Jeff's European Adventure: October 2009

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Germany Pictures

Sweden Pictures

Stockholm:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2283021&id=9217262&l=46e9886f71

Norway Pictures

Here are the two albums from Norway.

Oslo:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2282738&id=9217262&l=df781d6b37

Fjords:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2282768&id=9217262&l=cf083f5471

Denmark Pictures

I've started to edit and post my pictures on facebook. If you are my friend on there, surf on over to my profile. If you are not on facebook, I think I can link to the albums from here. Here are my three Denmark albums.

Copenhagen
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2281905&id=9217262&l=71c19db7f9

Aero
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2282049&id=9217262&l=3102aeebbd

Fredericksborg Castle
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2283373&id=9217262&l=d84a0e7375

My final full day in London and in Europe started with the famous Tower of London. I started off with a tour by one of the Tower's beefeaters. Hilarious and informative, the Beefeater (or Yeoman Warder) was all you could expect and definitely lived up to expectations. I learned a few things about the Beefeaters. First, the Beefeaters live within the walls of the Tower of London. Second, every Beefeater was a Sergeant Major and served in Her Majesty's forces for at least 22 years.

After the hour or so long tour, I walked around the wall of the Tower complex and visited several different towers, including the famous Bloody Tower. I also visited the crown jewels, which were by far the most impressive I had seen in Europe. Especially impressive was the sceptre with the Cross. It is impressive because it contains the Cullinan I diamond or the Great Star of Africa, which weighs over 530 carats. The Cullinan I is one of several diamonds cut from the larger Cullinan diamond, the largest diamond ever found, weighing in at over 3000 carats.

After seeing the Crown Jewels, I went on a tour of the White Tower, the original part of the Tower of London that was built by William the Conqueror. The highlight here was the Norman chapel, frequented by William.

After spending several hours at the Tower, I hurried over to St. Paul's Cathedral. And no, to answer any questions, there was no woman out front selling bird seed. I actually liked St. Paul's better than Westminster Abbey. It was less cluttered and more beautiful. The Dome was the highlight. Buried in the crypt below were Admiral Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, the British heroes of the Napoleonic Wars. The best part of the visit was the trek up to the top of St. Paul's. The stairs are in several phases, each more narrow than the next. The first bit takes you up into the dome still inside the church. Here, you can whisper on one side and hear it on the other side. The ushers used this feature to great effect in reprimanding guests all over the dome who were violating the church rules when they didn't think an usher was near them! The next portion took you up to the base of the dome on the outside. At one point, you could look down at the exact center of the dome and they had cutaway part of the floor and you could see the bottom of the cathedral. The final part of the trek was up a spiral staircase to the top of the cathedral, with breathtaking views.

It was at the top of the cathedral that I displayed some travel savvy I had acquired. One of the main problems of traveling alone is that there is no one to take pictures of you in scenic spots. And trying to take pictures of yourself with your arm extended is hit or miss. So, what I looked for was (1) other people by themselves attempting to do the arm extension thing or (2) couples trying to take pictures of themselves together. Once the target was acquired, I would offer to take their picture. Once the picture was done and they were satisfied with the picture, I extended my camera and asked for reciprocity. Works like a charm.

My last bit of London was a quick look into Tate Modern for their one Monet and then onto a pub for a dinner of fish and chips. Then, it was off to dodge raindrops to get back to my hostel to pack for my flight the next morning!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Programming Note

After nearly seven weeks on the road, I have made it home. I have one more post on my last day in London and probably a wrap up post that I'll post over the next couple of days. And, of course, there are pictures to sort through!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Day #45: More London

I started off the day with a hop on/hop off double decker bus tour. Sounds nice, right? Well, maybe I just got the wrong company, but it was merely mediocre. It featured a insert your headphone into the language of your choice for commentary and didn't have the best route. I think we passed the Marble Arch at least six times. Oh well.

Also on the overrated side was the Changing of the Guard. Holy crap, I think every single tourist in London was there. Probably because instead of the usual gloom and rain, the weather was glorious today. Also, this was the first time that my guide book by Rick Steves let me down. He said the best place to view the action was from the fountain in the middle of the square in front of Buckingham palace. After going through the ceremony, I think a better location is near a side road. The actual changing of the guard is a non-event. Outside of the bands performing (a selection of ABBA music and music from Phantom that I recognized from the previous night), all the real fun takes place when they all make their entrance.

So, all in all, the morning was somewhat disappointing. Thankfully, as bad as the morning was, the afternoon more than made up for it. I think it is not secret that I am a tennis fan. And of all the tennis tournaments, Wimbledon is my favorite. I can remember waking up at 5am in the morning in Alaska in order to watch Pete Sampras power his way to victory on Centre Court. Even the summer I was at Boy Scout camp with no access to TV, I would eagerly await the morning newspaper to see how the competition had gone the previous day.

So it was with great delight that I was able to make a visit to Wimbledon. In another let down from my guide book, Rick Steves did not mention a thing about Wimbledon, so I was unsure what to expect when I got there. Much to my delight, not only was there a museum, but they also gave guided tours of the grounds! Our tour included Court #1, the media room, several side courts, and ended in Centre Court. I was in heaven! Of course, I made a trip to the gift shop where I showed remarkable restraint, for the most part. . .

My final stop of the day was at the Globe Theatre. Totally remade almost exactly how it was done when Shakespeare was still play-writing, it now hosts productions of his work. The show I was going to see was Love's Labour's Lost. It is one of his works that is geared for a contemporaneous audience, with numerous turns of phrase I think only a London in the 1590s. Nonetheless, it was extremely witty and the cast did a marvelous job with this comedy, hitting all the right notes. It was a great performance.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Day #44: London

Today dawned cloudy and rainy. Oh well, I am in London after all... I started the day by queuing up, as the Brits would say, at the half price ticket booth. London is famous for its theatre, so I wanted to see a show while I was in town. I had never seen the Phantom of the Opera, so it seemed like a good show to get tickets to.

After securing my front row, center stage ticket to the Phantom, I walked around the heart of historic London, ending up at Westminster Abbey. Here's a picture of it.

I had heard how many famous British people had been buried here, but even I was surprised at the names. Elizabeth I was a big one, along with GeoffreyChaucer and, my personal favorite, George Frederich Handel. And that's just the beginning! After touring through Westminster, I met a friend of mine, Fiona, who was a student at Governor's School in 2006 for lunch. She's doing a semester abroad in London and it was good to catch up with her.

After lunch, I trudged through the rain to the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. The Imperial War Museum has preserved the underground complex that Churchill ran the war from. Its an impressive group of rooms showing the sparsity and tight quarters the British had to endure during the Blitz and the later V2 rocket assault.

But the highlight was the Churchill Museum, taking his life from beginning to end it shed a lot of light on the man who was uniquely prepared to lead Britain through World War 2. It has a lot of great multimedia exhibits, including several excerpts from his greatest speeches. It also filled in a lotof background on Churchill I did not know. For example, Churchill was elected to Parliament in 1900 and served nearly continuously as an MP until shortly before his death in 1965. During that time, he switched parties twice, from Conservative to Liberal in 1904 and back again in 1920. Perceived a a rabble rousing crank in the 1930s with his constant warnings about Hitler, Churchill finally had the people's attention when the Nazis invaded Poland. The rest, as they say, is history.

Here's one of my favorite bits of Churchill memorabilia on display in the Museum. It is a sign from his last re-election campaign in 1959. No words are needed, the profile says it all.

I spent so much time in the Churchill Museum, I had just enough time to dash into the National Gallery to see a handful of Rembrandts, a Vermeer, and a smattering of Monets before it closed.

Then, after dinner, it was time for the theatre! As I mentioned above, this was my first time to see the Phantom of the Opera and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Its an entertaining plot and the music is pretty good too.

After that long full day, it was all I could do to ride the Tube back to my hostel and collapse into bed!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Day #43: A Tale of Two Cities

This is going to be a short post since the lady only gave me a 30 minute internet time card, when I clearly asked for an hour. But anyway, I started off the morning in Paris. And after an ordeal at La Poste, mailing some things off, I hopped onto the Eurostar train to London. (Its a long story, you'll have to ask me about it later. Suffice it to say that while I loved Paris, I did not love the French way of doing things.)

After checking into my hostel and buying a Tube pass, I was off to my first stop: the British Museum. And since King's Cross Station is on the way, I just had to stop by to see Platform 9 3/4. The people at the station seemed pretty good natured about their fame and have even sunk a cart halfway into the wall.

When I finally got to the British Museum, it was simply amazing. From the Rosetta Stone to the winged lions of Assyria to the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon to Cleopatra's mummy, the British Museum really is the world's attic, in terms of the cool stuff they have. If I had to do college all over again, I might be a Classics major. I get pretty geekily excited about these things.

I finished off the evening by having dinner with Kaitlin, a friend of mine from UNC days. She's in London getting her master's in museum studies, so it was good to reconnect with her. After the long day, it was time to turn in!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Day #42: Rheims and Epernay

Today the road trips continued, starting out with a trip to the Rheims cathedral. This cathedral is probably the most politically significant cathedral for the French people. It started back in the 5th century, when the Frank king Clovis was baptized in a predecessor church. Every since then, French kings have wanted to put them in the same line as Clovis by having their coronations done in the Cathedral. The most signficant coronation was that of Charles VII, who was somewhat relcutantly led to the cathedral by a more confident Joan of Arc.

Unfortunately, the cathedral does not have much of its ancient stained glass in it, as it was hit hard during World War I (the battle of Verdun was fought not far from Rheims). But it did have a set of three stained glass windows under the South rose window that chronicled the making of champagne (as Rheims is in the champagne region of France, more on that later). My favorite panel was one showing them in the vats, mashing the grapes

But the most interesting stained glass window was a recent addition. In the nave, the church got local artist Marc Chagall to design three stained glass windows. Though modern, they somehow fit in amongst the ancient setting.

After Rheims, I took a train over to Epernay, where champagne was invented. The local story is that when Dom Perignon (the Benedictine monk) stumbled across champagne after undergoing the double fermentation process, he went running through the monestary shouting, "Brothers, come quickly, I am drinking stars!" Nice story, but as with all nice stories, you doubt that it is true.

Today, Epernay is home to the Moet et Chandon house, which is probably the biggest and most well-known champagne producer. I was there to go on a tour of their champagne caves and enjoy a little tasting. The reason that French champagne is so prestigious, according to our tour guide, is that the region is uniquely suited to growing and storing the grapes. Not only is the soil and climate perfect, but the chalk rock that is ubiqitous in the area is perfect for keeping the champagne bottles fermenting in a humid, yet cool environment. To prove her point, our tour guide invited us to touch the walls. To my surprise, they were cold and clammy! Our tour guide explained the various steps in making champagne and it was very informative. And, of course, at the end, we got to taste two types of Moet et Chandon champagne. It was pretty good. Not a bad way to end my time in France. Tomorrow, onto London!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Day #41: Versailles/Chartres

After three straight days in Paris, it was time to bust out for a day trip.

I started out by taking a suburban commuter train to Versailles, home of the Sun King. (Louis XIV gave himself the nickname the Sun King because he supposedly brought light and warmth to everything in his presence.) Louis ruled France for over 70 years and during those seven decades, decided that Paris wasn't working out for him. So he took his Dad's hunting palace and decided to make a few changes. Actually, many changes. Then, he brought all of the nobles to Versailles with him. That way, he could keep them amused while he otherwise ran the country. Smart.

The one word I would use to describe Versailles is opulence. Everything is expensively done and then lavished with gold. The house is on a grand scale and in the richest fashion imaginable. Of all the rooms in Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors best exemplifies this. Built overlooking the gardens, the mirrors are placed directly opposite the windows so the gardens are reflected back. Pretty cool. While I didn't think anything could top the Antiquarium in Munich (see Day #?), the Hall of Mirrors wins hands down.

After touring Versailles, I caught a train to Chartres, home of the famous cathedral. Originally a Romanesque church, the previous cathedral burned down in the late 12th century. But the signature attraction of the cathedral, the Veil of Mary, was spared. It's a miracle! Donations came puring in and the present Gothic cathedral was then erected, on a much grander scale than before.

The cathedral dominates the small town (the cathedral was built more for pilgrims than local inhabitants) and has an amazing display of stained glass.

Now, being a conscientious visitor and this being Sunday, I checked the schedule to see if my visit would interrupt any services that were being held. The schedule clearly indicated that there would be no mass between the one held at 11am and then vespers at 5:30. As it was 2, I felt safe in continuing my visit. Well, the schedule was wrong. About 3pm, the cathedral doors were thrown open and people came streaming in, all wearing some time of colored crepe paper tied around their necks. Apparently, there was some sort of special mass being held.

Relying on the old adage, "in for a penny, in for a pound" I took a seat in the last row and observed the proceedings. It was Sunday after all. It was the first mass I had ever been to. Since it was in French, I missed most of it, but the music and choir were quite beautiful. And the incense was . . . interesting.

At the end, I stood up behind my pew (it being the last row remember) to see the processional come down the aisle. As it approached the end, the acolyte carrying the cross turned around to the priest behind him and whispered, "Turnez a droite?" The next paragraph was my thought process from there:

That's funny. The poor kid had to ask where he was going. Let's see, turnez a droite. The only perfect quiz score you got in three semesters of French class at UNC was the week we did directions, I should be able to figure this out. Turnez = turning, that was easy enough. And gauche is left, so droite must be right. Putting it all together, that means the procession is turning right. Hey, not bad Watters, you still have some of it together. Wait. That means they are not going out the door. Wait. I'm right. Crap, they're going to turn right into where I am. I better move!

And so I scampered out of the way to avoid getting run over by the processional.

The rest of the evening was relatively uneventful. I caught a train back to Paris and had dined at a local brasserie near my hostel where I had roast duck breast, mashed potatoes, bread, and a glass of Bordeaux. Ah, life is good.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Day #40: Even More Paris!

Monmarte was originally named after the Mount of Mars (as in the Roman god, not the candy bar). Now, it is referred to as the Mount of Martyrs. As legend has it, the bishop of Paris, St. Dennis, was beheaded by locals who weren't going along with the whole Christianity thing. Not one to let his enemies have the last word, St. Dennis grabbed his head and hiked up the hill outside of Paris before dying. Locals were amazed and Christianity was in.

Today, the high hill overlooking Paris is home to the Sacre Coeur basilica . . . and about 10,000 panhandlers/schiesters/janksters, each of whom hit me up for money. One guy even grabbed my hand in an attempt to put a freindship bracelet on it. I had to pry his fingers off of me. Needless to say, I was not in a friendly mood. Here's a picture of the basilica.

After touring through the basilica, I headed off to the heart of Paris's shopping district. (Fun trivia fact, the department store was invented in France.) I went to one that was jam packed with eight floors of merchandise. Well, I say eight floors. The top floor was the sixth floor, but it also featured a 0 floor and a -1 floor, so I'm sticking with eight.

I actually ended up buying something on my shopping trip. I was strolling along the Rue de Lafeyette when I saw a small games shop. I fell in love with a chess set, so I bought it! Now, the tricky part is getting it back home.

Unwilling to cart it around for the rest of the day, I returned to my hostel to drop it off. Walking on the way back, I passed a lady handing out free razors. How could I refuse such a sign? I took my free razor, spent one euro on some cheap shaving cream, and shaved for the first time in six weeks. I felt much better afterward (and strangely colder). Here's a before picture:

After dropping off the chess set, I continued on to the Orangerie Museum. The Orangerie houses some guy's private collection that he donated when he kicked the can (as best as I could tell) and housed works by such artists as Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse, and Picasso. But the museum's main attraction by far is its collection of eight large canvasses of Monet's water lillies. Housed in two, egg-shaped white rooms, the paintings are hung (four to a room) for an almost 360 degree water lilly view. A piped in selection of light classical music completed the mood. I probably could have remained their enraptured by the oversized canvasses for hours. As it was, I stayed an hour before the museum closed and security kicked me out.

My last stop of the day (after stopping for a nice croque monsieur at a local brasserie) was the Eiffel Tower. As impressive as it is by day, it is even moreso at night. Paris is the so-called City of Night. Well, if a view of the city at night from the top of the Eiffel Tower is any indication, the name is well-dserved. Even the Eiffel Tower itself gets into the action. At the top of every hour it is dark, thousands of light bulbs flash on and off and the Tower puts on a spectacular light show. This is one tourist attraction that did not disappoint!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Day #39: More Paris

The idea today was to start at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, wind my way through the Latin Quarter, then visit the Saint Chappelle Cathedral. After dinner, it would be on to the Louvre.

That was the plan, but when I arrived at Notre Dame, it was cloudy. Now, I may not know much about European cathedrals, but I do know that stained glass + clouds does not equal breathtaking. So I detoured for a bit, hoping that the clouds would lift and the sun would come out.

I detoured to visit the Cluny Museum in the Latin quarter. Officially called the National Museum of the Middle Ages, the Cluny Museum is only semi-interesting except for its one big showpiece: a series of unicorn tapestries. Woven in the late 15th century, these six tapestries show a woman, a lion, and a unicorn and symbolize the five senses (plus something else, scholars are apparently divided on the meaning of the sixth). My favorite was the one that symbolized sight.

After spending a good hour in the Cluny Museum to see that my faith had been justified and the clouds had lifted. So on to the Cathedral of Notre Dame! The Cathedral's reputation is well deserved and the rose windows are breathtaking.

Next, I went walking through the Latin Quarter. As the home of the Sorbonne, this neighborhood got its name from the fact that students came from all over Europe to study and the only language they had in common was the language of learning: Latin. Once a place that showed the old city of Paris, it is now overrun with tacky tourist shops and Asian restaurants.

Crossing back over the river, I next went to see the Cathedral of Saint Chappelle. Built to house the reputed crown of thorns from Jesus' crucifixion, the Cathedral is more famous now for its breath-taking stained glass window display. I walked up only to see that it was closed for lunch. No problem, I just popped next door to the Conciergerie, Paris's most famous still-standing prison. I say still-standing because the Bastille does not exist anymore. The Conciergerie was where the Revolutinary Authorities held people before efforting them off to the guillotine. Its most famous prisoner was Marie Antoinette.

After the Conciergerie, I went back to the Saint Chappelle, only to find a long line. Apparently, the church is right next to the Palais de Justice (which houses the French Supreme Court and the Paris criminal courts), so all tourists had to go through a metal detector. 45 minutes later (thankfully, I had a book to read), I went through the metal detector and was in! Excited, I mounted the stairs to the upper chapel . . . only to be terribly disappointed. Apparently, the famous stained glass windows were undergoing a restoration, so some of the windows were covered up. Don't get me wrong, the remaining windows were amazing, but when almost all of the main windows behind the altar are covered up, its not quite the same.

My last stop of the day was the Louvre. Conveniently open at night on Fridays, this cut out some of the crowds. The museum offers two big highlights: the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.

The Venus de Milo did not disappoint. Elegantly carved and well-displayed, it left me enthralled. And I usually am not a big statue person.

The Mona Lisa, on the other hand, was a little disappointing. It is behind glass and we were roped off from getting within 15 feet of it, so it was hard to get a good luck at the nuances of the painting. I much preferred another Da Vinvi painting they showed of Saint Anne, with Virgin and child.

My final stop at the Louvre, after a swing through the Egyptian section, was to see the famous Lace Maker by Vermeer. Only to find out that it has been loaned out to a museum in Kyoto. They did have the Astronomer by Vermeer nearby, but it was still disappointing.

Overall, the Louvre underwhelmed me. Maybe it is because their art displays did not jibe with what I like in art, but still, I think I like the Orsay Museum better.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Day #38: Paris!

After running to catch the train from Bayeux (and after a fast march down to the train station to make it just when the train was scheduled to leave, I discovered it was 5 minutes late. Sigh.), I checked into my hostel in Paris and started my examination of the city.

I started at the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees. One thing I didn't realize was how big the arch was. It is enormous! And the traffic circle, well, let's just say that if you thought the Waco traffic circle was bad, just wait until you meet this bad boy. Another thing I did not realize was that you could climb stairs up to the top of the Arc. So I did! Talk about a view! You could see pretty much all of Paris spread out beneath you. Pretty cool. (Of course, I'm sure that Eiffel Tower will be even better...).

After coming down, I strolled down the Champs Elysees, enjoying the scenery and the other tourists. It is quite a street! I took the Rue de Franklin Roosevelt down to the French Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb. Napoleon is buried in an Army hospital. If you think that sounds unglamorous, think again. It is an Army hospital built by Louis XIV, the Sun King, who did not do anything second class. The building is quite impressive as is Napoleon's crypt.

After looking at Napoleon's Tomb, it was time for dinner. I stopped off at a cafe and enjoyed a traditional Parisian menu, where you have several options over three different courses. I had a first course of a walnut salad, a second course of roast chicken with french fries, and a dessert course of chocolate cake in a cream sauce. Tres bien!

I ended the day with browsing through the Orsay Museum. The Orsay (open late for Thursdays!) is best known for its collection of Impressionist paintings that is housed in a refurbished train station! As Claude Monet is one of my favorite painters, I was in hog heaven! It is a great museum and the paintings are absolutely amazing.

After the Orsay Museum, I had just enough strength to drag myself back to my hostel and fall asleep. Tomorrow: the Notre Dame cathedral and the Louvre!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Day #37: D-Day Beaches

To land my D-Day tour, I basically contacted the name of every tour listed in my guidebook to see if anyone had room. Thankfully, I heard back from the Caen Memorial Museum, which offers a guided tour of its museum in the morning, lunch at its restaurant, and then a tour of D-Day sights in the afternoon. It was a great tour that I enjoyed very much, but had one significant flaw. It did not cover St. Mere Eglise. St. Mere Eglise is famous as being the inland village the 82nd jumped on D-Day, with a couple of the paratroopers getting caught on the steeple of the town church.

I was especially disappointed because, as some of you know, my Dad has been in the 82nd on a couple of different occasions and Fort Bragg is as much of a hometown as I currently have. (As a side-note, the residential neighborhoods on Ft. Bragg are named after places where the 82nd saw action and I can vividly remember many of them: St. Mere Eglise, Cherborg, Nijmegen, etc.). So that was a disappointment. But, as the French say, c'est la vie.

That being said, I had a great tour with a very knowledgeable tour guide, Sandrine, so I can't complain too much. The Caen Memorial Museum is well done and actually starts in 1918. The goal is to put WWII into a larger context. One thing I was surprised at was how harsh the museum was at the French leaders in the inter-war period. One especially telling item was an excerpt from a French magazine declaring that the completely impracticable and out-dated French Army uniforms made the French Army the best dressed army in the world. As Sandrine put it, as if that mattered any!

The highlight of the museum was an exhibition on the lives of soldiers before and after D-Day, as told in their own words. The museum had acquired a large number of letters from soldiers on the front from both sides of the battle. Also impressive was the 20 minute video on the D-Day landing that included 80% original footage. (The rest was supplement from the Longest Day.)

After a good lunch, it was off to see the D-Day sights.

Our first stop was Arromanches, sight of an artificial harbor. Allied war planners had discovered from earlier operations that it would be difficult to try a frontal assault on a port city. So they decided to make their own. Built starting right after D-Day, the artificial port provided the Allied forces with supplies and remained in operation several months until the Allies took Antwerp. Here's what's left.

Our next stop was the Longues-sur-Mer gun battery. Hitler, fearing an attack, fortified the Atlantic seaboard from Norway to Spain with coastal defenses to make the so-called "Atlantic Wall". Gun batteries, like this one, were a big part of the wall. This particular gun battery was undamaged by the bombing before D-Day and fired onto Gold and Omaha beaches.

Our third stop was the American Military Cemetery. Overlooking Omaha Beach, the cemetery is immaculately groomed and poignantly laid out in the shape of a cross. In the years after the war, families of the fallen soldiers were given the option to leave their loved one in the military cemetery or to bring them home. 60% opted to bring them home and of the 40% that were left on the continent where they fell about 9,500 soldiers have their final resting place in this cemetery.

Our fourth stop was Omaha beach itself. Omaha was the most open of the five D-Day beaches, but had a series of hills that overlooked it. The Germans were nestled down in these hills and is a big reason why Omaha was the bloodiest of the five beaches. It was hard to imagine the clear, sunny beach full of obstacles, charging soldiers, and gun fights. It all seemed very peaceful.

The final stop was at Point du Hoc. Point du Hoc was a strategic target due to the German gun battery that was capable of reaching both Omaha and Utah beaches. The problem is that there was no easy access point to it. It is on a cliff and the Germans had heavily mined the area behind it, leaving an attack up the cliffs the only way to go. Approximately 225 Rangers scaled the cliffs, took the position, and then held off the Germans for two days until reinforcements came from Omaha Beach. The site today is left as it was on that day and is quite moving. Unfortunately, it is hard to get a good look at the cliffs since they are deteriorating due to erosion, but fear not. A team of soil scientists from Texas A&M are on the job figuring out to reinforce the cliff.

It was quite sobering to look over the wind swept countryside and imagine the task those Rangers had. Looking at the sight, a song sprung into my head. When I was younger, Dad had bought a CD produced by the 82nd Airborne Chorus and played it for us regularly. One particular song was the Ballad of the Green Beret. Even though not exactly on point, as the green beret signifies special forces, not Rangers, I think it still fits.

Here are the lyrics in their entirety.

Fighting soldiers from the sky
Fearless men who jump and die
Men who mean just what they say
The brave men of the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men we'll test today
But only three win the Green Beret

Trained to live, off nature's land
Trained in combat, hand to hand
Men who fight by night and day
Courage deep, from the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest
These are men, America's best
One hundred men we'll test today
But only three win the Green Beret

Back at home a young wife waits
Her Green Beret has met his fate
He has died for those oppressed
Leaving her this last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest
Make him one of America's best
He'll be a man they'll test one day
Have him win the Green Beret

Jeff's European Adventure