to caen

Ok, this one will have to be quick. There is a lot to tell, but I’m tired and can’t write it all down now. Here are highpoints that I’ll fill in tomorrow at a café or something.

1. Sunrise over Omaha Beach! Amazing. The tide was out, the sea was calm and the sky had an awaking blue to it. I hiked to the bunker where we had hung out the night before. I found the scene inviting. You can still see the mooring guides to LST’s that are interspersed throughout the beach in generally parallel patterns all the way down. From these it’s easy to picture in your mind the large grey painted ships ramming themselves ashore under a group of barrage balloons to open up their bows and give birth to hundreds of green/brown clad infantrymen, tanks, armored personnel carriers, and the paraphernalia of war. Grandpa was among them on day in September 1944
2. Riding out of Dog One exit this morning, I met a middle aged Dutch couple. They smiled and we talked in English once they figured out I wasn’t German. This is becoming a semi-common error among the locals. Anyway, he was Bon and she was Ricky. They were from Essen. Bon was very interested in my project, and we talked for a while. I should mention that this occurred on an uphill intersection on the way to Aromanches that we both stopped at to catch our breath. From this encounter, I see the future of my trip unfolding. Can’t wait to get to Holland!
3. The American Cemetary at Collville Sur Mer. Amazing how many people are buried there and not just D-Day KIA, all throughout the war in the ETO. I fought hard to get the theme music to “Saving Private Ryan” out of my head. I was only successful when the church bells toned out the hour, then proceeded to play a grotesque assortment of American patriotic music like “She’s a Grand Old Flag” in de-tuned church bells. The dissonant sound that this created was surreal in the extreme and cast a macabre veil over the thousands of crosses filled with dead men being forced to endure the worst possible music rendered in the worst possible way for all eternity. The monuments talk about peace and liberty. Have we really achieved peace? Did these men die for nothing? Also, I was oddly looking for my Grandpa’s tombstone even though I know he isn’t here. It’s almost like I wanted him to be.
4. The long long ride to Caen. The biggest Norman Castle I’ve ever seen, and the rudest people I’ve yet encountered. Seriously, you’re not in Paris. It’s like people in Portland pretending they are from New York or something. One quick story. I finally found a Best Western near a pockmarked World War One monument that I recognized from old newsreels. It still wore the scars of World War Two. Anyway, I was desperate for water. I locked up the bike, and barged into the front lobby and asking for water in poorly rendered French. I kind of assumed at an American hotel chain that they might speak English. I got a massive eyes roll when I accidentally said thank you in Spanish after being directed to the bathroom. I should also mention that I was smelly, sweaty and at least 5 days past due on a shave. After this, I was in a bad mood. I mean, I’m really tired, dehydrated and all I want is a 711 and a campsite. Little did I know that Caen is the most confusing city on the planet and getting out would take the better part of three more hours in the saddle.
5. On trying to get out of Caen as quickly as possible, I ended up (of course) going exactly the wrong way. South. I had to backtrack around the city for an hour, and for this I actually had to use the compass that Dad gave me. I laughed a little when he did. I mean, I have an iphone with google maps. What good is that though when it costs you 5 trillion dollars to use it? The best technology in the world can’t stand up to a compass.
6. I finally found a campsite after asking at the local hotel. The place looks brand new, and it’s all on a hill facing west with no shade. Bad for camping? Yes. Good for subdividing, yes. And that is there plan. It’s owed by a family, Henri speaks English, so we had a good chat about how his dad is an Architect and he and his brother run the place. Smacks of a retirement scheme to me. Not too sure how good of an architect he is though because things don’t quite add up with the slopes in the showers for instance. They don’t drain right. And the roof tile isn’t fire rated. The rock tile outside the shower area isn’t embedded right. It’s a quick job done by amateurs and it shows. Nice place, but I think they will struggle to sell the spaces.
7. Great nights sleep over looking the lights of Caen in the distance. The whole area is on a slope, so it faces the populated valley below. Very nice lights in the distance coming through my bug screen. Man I miss home and this reminds me of it so much!