Mont Saint-Michel/Omaha Beach

Per, our little early riser, threw us out of bed at 6 a.m. and so we left at 7:45 a.m. Our way to Omaha Beach first took us to Mont Saint-Michel. Mont Saint-Michel has 36 inhabitants, but there are also quite a few hotels, restaurants, etc. So the people there won't have their peace either. Of course, the huge abbey, which towers over the small island, is quite an eye-catcher. Once there, Per went into his backpack and then we walked from the parking lot, 3km, to the rocky island. Per complained a little on the way, but when we arrived there, he became completely relaxed and we could stroll through the still quite empty streets. We had the viewpoints to ourselves and fully enjoyed the sight. From higher up, we could already see the streams of visitors moving towards the island. We hardly got out of the city because people were pushing in so much. On the way back, it started raining and because we didn't want to be completely soaked, we took the shuttle bus to the parking lot.

After we went shopping, we had lunch and then we took the slightly longer way to Omaha Beach. We drove in pouring rain and it wasn't going to get much better. Once again, we got the spot with the most amazing view, right overlooking Omaha Beach. In the evening, we watched two movies comfortably. Another upper incisor tooth has come out for Per and we didn't even notice. Very pleasant.

The next morning, we went down to the beach where we admired the beauty of the coast with its cliffs and large sandy beach. It's hard to imagine that terrible battles took place at this beautiful place over 70 years ago. A large monument here also commemorates the Allied landing of June 6, 1944. The area is full of memorial sites, old bunkers, etc. We were very impressed. In addition to Omaha Beach, we also visited Pointe du Hoc and the American cemetery. The latter was very moving when you see all these white crosses, there are 9387 of them. We even felt a kind of sadness. War should never be considered an option.

'The war would stop if the dead could return'.

-Earl Baldwin of Bewdley-