strolling around, it was back to our modern transportation.

Saint Malo is a walled city port in the north-west of France. The city is old, the original town having been founded in the 1st century BC.

One of the things it is notorious for is being a home for the French privateers and, sometimes, pirates, in the 1700s and 1800s. These privateers were often a business venture. You, the enterprising entrepreneur, would hire a ship, crew, and captain to seek out ships of the countries you were currently not getting along with. Your aim, to capture the ship and take the crew prisoner. You were given prize money upon exchange with your home government. Some of these men were very successful and became very wealthy. One of the privateers, Robert Surcouf, had an amusing anecdote associated with him. “When a British captive officer taunted Surcouf with the words “You French fight for money while we fight for honour”, Surcouf replied “Each of us fights for what he lacks most”. (from Wikipedia)

Another note in Saint Malo’s history is being the home port of Jaucqes Cartier, the explorer credited with “discovering Canada”

After all that explaining, our tale continues…

We arrived, parked, and disembarked. Upon walking through the gates into the city, we took a turn and climbed up onto the walls. Relatively wide, we had room to stroll and take our time, enjoying the views of the old buildings inside the walls, and the port and coast outside. In the bay, we noticed a few old forts on what appeared to be tidal islands and people walking out to them. Consulting the tides, we decided to walk out and take a closer look. After walking out, climbing the rocks to the entrance (the “path” was ill-defined), we discovered the Petit-Be to be closed. So we retraced our steps. The tide did not claim us.

Lunch was enjoyed at a creperie. Saint Malo’s specialty is their savory crepes. They were very good, if a little pricey. The other specialty, however, was worth stopping for. Kouign-Amann are awesome! Think puff pastry with extra sugar and butter. Slightly warm from a boulangerie, they made for an excellent mid-afternoon snack.

We walked about the city, toured the cathedral, watched a few people wade back from one of the islands through the rising tide, and browsed souvenirs. 

The second break of the afternoon was at a cafe, with a very long name, “Le café du coin d’en bas de la rue du bout de la ville d’en face du port”. (Translation: The corner cafe down the street at the end of town across from the port)

By evening, everyone was slowing down so we headed back to our accommodations for a relaxed evening. 

By evening, with everyone was slowing down, we headed back to our accommodations for a relaxed evening. 

Fin