Day 5: Exploring Normandy – A Journey through History

On this we will take a train in Paris and we will go to the Normandy. Normandy is a region in the northwest coast of France and is very famous in history because there is where the allies arrived during the seconds world war. If you now the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, you know what I am talking about.

Facts about Normandy: “Normandy, in northern France, is known for the D-Day landings of World War II on June 6, 1944. It features stunning cliffs, historic towns like Rouen, and the iconic Mont-Saint-Michel. Normandy is famous for its cheese, cider, and the Battle of Hastings, which began the Norman conquest of England” ChatGPT.

Map of France

Train route

Early in the morning we checked out from our hotel, took an Uber and when to the train station Gare du Nord.

Gare du Nord station, waiting for our train.

And here we are, on the way to the capital of Normandy, the city named Caen.

As soon as we arrived in Caen, we picked up a rental car and hit the road. My dad found a very good itinerary in a website. You can even download the map to your Google Maps account and you simply drive to these places.

Arromanches-les-Bains

The village

Tracy-sur-Mer

Facts about Arromanches-les-Bains:”Arromanches-les-Bains, a coastal town in Normandy, is famous for its role in the D-Day landings of 1944. It was the site of one of the artificial Mulberry harbors, crucial for supplying Allied troops. Today, it hosts the D-Day Museum and remnants of the harbor can still be seen offshore” ChatGPT.

Arromanches is today a picturesque village at the sea, with nice summer houses and cafes all around. In summer I believe this place must get crowded. See on the picture above the remains in the water of the artificial harbor.

We stopped at a cafe and had a great crepes with Nutella and banana! Yummy!

Then we drove further to the west, until a place called “Batterie Allemande de Longes-sur-Mer”.

Batterie Allemande de Longes-sur-Mer

Facts about this place: “The Batterie Allemande de Longues-sur-Mer is a German coastal defense battery located between Arromanches and Omaha Beach in Normandy. Built in 1944, it consisted of four 150mm naval guns, encased in concrete bunkers, designed to protect the coast against Allied invasion. The battery played a significant role during the D-Day landings, as it fired on Allied ships. Despite heavy bombardment by Allied forces, three of its four guns remained operational. Captured on June 7, 1944, by British forces, the site remains well-preserved today and is a popular historical attraction, offering insight into World War II’s Atlantic Wall defenses” ChatGPT.

Look how many

It definitely reminded me of “Saving Private Ryan”.

Driving from stop to stop through the small roads in Normandy is a beautiful trip for the ones wanting to see a new perspective. The old still very alive, the rural, the idyllic…

This is how the roads and the road architecture looks like. Peaceful, a place lost in time…

Idyllic.

American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, the view of the beach from the cemetery.

And then we drove to the world famous Omaha beach. This is the beach where the allies arrived on June, 6th 1944 to fight in the war.

Omaha Beach

Omaha beach

Facts about Omaha beach: “Omaha Beach, located on the Normandy coast of France, was one of five landing sites during the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. It was assigned to American forces and became one of the most challenging battlefields due to strong German defenses, rough terrain, and difficult weather conditions. The beach stretches over 6 miles and was heavily fortified with bunkers, obstacles, and artillery. American forces faced significant casualties but eventually secured the beach by the end of the day. Today, Omaha Beach is a key memorial site, with cemeteries and monuments honoring the soldiers who fought and died there” ChatGPT.

And from here, we drop to our last lookout today, Pointe du Hoc. Here some facts:

“Pointe du Hoc is a prominent cliff on the Normandy coast, located between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach. During the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, it was a key German defense position, equipped with heavy artillery. U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs under enemy fire to neutralize the threat. Despite high casualties, they succeeded in capturing the position, only to find that most of the guns had been moved. The Rangers later located and destroyed the relocated artillery. Today, Pointe du Hoc is preserved as a historical site, with craters and bunkers still visible from the battle” ChatGPT.