Mont Saint Michel has always intrigued me. It is an Abbey that looks like a fortress, built, beginning in 966, on several levels on an island off the coast of Normandy. The Bishop of Avranches, named Aubert had a dream, back in 708, in which he was visited by the archangel Michael who gave him instructions on where to build a church dedicated to him. He left his fingerprint on Aubert’s forehead as a sign that it wasn’t just a dream. Aubert’s skull is in a museum and actually has an indentation that looks like a fingerprint.
Aubert built a church on the summit of the island, which was torn down when work on the Abbey began. It is amazing how they were able to get all of the materials needed to build the Abbey up to the top of that rock. Even today it is a very steep climb. Our tour director took us up a road winding around the outer portion of the island, which was not quite as steep as the road through the village. It is the road taken by anyone servicing the Abbey — the back door, so to speak. Mom and I took the long, steep, cobbled circuit up to the top at a pace that was leisurely enough that we could still breathe, but fast enough to not take us all day. We were still able to join the local guide’s tour of the Abbey just seconds after he began and saw everything we wanted to see.
There was talk that when Mont St Michel was a prison, it was where the “Man in the Iron Mask” spent his days. But Mont St Michel wasn’t a prison until the late 18th century and the “Man in the Iron Mask” lived in the 17th century. There is, however, a treadwheel that was used when the Abbey was a prison. Prisoners would walk on the wheel in order to raise supplies up to the prison.
After visiting the Abbey, we had free time to explore the village on our way back down. Didn’t find a shop to get a real sword or dagger, but I did find a replica of a Roman dagger in a shop on the road down to the bottom of the mount. It hangs out in my family room with other real and replica swords, daggers and pistols. I do have in interesting 18th century French dagger pistol. It looks like a dagger, but has a single-shot pistol hidden behind the blade. It was definitely made for a right-handed person as a lefty (like me) couldn’t keep the pistol part concealed while holding it in their left hand. It appears to have been created for pirates and other devious persons.
Near the gate to the village was a communal restroom. It was open air and accommodated all genders. The only semblance of privacy was if you actually went into a stall and closed the partial door. Otherwise, you were out in public. While waiting in line, I remember the complete look of panic on one man’s face as he stood at the trough that was a urinal.
Normandy is also where the D-Day landings took place. One of the things about seeing Omaha Beach in person is that you wonder how anyone survived. The Germans were up on the cliffs above the beach, shooting down on the Americans as they landed in their amphibious craft and scrambled to make it onto the beach and then up those same cliffs. It had to have been hell on earth for the landing troops. Omaha was the beach with the largest number of casualties, but five beaches were involved. Omaha and Utah were the American beaches; Juno was Canadian; Gold and Sword were British.
Our tour began at the D-Day Museum in Caen. At the time of the invasion, Caen was totally flattened by bombs. After touring the museum, we had lunch before moving on to where the invasion took place. During lunch, we sat with a student from Fordham University whose sister lived in the same block I used to live in when I lived in NYC.
From Caen, we drove through Bayeaux (of tapestry fame) to Pointe du Hoc. This was a location high on the cliffs that had been occupied by the Germans. Roughly 200 American troops had the mission of scaling the cliffs and capturing what was up there. By the time it was over, 125 of the Americans were dead. So it was very hard fought. The bunkers and the bomb craters were left just as they were at the time of the invasion. According to the guide, a large number of the dead were also left there. Most of the bunkers were sealed up since they were tombs. There was one that was left open for us to tour. Utah Beach can be seen from the cliffs.
It was raining heavily while we were at Pointe du Hoc and kept up a pretty steady rain the entire day. It was a good thing that we had long raincoats with zip-out linings and hoods. Mom had an umbrella, which she would try to hold over me from time to time. I don’t carry an umbrella on those kinds of trips since I haven’t mastered how to hold onto one and still take photos and/or videos.
From Pointe du Hoc, we visited Omaha Beach. Some of the obstacles on the beach and a couple of landing craft are still there. This helps to give an idea of the way things were at the time. The American Cemetery is up on the cliffs overlooking the beach.
We went by some of the other beaches on our way to Arromanches, where we checked out the false harbor that the British built there. Much of it is still there. One of the villages has a dummy on a parachute hanging from a church steeple as a memorial to the paratroopers who participated in D-Day.
Once the Allies fought their way off the beaches, up the cliffs, and inland, they didn’t have it any easier. The farms in the area were divided by hedgerows and ditches, which made it very difficult for the Allies to advance with their tanks and other vehicles. One thing about viewing the location of a more modern battle is that not that much is different, so it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to envision what it was like. When I stood on Omaha Beach and looked over the edge of the cliff at Pointe du Hoc, I couldn’t help but admiring the Allied troops that faced those overwhelming obstacles and persevered anyway. They had to have been terrified. But, isn’t that the definition of heroism?
