The same week we saw Schloss Cochem and Burg Eltz, Lana and I went with the kids to the Normandy region of France to see the D-Day beaches of Operation Overlord as well as Mont Saint Michel about an hour to the southwest. Lana did a great job and found us a very nice French B&B far out in the French countryside, with very nice accommodations and hosts. In addition to the beaches and Michel, we also saw four of the largest cathedrals in France at Amiens, Rouen, Paris, and Riems during our drive to and from Normandy.
The area surrounding Utah and Omaha Beaches is full of museums and sites which are a sobering reminder of the battles that went on there and the number of soldiers who died, both on the Allied and German sides. Our first stop was the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach. This is the fourth memorial site I've been to, the others were in Luxembourg and Italy (Florence and Rome). This memorial is set on a hill overlooking the beach and as we stood there looking down I could imagine the chaos of such an event (mostly from movies I've seen like Saving Private Ryan). This memorial holds nearly 9,400 Americans. After walking around through the crosses, we made our way to Omaha Beach and on the way saw an old concrete German bunker which still housed it's old gun.
After Omaha Beach, we made our way to Pointe du Hoc, where the Marines climbed the cliffs on D-Day to take out five German gun emplacements (the cliffs in the background of the picture directly above). It is the site which still shows the most scares of war with multiple destroyed German bunkers and bomb craters every few feet. What a task to climb a cliff and overtake those who are shooting down from above!
The second day we saw Utah Beach, and some of the surrounding sites where members of the 81st and 101st Airborne Divisions parachuted into France hours before the D-Day beaches were taken. Towns such as St Mere Eglise and Carentan are where the Airborne jumped in a fought starting on 6 June, 1944. These are also shown in the Band of Brothers series.
Our third day took us to Mont Saint Michel, which is a large and rocky island off the north coast of France which houses a very large monastery and some medieval buildings. It was very impressive to see and walk around on! The pictures are worth 1000 words.
On our drive back to Germany, we stopped at a really cool coastal city called Honfleur. Lots of history, and its where a French explorer left from and discovered the Mississippi River, naming the area around it Louisiana after the French King Louis XIV.
This month took me / us to Sweden and France and in October we're taking a week long trip to Greece for our 5th anniversary...the benefits of living in Europe!
Earlier this month, Lana and I were able to see a couple of the castles nearby with family in town from the USA. My Uncle Ken and Aunt Jean came and spent two weeks sight seeing around Europe. The first was Schloss Cochem and the second was Burg Eltz. We saw Schloss Cochem while here at Spangdahlem for simulator training during Weapons School, but had never seen Burg Eltz.
Burg Eltz has been in the Eltz lineage for 33 generations now, and it is one of the most impressive castles Lana and I have seen...close behind Schloss Neuschwanstein in southern Germany's state of Bavaria. We took a tour of Eltz, but unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside. For those who are able to visit us, both are a must see and only about 45 minutes to an hour from Wittlich.
The past few weeks I was in Lulea, Sweden for an exercise called Nordic Air Meet. It was similar to a Red Flag event at Nellis AFB, NV, but on a smaller scale. The participating countries included Finland (F-18s), Switzerland (F-18s), Denmark (F-16s), the UK (GR-4 Tornadoes), Sweden (Gripens), and the US (F-16s and a KC-135 tanker). The location reminded me of Eielson AFB in Alaska...cool temps and lots of pine trees. The airspace was great to fly in as well, with less restrictions than in Germany and about three times the size. I flew up on USAF C-130 (four hours) and back in an F-16 (2 1/2 hours).
Since the location was so far north, there wasn't too much to travel and see. Most of the sites were in Lulea, but I did have the chance one afternoon to drive to the Storforsen Falls about an hour west. We spent an afternoon on one of the local lakes as well for a squadron naming. It was the first time I had reindeer as well, pretty tasty. Lana and I hope to make it to Sweden together, hopefully Stockholm next time!
Säubrennerkirmes (Sow Burner Fair) is a German festival in our town of Wittlich. In English we refer to it as Pig Fest. The festival started back in 1951 and is based on a medieval legend that tells of a sow that inadvertently allowed a siege force to enter Wittlich, sack it, and burn it down after she ate the turnip that the gatekeeper had used instead of the misplaced bolt to lock the gate. Because of this, all swine in the town were accordingly punished with burning – meaning, in effect, a huge pork barbecue. Yes, the pork sandwich was pretty good.
The festival is four days long and started this past Friday. There are multiple, small food and drink stands all through out the city and stages for music. Yesterday's parade brought the pigs to the main square and the pork sandwiches haven't stopped since. We've enjoyed a some time at the fest along with Lana's mother and brother who came in for the weekend. We usually went in the evenings, since the past two days have been unusually hot and in the mid 90s.
Lana the kids and I are settled here and enjoying our time in Germany. I leave on a work trip this coming Tuesday to Sweden (called Nordic Air Meet) for 2.5 weeks, and Lana will spend some of that time in Munich with her family. Once we're back in Wittlich, our first visitors from the USA arrive. There's plenty of room for those who can make it over!
A couple months ago, Lana and I bought bikes off of German Ebay and also purchased a kid wagon to pull behind. The wagon fits Lilli's car seat (help in place with a couple bungee chords) and Liam quite well. A couple weekends ago, we rode from Wittlich to Bernkastel with some friends of ours from the squadron and then took a bus back, one that pulled a big bike trailer to carry the bikes. The scenery was great, and there was a nice old mill we stopped at along the way for a drink before continuing on and having lunch in Bernkastel.
About 20 minutes north of here there are also some old volcanic lakes, which I mentioned a few posts ago. One of them has a couple swimming pools in addition to the lake. Recently the weather has been abnormally hot, so it's made for a nice spot to cool off! Liam also enjoys the river that runs through our town and the local swimming pool.
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