Normandy

We have now landed back in Normandy, this time not in Yport or Etretat, sorry for the lack of accents, but near Bayeux.

Christian was here right after graduating from high school in 1996, back then with two friends, an igloo tent, and just on foot. (HAT OFF! I'm not sure if this would still work today, I think parents these days would definitely intervene or even ban it outright!)

The stages back then were sometimes a bit euphoric, today we would probably be a bit more careful thanks to GPS, cell phones, the Internet and the like, but I especially appreciate that the young people back then were believed to be able to find their way around without cell phones and other aids .

We unabashedly used all the advantages of communication, even if my cell phone kept causing problems. The small campsite here is very simple, very quiet and we keep hearing a screech owl calling, Christian has even seen it. I like that because it wouldn't be so easy in the summer!

We are close to the Landing Coast, which of course I also want to see, but for me two cities were a priority. Bayeux with the tapestry about William the Conqueror and of course the Norman city of Caen, which is not only the place where the Conqueror was buried but also has his castle.

We enjoyed visiting both cities and also taking a closer look at the carpet. Unfortunately, you are really guided through the exhibition with an audio guide because you can't pause the announcement and just have to keep going. In the museum, cell phones are not allowed in the exhibition of the carpet, so the picture of the "vomiting" donkey is from the interactive part. It was gigantic to see that, because on the one hand the idea that women were embroidering on one piece for several years at the same time is impressive, and that must have been well discussed. Then especially the Middle Ages Latin, which I have been able to understand for 29 years without active lessons, even with AcI and Ablabs, was simply gigantic. The pictures are impressive, everything is embroidered, but you can see chain mail, horses and even shadows. The women did not shy away from showing the cruelty of the campaigns, and I don't care whether it was Norman or Anglo-Saxon propaganda. For me, Norman makes more sense, because otherwise you wouldn't argue with a hand of God and an arrow, which isn't entirely historically tenable, because Harold didn't die by an arrow...

I liked Bayeux better because it is smaller and more tranquil. Christian and I then had lunch in a restaurant where mostly locals go, so we did everything right here.

There is a lot more going on in Caen, we again had the small problem of an underground car park or parking garage, which also takes away the height of our van, there is almost nothing here. It was easier in Bayeux, but it wasn't 26 degrees there either....

We found something but reduced our visit to a few hours. We weren't eating here, we were asking the city about a suggestion that made a lot of sense. There were also beautiful houses, churches are not my thing, and of course animals and TWO tea shops.... What's not to like?

The day ended with a lovely hike in a forest on the Orne, which we and our four-legged friends had a lot of fun with. Normandy is not just worth a trip because of Camembert!