Conquests in Normandy
Trip Start
Sep 07, 2008
1
27
33
Trip End
Oct 10, 2008
Mont Saint Michel,
Normandy,
France
Sunday, October 5, 2008
* Norman Conquest Number 1
In 1066, William the Bastard of Normandy conquered Harold at the Battle of Hastings to claim the English throne. Not surprising that a guy known as William the Bastard would want to find something else to be known for, as William the Conqueror has a much nicer ring to it. Somewhere around the time of 1070 a tapestry was made to commemorate the events of this battle and the events leading up to it, this is the Bayeux tapestry. We had not planned on staying in Bayeux on this trip but having ended up here we felt that we couldn't come to the town of Bayeux and not visit the tapestry that makes this town famous
Bayeux Tapestry
. It was well worth the visit as it is an amazing piece of work, not for its artistry, which is quite basic like a child's drawing, but because of the history associated with it. It is an impressive sight measuring almost 70m long and is displayed in a dimly-lit room. It was also interesting to hear the story told from a distinctly Norman perspective as it certainly differs from the accounts of the same events I have read told from the English point of view. * Norman Conquest Number 2
After visiting the D-day landing beaches yesterday, our day was cut short by the very strictly enforced closing times of the American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach. We both felt we couldn't leave Normandy without seeing this part, where so many of the casualties occurred on that fateful day. A slight alteration to our itinerary meant we had time to come back. In typical American fashion we were subjected to a bag search and metal detector just to enter the memorial. Quite incredible to see men in US military uniforms conducting searches of your belongings just so you can enter a cemetery. It makes you wonder what the world had come to.
Once inside it is certainly the most moving of all the museums we have been to
Omaha Beach
. It starts with a film about individual soldiers and their stories from the war. This personal touch really adds a new dimension of sadness to the visit. There was one particular story that really struck a chord with me. A pilot of a plane was hit by German fire and his right foot was blown off. He managed, with only one out of four engines and one remaining foot, to fly his plane back to the English coast, where he finally crashed into the sea and survived. I just can't imagine what sort of tenacity it would take to keep flying your plane with your foot having been blown off and then to survive a crash landing as well. Amazing stuff.As you continue through the museum you actually get to watch footage of General Eisenhower talking about his decision to send the troops in on D-day. It is hard to imagine how he must have felt holding the power over all those lives in his hands. We headed out of the visitors centre to walk down to Omaha beach itself. It was quite unreal to be walking down the actual beach where all those men were killed. The irony of the whole thing is that the beach is beautiful and there was not a ripple to be seen on the Channel today after the incredible gales of yesterday. We arrived down at the beach to find a group of young Americans playing Frisbee, yelling and digging up great chunks of sand to make sandcastles. We were quite appalled that these kids, in particular American kids, could show such disrespect for such a meaningful site
American Cemetery at Omaha Beach
. We could only hope to ourselves as we walked back up from the beach that Aussie kids at Gallipoli would have a little more respect. The rest of the cemetery is a sea of white crosses in amongst a beautiful manicured garden. It seems quite a peaceful resting place looking out over the magnificent view of the sea.* Norman Conquest 3
Our next stop was a few hours drive south through Normandy to Mont St Michel. The difference with this place was the fact that it was never conquered. During the 100 years war with England, the island of Mont St Michel was never breached. As a result it held a significant place in the minds of the French and afterwards became a sight of pilgrimage for thousands. It started as an abbey in the 800's by a group of Benedictine monks. Over the years it has grown in size until it now fills the entire rocky mont that it is built on. The reason it was never penetrated was due to the fact it is in the middle of an enormous mud flat on a huge piece of rock that at high tide is surrounded by the sea and at low tide by kilometres of mud flats and quicksand. It is joined to the mainland by a causeway that was only accessible at low-tide, but which is now a road.
It is possibly the most spectacular man-made sight that I have ever seen
Mont St Michel
. It is so huge that it became visible on the horizon when we were still 30km away. It loomed up as this enormous shadow which you could barely stop looking at long enough to drive the car. We spent the afternoon exploring its narrow cobbled lanes that all eventually lead up to the abbey itself. Inside the abbey is quite incredible. Because it was built on the rocky outcrop there is limited space and the abbey is built as three floors on top of each other. The top floor is for the monks and has a church and a cloister, all with views out over the mud-flats that seem to stretch forever. The middle floor is a little more lavish and is where the abbot would entertain important guests. The lower floor is where the pilgrims and the poor were received. We were both really taken by the incredible rooms that we walked through, all so bare and cold that you can't imagine it being a comfortable life for the monks that lived there.
It was raining again on our exit from the abbey and the weather looked like it was really going to take a turn for the worse. On the mid-flats around the Mont, at low tide, guides take groups of people out onto the mud flats to walk around. There is another smaller rocky outcrop about a kilometre away that they walk out to. It was quite an amazing sight to see this little army of ant people swarming towards the abbey across the mud, racing the large grey clouds overhead
1-Mont St Michel
. It was the rain that caused the only casualty of the day, when I took a tumble down some wet stairs on the rampart walls. I somehow ended up with one leg twisted above me and the other leg about 4 stairs down in the opposite direction. Thankfully when Matt helped me up I was able to put weight through my ankle and make it back to the car. Just a sprained ankle thankfully as it could very nearly have been more serious. Considering the angle that my legs ended up, I'm very surprised I got away with all my ligaments intact. Mont St Michel is one of the most spectacular sights we have seen on this trip, and possibly on any of our trips to Europe in the past. It reminded us of how little depth of history we have at home. You can't just go and see places that were built 1200 years ago at home. I hope the locals appreciate what they have here in their own backyard.
