Armistice Day Long Weekend

Well, the long weekend came and went I haven’t blogged about it.  It was quite a lot to take in really.  It was a long weekend because it was Armistice Day on the Friday so I aptly spent the weekend going to the places where people gave their lives so others could live theirs.  It was on my bucket list of things to do here and I learnt a lot about the battles that took place in the area and region where I am living.

I spent Friday travelling by train to a little town called Bayeux.  The trains are better than what we have in NZ because they actually have trains! But the service still leaves a lot to be desired at times, this weekend was one of those times.  No seats, packed in like sardines, standing, late trains due to dead leaves on the track (yes- that’s correct, I thought I’d misunderstood but no, my understanding was correct).  Anyway, finally got to Bayeux, famous for the 70m long Bayeux tapestry, its cathedral and it was the first town from where Charles de Gaulle led liberated France until Caen (the capital town of this region) was liberated.  Bayeux was one of the only towns in Normandy to not be destroyed by the bombing of the Battle of Normandy (Jun – Aug 1944), and it’s very beautiful.  Virtually every other town in Normandy (and that’s a few) were basically rubble after the war, but you wouldn’t know that now.  Even in my local town L’Aigle buildings were restored so, certain ones, still look hundreds of years old.

The Cathedral by night

The Cathedral

Friday afternoon learnt more about the Battle at the Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy 1944, then went to the Commenwealth Military Cemetary where 8 NZers are buried.  By the end of the afternoon I was definitely feeling rather sombre and headed off to the hostel very reflective.

Commenwealth Cemetary

Saturday I had booked a D-Day tour for the morning.  I’m glad it was only a half-day tour as a whole day would probably have been a bit too much to take in.  I joined in a group and met up with two American girls travelling on their also, so we hung out a bit.  We went to Point du Hoc where the battle site has virtually been left untouched since D-Day.  Lonely Planet advises people not to dig in the ground as you might find live ammunition (very likely as they are still finding live ammunition today – a local lady told me an awesome story where recently a whole German truck loaded with live grenades and ammunition, with a plane and a ready to roll-out air-strip were, only this year, found buried).  Anyway, the craters from the bombs are about 3m deep and there are German bunkers etc.  Check out facebook for more detailed info on the battle and pictures.

Point du Hoc with craters and rubble

Then it was off to Omaha Beach. It was a bit wierd to be in a place that is a nice holiday spot where people come and spend their summers and swim etc. yet so many people lost their lives on that same very spot.  Upon thinking about I thought, well, the people fought and died there so people could continue to come there and enjoy the place.  When I was talking to that local lady she said there is one spot at Arromanches by the make-shift port where ‘true locals’ won’t swim as they see it as sacred.  I had an extremely interesting conversation with this lady, but I may need to leave that for another day.

Omaha Beach

Above Omaha Beach is the American Military Cemetry, the biggest one in France, with nearly 10,000 American soldiers buried there, although not all of them are from WW2 or from the Battle of Normandy.  Nonetheless, it was pretty sobering and overwhelming.

American Military Cemetary

The afternoon, I went with one of the American girls I had met to the Bayeux Tapestry which was very interesting.  It is 70 m long and tells the story of the Battle of Hastings when William the Conqueror killed King Harold to become the King of England.  The tapestry is nearly 1000 years old and was put up annually in the cathedral to tell the people the story.  It was lost and then later rediscovered and restored, although some of the end is missing.  Then that girl had to leave and I met up again with the other American girl and we spent the afternoon looking around Bayeux, enjoying a drink and then grabbing some dinner together.  It was really nice to go away and meet some new people.

Bayeux Tapestry

Sunday it was off to Caen to meet up with my flatmate and check out the capital of our region.  It was their market day, which was massive, so I enjoyed looking around that and sampling some of the things on offer.  Then we looked around the ruins of the castle of William the Conqueror.  I was a little overwhelmed from my weekend by this point and in light of the impressive cathedral at Bayeux I have to admit I wasn’t in the mood to appreciate Caen and what it had to offer.  My flatmate and I were both quite tired so it was off home (not before being packed into a train like cattle).



Caen - the cathedral, all of this was destroyed in the Battle of Normandy, the church was damaged slightly.



That’s all for now, since then it’s been the usual routine here and a quiet weekend at home this weekend, before the many upcoming weekends away.  There is only one weekend between now and the beginning of January where I won’t be away (and I may even be away that weekend too!).  I may also write about just normal daily life here and what my job involves, we’ll see.