France Cruise: Cherbourg & Normandy
In this eighth post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Cherbourg, Omaha Beach, and Sainte-Mère-Église, France on her France Intensive Cruise on Azamara.
Today is another highlight of the cruise, albeit a somber one, as I visit Cherbourg, Omaha Beach, and Sainte-Mère-Église, France. I have wanted to visit the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy for several years, as my beloved Grampa Hersey was a proud WWII veteran and POW. To visit this area mere days after the 80th anniversary of D-Day just made it that much more special.
France Intensive Cruise Full Itinerary
Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about Cherbourg, Omaha Beach, and Sainte-Mère-Église, France. Looking for info on other stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!
- June 9 through June 11: Bordeaux, France
- June 12: La Rochelle and Île de Ré, France
- June 13: Belle-Île-en-Mer, France
- June 14: Nantes, France
- June 15: Brest and Quimper, France
- June 16: St. Peter Port, Guernsey
- June 17: Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel, France
- June 18: Cherbourg, Omaha Beach, and Sainte-Mère-Église, France
- June 19 & 20: Honfleur, Rouen, and Fécamp, France
- June 21: Oostende and Bruges, Belgium
Morning in Cherbourg
I enjoyed another hearty breakfast with a view this morning. The clouds were with me again today. But even with the clouds, I had a lovely view of the port of Cherbourg this morning.
American Cemetery at Omaha Beach
After breakfast, I set off on my excursion to several sites in Normandy. Our first stop is the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Omaha Beach. The entry area contains some striking quotes etched into the stone walls. Our guide then led us to the edge of the cemetery that overlooks Omaha Beach. Using a black granite orientation table here, he explained to us where the different landing beaches sit and walked us through a bit of the operations that took place on June 6, 1944.
The cemetery site covers 172.5 acres. It contains the graves of 9,388 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. There are another 1,557 names of missing soldiers inscribed on the Walls of the Missing monument. Some of the notable burials here include 45 pairs of brothers (30 of whom are buried side-by-side), a father and son pair, and uncle and nephew pair, two pairs of cousins, three generals, four chaplains, four civilians, four women, 147 African Americans, and 20 Native Americans. There are also 304 unknown soldiers buried here.
Scroll through the slideshow below for some striking images of the cemetery:
Dedicated in 1956, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial has more than one million visitors a year. There are striking white marble headstones marking each grave. There are 9,238 Latin crosses (for Protestants and Catholics) and 151 stars of David (for Jews). At the time, these were the only three religions recognized by the United States Army, so there are no other types of markers present. The cemetery itself is divided into ten plots, and it forms a Latin cross.
The slideshow below includes some more photos of the cemetery:
Chapel
A chapel sits at the center of the cemetery. This is a multi-denominational chapel, with stained glass bearing a Latin cross, a star of David, and an alpha and an omega symbol meant to represent all other religions.
Memorial
At the base of the cemetery sits the Memorial. It is a semi-circular limestone colonnade with a loggia at each end. Within each loggia there are maps and narratives of the military operations. A bronze statue sits at the center of the Memorial. The 22-foot bronze statue is entitled, The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves, by Donald De Lue.
Our guide gave us a nice overview of the cemetery and then we had plenty of free time to explore the area on our own. I spent time walking through the plots and trying to take in the enormity of it all. It was definitely a somber morning, but an important one. After the free time I headed back to the bus to continue the excursion. These stunning cars, below, in the parking lot definitely caught my eye!
Omaha Beach
A short bus ride took us from the American Cemetery down to Omaha Beach itself. We drove through the beach area, and it immediately struck me how “normal” the area seems. Honestly, it looks just like the quaint beach areas near where I grew up in southern Maine. I had to keep reminding myself of the horrific things that actually occurred here 80 years ago. This beach was one of five beach landing sights of “Operation Overlord” during WWII.
Scroll through the slideshow below for some pictures of Omaha Beach:
We also had the opportunity to walk on the beach itself. Omaha Beach is a 5-mile section of the coast here in Normandy, France. It was low tide when we visited, so I got to see and walk on quite a large stretch of the beach.
The slideshow below includes some more photos of the beach:
National Guard Monument
The National Guard Monument sits on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. It is an original bunker, which is now adorned with flags and memorial plaques. Because of the high winds in the area, the flags need to be changed approximately every 60 days.
The National Guard Monument marks the area where the 29th National Guard Division broke through German defenses on June 6, 1944. The monument honors all National Guardsmen who fought in the European theater. Scroll through the below slideshow for some more photos of the monument:
Sainte-Mère-Église
We ended our D-Day landing beach excursion in the small village of Sainte-Mère-Église. The town played a significant role in the D-Day landings. It sits in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have used to counterattack Allied landings on nearby Utah hand Omaha Beaches. But early in the morning of June 6, 1944, mixed Airborne units occupied the town, making it one of the first towns liberated in the invasion. However, there were also heavy casualties here.
Today, this charming village has several monuments to events and historic figures of WWII. There are also festive flags and bunting hanging everywhere. Here, as well as many of the other small towns in the area, the light poles also include posters of individual WWII heroes. Scroll through the below slideshow for pictures of the town:
Sainte-Mère-Église Church
The church also has some WWII memorials, commemorating the story of John Steele. A famous incident on D-Day involved paratrooper John Steele. His parachute got caught on the spire and roof of the church. He stayed there, dangling from the roof and pretending to be dead, for two hours. Germans eventually took him prisoner. But Steele later escaped and rejoined his division. The entire incident was portrayed by actor Red Buttons in the movie, The Longest Day.
Today, a dummy paratrooper can be found hanging from the church spire, to commemorate the story of John Steele. There is also a stained-glass window in the church that includes images of parachutes and military insignia. Click through the below slideshow below for photos of the exterior and interior of the church:
Lunch in the Mess Hall
I had some free time in Sainte-Mère-Église, where I walked around the town center and popped into a few of the small shops. I also stopped at Le Normandy Restaurant for a quick lunch in a “mess hall.” My lunch was a delicious ham and cheese sandwich on a fresh baguette. It was served on a metal tray. I took my sandwich out to a tented area in front of the restaurant, so it was like I was eating my lunch in a military mess tent. Although, I can guarantee that my lunch was much tastier than anything the soldiers here at the time would have had to eat!
Afternoon in Cherbourg
We then headed back to the ship in Cherbourg, after a somber but interesting morning exploring some different areas of the D-Day landing sights. By the time I returned to the ship, the clouds had made way to some much-needed sunshine! It was a warm and dry afternoon, so I walked about 10 minutes from the ship to the town of Cherbourg. Cherbourg covers just shy of 3 square miles (about 6.9 square km), and has a population of around 25,000.
Scroll through the slideshow below for some pictures of the pretty harbor area:
I enjoyed wandering around the side streets of the town. Many areas are under construction, so it was a bit loud and dusty in spots. But I managed to find a nice spot to enjoy some fresh homemade ice cream (of course!).
One Last Stop
After a busy day, I made my way back to the ship. The Cité de la Mer maritime museum is located in the same cruise terminal where my ship was docked, the former transatlantic maritime station. It was at this port that, on April 10, 1912, the Titanic made one of only two stops before sinking. It is also where the infamous Molly Brown embarked the ill-fated ship. By this point in the day, I was pretty wiped out and could not muster the energy to actually visit the museum. But I did enjoy walking through the display of various submersible vessels in the main lobby area.
AzAmazing Evening: Les D-Day Ladies
I had a fantastic end to a great day here in Cherbourg. The evening kicked off with the AzAmazing evening, a special night of entertainment onboard. I sipped on the specialty cocktail, a delicious apple juice and local apple brandy (Calvados) concoction. The show was a fabulous WWII-era tribute act called “Les D-Day Ladies.” It was a swinging show of all the hits from the 40s.
Leaving Cherbourg
After the main show, I headed up to Windows Cafe for dinner. I then headed up to the Living Room for another fantastic jazz night set by the fabulous Quest Band. My evening wrapped up back in my stateroom. I heard some cheering, so I looked out from my veranda to see the local performers from “Les D-Day Ladies” hooting and hollering and waving to all of us as we left the dock. I also managed to catch a rainbow appearing over Cherbourg as we started to sail away.
Scroll through the slideshow below for some final pics of Cherbourg, and the fabulous sunset as we sailed away:
Conclusion
Today was another “Bucket List” day on my cruise. I have wanted to see the D-Day Landing Beaches for quite some time now, and I was so excited to be able to do so here on this cruise. Although it is definitely a somber visit, I always appreciate the opportunity to stand in places where history happened. It was moving to simply stand on the sands of Omaha Beach and consider all that happened there 80 years ago. Being here so close to the actual 80th anniversary only made it that much more meaningful for me. I also enjoyed my afternoon in Cherbourg, another charming town on the coast of France.
Links
Check the main page for this cruise to read more about my adventures:
Click the button below for more information about Azamara:
