Rouen & D-Day Beaches

On Monday, January 3^rd, we woke up in Rouen and spent the morning exploring that city. Rouen is where Jeanne D'Arc was martyred – a strange modern looking church now stands on the site. It is also famous for its cathedral, which Monet painted in various lights. Unfortunately the cathedral was closed when we visited, due to open the next day! Another attraction in Rouen is its style of houses – the “maisons à pans de bois” (which Brendan loves). The style is distinctly Norman and very charming.

Jeanne D'Arc

Rouen Cathedral

Maisons à pans de bois

From Rouen we headed west, towards the D-Day beaches. After seeing WWI sites the previous day, we would now be visiting a most important place in WWII history. On the way we stopped briefly in Honfleur, the delightful port city from which Samuel de Champlain set sail for Canada.

Our drive that day was rather long, but Brendan had planned some entertainment: before we left on the trip he downloaded lectures and podcasts on various themes that related to our travels. We spent our driving hours listening to lectures on 20^th century French history and testimonies of men who had fought in WWII. I’m glad B had the idea to do this – it was a great way to learn more about the history of the places we visited. After our battlefield visits, we listened to a podcast called Norman Centuries, about the history of Normandy from the time of its Viking leaders. It was fascinating to hear about the exploits of the Vikings, and later of William the Conqueror and his successors, especially as we drove through the very places where they lived and ruled.

We reached the D-Day beaches just before dusk and got out of the car to walk along Juno, where the Canadians had landed. Again I was struck by how peaceful this place was compared to what it must have been like on June 6^th, 1944. I kept thinking of the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan and the utter chaos it portrays. Later that night we watched the scene – it was poignant to think that we had just walked on the land where these things took place.

At a military museum near the beaches

Lives lost in war like pebbles on the beach - innumerable.

Getting back into the car, we drove a little further to where the British had built a makeshift harbour by sinking boats in the shallow water. The Mulberry Harbour was eventually destroyed, but in the time it was operational, it saw traffic of astounding proportions – men, arms, supplies, etc.  It’s amazing what ingenuity can spring from necessity.

The black spots are what's left of Mulberry Harbour

We spent that night in Caen, which we would explore the next morning.