Monks' Marshes of the Middle Ages

We have begun our trip south.  Our halfway point is La Vendee, an agricultural region in the central west part of France.  This is also the “Green Venice” of France as there are 300 kilometers of marshes dug by the monks during the Middle Ages.  We took a river boat tour of the marshes with a shy young guide who had never had an American take this trip.  We are definitely off the beaten path!

The tiny green leaves floating on top are called water lentils.

Our guide Marianne shows us a trap for catching eels, a specialty of the Vendee region.

Dinner near the marshes includes snails, another specialty of the Vendee.  We resisted the eel but said “OUI!” to the snails.

Today’s highlight was a nocturnal visit to Mont Saint Michel in Brittany. This mountain rises out of a bay that opens up onto the English Channel.  The medieval abbey at the top is one of the architectural wonders of the world.  Although I have been to Mont Saint Michel several times over the past thirty years, I have always wanted to see this beautiful place at sunset. 

We arrived at 9:45 p.m. just as the tide was coming in and the sun was beginning its descent into the sea. 

The village of Mont Saint Michel was closing up for the day.  Gone were the crowds of tourists.  Tucked away were the trinkets and postcards.  The tranquility of Mont Saint Michel is discovered after sunset.

The visit of the abbey at night takes on a spiritual quality not felt during the day.  The abbey is dark inside with only niches and columns lit here and there.  A harpsichord is being played in one large hall and futher on a viola.  Then a narrow corridor and ancient stone steps before we arrive at an altar where a soloist is playing the flute.  The visitors walk in hush tones through the abbey.  Sounds of a heartbeat, a ticking clock, birds in the cloister are heard in various rooms.  The passing of time, the beauty of stillness.  Finally, a harpist is playing in the chapel where the monks used to gather for mass, and we leave this place pensively, solemnly, a visit to treasure within.

Fête en Bretagne

We ran across a Brittany fete (party) in the village of Vitre.

Harrison seemed less interested in the dancers for some reason.

Medieval Musings

We did a bit of shopping this morning and found this stunning Louis-Philippe book matched walnut chest, c. 1830.

Then we visited the Chateau de Fougeres, the largest medieval castle in Europe.  We are in Brittany now and are learning much about the history of Brittany and their constant battles with the English and the French as they sought to maintain their independence.  Brittany finally became an official part of France only 500 years ago.

We ended the day with a stroll through the medieval quarter below the castle.

 

D-Day and Beyond

A visit to the D-Day museum at Arromanches.

Remains of the Allied Forces’ portable piers and harbor pulled across the English Channel from Great Britain can still be seen.

We also stopped at the village of Saint Mere Eglise where American paratroopers of the 101st and 82^nd airborne divisions tragically landed in the town center occupied by the Nazis.  The American paratrooper John Steele who landed in the bell tower of the church in the town square is immortalized by this ever present parachute and mannequin.

Our most memorable experiences here were talking to people who lived through the German occupation of Normandy.   Anne-Marie Chauvin recounted her memories as a ten year old in the square of Saint Mere Eglise watching the American paratroopers fall from the sky while the Nazis shot at them from below.  The gentleman in the photo below gave us a private tour of the Operation Cobra museum. His memory of the liberation of his small village of Marigny by American troops still fills him with great emotion.  One woman called the Americans “our saviors, our gods.”  Others told us they knew what hunger was after living through the German occupation.  It is a privilege to hear these stories from a generation who lived through it.

Our last stop in this part of our trip was to a German cemetery.  Austere granite crosses in groups of threes and headstones where two German soldiers were buried were reminders of loss for both sides of the war.

Here German youths tend to the gardens and graves.  Groups of young Germans come to France every summer to take care of the German war cemeteries and to live with French families.  A new generation in a new era and a promise for a peaceful and united Europe.

Wanderings through World War II

“Sorrow broke me…Brotherhood lifted me up again…From my wound has burst forth a river of liberty.”  These are the words on the walls of the Memorial de Caen, a museum that retraces the history of World War II through French eyes.  We spent five hours here and were overcome with all kinds of emotions—sadness, anger, pride, admiration… 

From Caen, we drove to Omaha Beach, one of the two beaches where the Americans landed on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

The cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer is the final resting place of nearly 10,000 American soldiers.  A solemn but peaceful place that overwhelms and inspires at the same time.

On to the Pointe du Hoc, where the American rangers scaled the cliffs.  Waiting for them at the top were Nazi forces in bunkers and at numerous gun emplacements.

 

 

Large craters at the top of the cliffs are vestiges of bombardments from American battleships who sought to aid and relieve the rangers.