Christmas vacation - the Bayeux Tapestry and more

Our hotel was located in Bayeux, France. This is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux and was the original home of the Bayeux Tapestry. This cathedral was consecrated in 1077.

Today the tapestry (it's actually an embroidery, but who really cares?) is located in a museum nearby. We did not take pictures of the tapestry, but I found a few online from medievalists.net. The tapestry is one long pieced-together story. It is 230 feet long and 20 inches tall. It depicts the events leading to the Norman conquest of England. The tapestry was created in England in the 1070s. In 1729 it began being displayed in the Bayeux Cathedral. 

The first image shows Mont St. Michel in the background. That was exciting for the kids since we had just visited it the day prior. The second image shows boats taken across the English Channel. We have a new Christmas ornament that looks just like one of these ships.

In the evening, we headed back to the coast to see Omaha Beach. The kids played in the sand while Erick and I looked at the monuments.

We ended our site-seeing at Arromanches. We were hoping to show the kids the remnants of the artificial harbor that the Allies had constructed. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see. Instead, we found a café and ate yummy dessert. The girls had crème brûlée, and the boys had a banana split.

That night, instead of sleeping in a hotel, we slept in a cabin on a ferry. Our ferry traveled from Caen, France to Portsmouth, England. We had four bunks, and the boys slept on the floor. We even had our own shower and toilet. We fell asleep in France and woke up in England. It was a great way to travel.

Christmas vacation - Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

When we arrived at the American Cemetery, it was cold and raining. I was a little irritated with the weather. I felt that the cold rain and wind made it difficult to relax and soak in the meaning of this sacred place. As I was trying to take pictures without the rain hitting my camera lens, I reflected on the possible last moments of the Soldiers buried here. They too were unable to relax. They did not deal with rain blowing into their faces; they dealt with bullets coming at them and their friends. Their rest came with death.

Suddenly the weather did not seem so terrible any longer. I am thankful for the sacrifice of these brave Soldiers.

The Normandy American Cemetery overlooks Omaha beach and contains the graves of 9,387 American Soldiers. 1,557 names are inscribed on the Walls of the Missing.

Christmas vacation - Pointe du Hoc, France

I am amazed that we can still see all the craters from the bombs that were dropped by the Allies over 70 years ago. Pointe du Hoc was cold and windy, but the kids didn't seem to mind. They climbed all over the area and into the remaining bunkers.

For this trip, I downloaded an iPhone app called Spot On Locations. It was wonderful. It gave the history of each site and the GPS coordinates of each location. On the way to each WWII site, I would read the information from the app to the kids and Erick. I highly recommend it if you're going to Normandy.

Here is an excerpt from the app:
Pointe du Hoc was a strategic objective in the sector of Omaha Beach. The Germans had built a major coastal battery that could threaten the landing beaches. These 155mm artillery guns had a range of 15 miles and could take out ships and hit both the beaches of Utah and Omaha. It was a major objective and key defensive strongpoint which had to be taken out.

Two hundred twenty-five Rangers headed out for the cliffs in twelve ships. Three of those ships sank before reaching Pointe du Hoc. The remaining Rangers scaled the cliffs with three usable ropes and some rope ladders under machine-gun fire.

After all the fighting, 80 Rangers had been killed, and only 90 were still able to fight.

Christmas vacation - Sainte-Mère-Église, France

The small Normandy town of Sainte-Mère-Église was one of the first liberated by US Troops in World War II. US paratroopers landed in and around this town before the D-Day landings in order to gain control of a major roadway that goes through the town.

The paratroopers jumped at night. Sadly, several buildings were on fire at the time of the jump, and the light from the fires made the paratroopers easy targets for enemy shooters on the ground. Many US paratroopers were killed that night. Some shot. Some landed in swampy areas and drowned because of the weight of their equipment. Some hit trees and posts. Others were sucked into the fires.

One paratrooper's parachute got caught on a church spire. He had been shot in the foot, but lived. He hung there for two hours pretending to be dead. German soldiers took him prisoner. He later escaped and returned to his unit. Today the city keeps a mannequin hanging from the church spire as a reminder of the sacrifice of the US paratroopers that day over 70 years ago.

We enjoyed the museum in town.

Outside of town there is a statue of Iron Mike. The statue is looking out on a beautiful countryside. I imagined paratroopers landing in the fields with the horses among the trees. I'm so grateful for their bravery and their sacrifice.

Christmas vacation - St. Malo, France

We chased the sunlight to St. Malo, a city on the coast of Bretagne surrounded by city walls that protect it from ever-changing tides. St. Malo was almost completely destroyed during WWII. Today it is a beautiful city with cobblestone streets and breath-taking views.

St. Malo is another city that I visited while I was a missionary here in 1998. It was a short train ride from Rennes. I was so happy to see it again. 

We also enjoyed Mt. Malo's cute Christmas market. Pere Noel was there with candy for the kids. TJ and David were thrilled! The boys also got to ride the merry-go-round. They rode the same airplane as the Little Prince.