Continued from below (Read that post first)

... I just realized that the timing of this post is perfect because today, June 6th, is the 65th anniversary of the landings at Normandy.

To continue from below, after leaving Bayeux we headed up to Utah Beach. It is difficult to explain the feeling that you have when you arrive at this location and you are walking on ground that has so much historical significance. The beaches today are quite beautiful and serene. Today Utah beach is essentially a quiet beach front that reminds me a lot of an East Coast beach in the US. Below is a picture of the entrance to the beach. The only building in the area is a museum that has some left over War memorabilia and a memorial to the troops that landed there (also pictured below)

After leaving Utah beach, we drove about 10 miles or so to a section of the coast line that is ideally situated between Utah beach and Omaha Beach. The location is called Ponte du Hoc. It was here that that Germans had built a number of fortifications and placed huge cannons that could reach both Utah and Omaha beaches. Both Stephanie and I really found this site interesting because it has been very well preserved since the war. The land is filled with craters from the bombings and many of the German installations are still in tact. Below is a picture of Stephanie standing in one of the craters and a picture of one of the fortifications. This particular location was not very well protected by the Nazis during the invasion becasue it is situated on a rocky cliffs and they thought that there was no way the Allied forces would attempt to scale the cliffs. In fact, a small group of 90 Army Rangers did just that and were able to take control.

Continuing on our tour of Normandy, we left Ponte du Hoc and arrived at Omaha Beach. Today, Omaha Beach is a residential area. The day we went it was a little chilly with a breeze, but the water was still quite warm, so Nathan got to experience his first steps in the ocean. We spent the time just walking up and down the beach and letting Nathan play in the water. From the ocean looking inland it is easy to imagine the obstacles that the troops must have had when they landed. The beach itself is probably about the depth of 2 football fields and the advantage that the Nazis had on top of the hills explains why more than 500 troops were killed in the first 5 minutes of the invasion.

Our last stop on the beaches of Normandy was the American Memorial Cemetary. The cemetary is situated on a cliff on the edge of Omaha beach. Here it really hits you the price that was paid to liberate Europe from the Nazis. Stepping onto the grounds you immediately see rows and rows of crosses each a burial ground for the men and women that gave their lives. It was of course a very somber moment. It was cut short though because at this point, Nathan had pretty much had all of the sight seeing that he could handle and began to lose it. We decided to let all of the people pay their respects in quite, so we packed it up and headed to the next hotel.

Up next.... Rouen!