In the inner part of the Bay of Biscay, on the border between France and Spain, lies a sleepy little French-Basque town overlooking the lively Spanish-Basque town of Fuenterrabía/Hondarribia. The city is called Hendaye in French and has just under 20,000 inhabitants. It is located on the right side of the border river Bidassoa.
Hendaye seen from the twin city Hondarribia. The Pyrenees in the background.
Here you are in the Basque core area, and around 50% of the population speak Basque or Euskadi, as they call it themselves). So then it’s just a matter of brushing up what you can find of x’s and z’s, and accept not to understand anything at all. Basque language is not related to any other language in the world! (Yes, they have really tried to find similarities, also against Caucasian languages, but no success yet)
Basque disagreement over French supremacy in Hendaye.
As an example, the 80,000 Euskadi speakers in France can enjoy inflecting nouns in the following cases: Absolutive, ergative, dative, possessive genitive, comitative, benefactive, instrumentalis, inessive, allative, ablative, local genitive and partitive.
Time to start practicing: Zorte on! (Good luck!)
The architecture in Hendaye is kept neo-Basque. White brick walls with wooden details. Preferably dark red, but green, blue and brown are also acceptable colors.
In addition to its role as a border town with alternating French-Spanish affiliation, there was a meeting between Hitler and Franco at the railway station in Hendaye the 23rd of October 1940. Hitler wanted Spain as an Axis contributor, but there was no agreement, and Spain remained out.
Église Saint-Vincent, Hendaye.
Today, tourism is Hendaye’s main industry. There is water! And a splendid beach!
The twin rocks east of Hendaye are visible from both the twin cities of Hendaye and Hondarribia. But they are not identical twins, neither the cliffs nor the cities.
On New Year’s Day 2024, a swim from the large, beautiful beach in Hendaye was just perfect. Here the surfers splash in the water while people go for Sunday walks on the beach – in water and air temperatures like an average Trønder-summer. Adorable!
Hendaye. Surf waves are not just for surfing. Wave bathing is really fun!
The origin of the name Étretat has been widely studied and debated. From ancient times, people have tried to find explanations from Celtic and Latin/Old French, but without complete success. Later derivations from Norse have emerged as more plausible, including Torstad, Stútrstakkr (upright, high rock) and Styrrstaðr = ‘helmsman’s town’. But one thing is certain, the Vikings were here!
Étretat with Porte d’Aval and l’Aiguille in the background.
This village north of Le Havre is famous for the three arches that lie in a row by the English Channel. Farthest north (to the right when looking towards the sea) is the Porte d’Amont (Upstream Gate).
The Upstream Gate.
To the left of the beach you can see the beautiful Porte d’Aval (Downstream Gate) with a broken arch, l’Aiguille (The Needle) next to it, and further south and invisible from the city: Manneporte (big enough for a sailing ship with all sails up).
The downstream gate. We went to Étretat with the intention of swimming under the arches, but the motivation disappeared when we were greeted by strict prohibition signs. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
The light color of the cliffs has given the area it’s name ‘The Alabast Coast‘ = ‘The bright coast‘ (ref ‘The White cliffs of Dover‘ on the opposite side of the channel). Parallel to the coast, at Étretat, an underground river flows into the sea, and the arches have been eroded by this river. In older photos, women can be seen washing clothes on the beach at low tide (in fresh water). The beautiful arches are thus created by continental erosion and not by the sea. The limestone contains, among other things, flint, which is left behind as pebbles on the beach when the limestone is dissolved.
The stones have rolled so much in the swells at Étretat that many of them have turned into small, perfectly round spheres. Idun found some that wasn’t flint.
The place’s existence is linked to the sea, and in the 18th century oysters were grown and processed here. Baskets of shells were transported to Versailles overnight so that Marie-Antoinette could enjoy fresh oysters in the morning.
At Étretat, seafood is just right both before and after swimming. Note the old fishing boat. With a thatched roof, it has been transformed into a fridge and freezer storage.
In the 19th century, tourists began to flock the site, and by the end of the 20th century, fishing was completely replaced by tourism as a means of living. No wonder, this place is stunning! So beautiful, that the place is used a lot both in literature and paintings. The creator of Arsène Lupin, Maurice Leblanc, lived in the area and his home is now a museum (Le Clos Arsène Lupin, Maison Maurice Leblanc). The last episode of the Netflix series Lupin was filmed in Étretat. But perhaps most famous are Claude Monet’s paintings of the beach and the arches.
Monet was here! Fishing boats too.
The pebble beach at Étretat is somewhat demanding as a bathing spot. It is actually very good exercise to wade in pebbles on a steep beach. For us, a reminiscent of the movie ‘Rocky‘, who exercised hard by running in the snow. One step forward and half a step back… But it will be good for you (it was for us), and the water is clear and fresh, so beach life by Étretat is highly recommended.
So close, but still so distant (or at least rather unwise to visit)
At Porte d’Amont, there were no prohibiting signs against swimming, only for walking too close to the cliffs. Into the water we went. Currents? Oh yes! The tide was coming in, and when we lifted the legs up from the bottom we were pulled away northwards. The water level here changes 10-15 meter according to the tides… Terrifying, at least without an accompanying boat! Tobatheornottobathe didn’t swim under one single arch, but remained with ground contact…
The estuary of the Seine has at all times been an important hub between the inland and the sea, and this time we mean literally ‘all times’. Human activity goes back a full 400,000 years, to prehistoric times. This was also Asterix-land (Gallic-Roman), with activities linked to the Seine traffic. The city of Francispolis was formally founded in 1517 by King François I (for fear of English invasion), but by then the city was already established. For many years it was called Le Havre-de-Grâce (Harbour of Grace), and after the Revolution just Le Havre (The Harbour).
Le pont de Normandie (The Normandie Bridge) was completed on January 20th 1995. The bridge crosses the lower part of the Seine and is 2,141 m long.
In 1914, Le Havre had around 150,000 inhabitants. During the First World War, 7,500 of them died (mostly sailors and soldiers). However, the city escaped the bombardment because the front was much further north. Still, World War II was a disaster for the city. Le Havre was occupied by the Germans, 5,000 people were killed and 12,000 homes destroyed (both devastation by the retreating Nazis, but also by massive Allied bombing). The result was a large exodus, and the population in 1945 was down to around 100,000. Today, Le Havre has again 150,000 inhabitants but this is currently declining.
Le Havre. Uniform center in reinforced concrete.
After the war, it was decided to build up the city as quickly as possible, without copying what was there before. The architect Auguste Perret designed a completely new center in reinforced concrete, and this unique city center was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005. The construction took place using prefabricated elements, where each module unit was 6.24 m. The restoration was finished with the consecration of the Saint Joseph church in 1964.
Église Saint-Joseph du Havre.
Perret’s use of concrete in a modernist style was not immediately praised, and further development of the style in Eastern Europe has given rise to terms such as ‘Stalin architecture‘ about it. And yes, it does feel overwhelming.
Saint Joseph’s tower. The spiral staircase up to the church bells is visible to the left of the tower. The stained glass windows by Marguerite Huré get brighter and brighter the further up you go.
We visited Le Havre on an ordinary Sunday, and the city appeared cold, boring and empty of people. When there’s nothing to do, a bath is just right, you might think, and yes, it was. The area around Le Havre is full of water and swamps (it is, after all, the Seine’s delta), but to the north-west of the city there is a wonderful, long, pebble beach.
The beach at Le Havre.
There were people at the beach! And there were seagulls. And in the north, parts of the old city were also preserved.
View from the beach to the new Le Havre. At the front, the sculpture ‘UP #3‘. We suppose it looks like Le Havre’s logo, seen from the correct angle (for instance from above?).
In the project ‘Un Eté au Havre‘ (A summer in Le Havre) in 2017, the port and the city’s 500th anniversary were celebrated. Several of the artworks have since become permanent elements in the city, including UP #3 by Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann.
Le Havre, The logo.
We had a nice swim by the Beach, surrounded by seagulls and sort-of exhausted young people. But we think that massive bombing of ‘The Harbour of Grace‘ was not just right.
Port-en-Bessin-Huppain is a commune in Calvados, Normandy. Here, people have lived since the Bronze Age. The town of Port-en-Bessin was founded by Vikings, and it’s destiny has always been linked to the sea, which is also evident from the motto ‘Res Nostra Mare‘ = The sea is our law. It is situated in a small valley (fault) between high cliffs, about 10 km from Bayeux.
Outer harbour, Port-en-Bessin.
In 1972 it merged with the neighboring village of Huppain (from Norwegian/Norse: Oppheim). After 1096, Port-en-Bessin was called ‘Port des Évêquesde Bayeux‘ (The ‘Bishop’s Harbour in Bayeux), and it was Bishop Louis de Harcourt who initiated the excavation of a deeper harbor basin in 1475.
The swing bridge from 1880 between the outer and inner basin was bombed in 1944, and replaced with a new one in 1975.
This first, outer, harbor was destroyed in a storm in 1622, and that led to recession in the area. It wasn’t until 1866 that the harbor was fully reconstructed, and in the 1870’s and 80’s, first a smaller and later a larger inner basin were excavated.
From the split between the two inner basins. We face the sea towards the lock of the outer harbour. The lock is only open 2 hours before and after high tide, so it is best to plan your fishing trips closely here.
Port-en-Bessin has always been connected to the sea and fisheries, but during the Allied landings in 1944, the village took on a very special role. To keep the war machine going, there was a great need for fuel. At the start of ‘Operation Overlord‘, this was solved in the somewhat cumbersome way: Transport by the use of cans. However, two offshore oil terminals were built in a hurry, and one (outside Sainte-Honorine-des Pertes) was connected to Port-en-Bessin with a pipeline. This was a very successful project, and already from June 14th, 100 tonnes of fuel passed through this small town every day.
Jerry cans versus pipelines, 1944.
The memorial stands by the outer harbour, and then a bath would be just right, wouldn’t it? We walked down to the beach just below the 1694 Vauban Tower, which was built to prevent English invasion. There used to be a similar tower on the hill above, but this was bombed by the Allies 6-8. June 1944, at the start of the landing.
The Vauban Tower and the beach.
The beach below the tower turned out to be a bit special. As a memorial to the local tradition of scallop fishing, you can wade in layers upon layers of shells. They seem to have dumped scallops here for decades!
Heaps of scallops, Port-en-Bessin.
However, the shells were well-rounded and not at all painful to step on – may we call them ‘Pebble scallops‘?
Anyway, then it was just a matter of jumping into the sea? Well… Yes, the sea was fresh and nice – a little way out. But we experienced quite a lot of wind this day, and large swells, which swirled up sand, hence brown water close to the land. And also quite a lot of seaweed to step over, which we normally wouldn’t give a thought. However, as you wade outwards, the sand is very quickly replaced by big stones (which explains the piles of seaweed on the beach), and combined with the waves, the bath turned out to be a little bloody. But apart from that – a nice bath by a very cozy little town.
And after the bath? If you are interested in scrap from World War 2, don’t miss ‘Le Musée des épaves sous-marines du débarquement‘ (D-Day Underwater Wreck Museum), which exhibits all kinds of artefacts and vehicles found on the seabed after D-Day. However, we missed this museum, and we would therefore instead recommend a trip to the episcopal city of Bayeux. There you can (and should!) visit ‘Le Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux‘, to see the Bayeux Tapestry.
Wool embrodery on linen is just as beautiful 950 years later. Photo: Public Domain
The carpet depicts King William the Conqueror’s invasion of England, as well as the Battle of Hastings in 1066 in 72 detailed scenes. Queen Mathilde’s role in the production has been very much debated, but anyway, the tapestry is absolutely marvellous, and the audio guide is also very good. Quote Audioguide: ‘They are approaching land. Everyone is happy. Even the horses are happy!‘. Here, retailers can really dive deep into the fashion, weapons, equipment and horse’s mood of that time.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux (La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux) was consecrated in 1077.
The tapestry is 70 (!) meters long and 0.5 meters high. That was a very strange size, you might think. But this is carefully planned – to fit under the triforium in the huge nave of the Bayeux Cathedral. In this way, everyone could ‘read’ the cartoon about William’s exploits: Beating two armies, and thus conquering an entire kingdom, England.
Projection of the Bayeux Tapestry over the arcades in the Bayeux Cathedral, December 2017. This is how the tapestry was returned to its original location – by the use of modern technology. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
In Bordeaux, wine has been made for a very, very long time. The first mention of viticulture in this district is from Pliny the Elder, in the year 71 AD. 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine are produced per year, of which 90% is red wine.
Vineyards in Bordeaux. At the end of the rows, roses are often planted – to detect mildew before it attacks the vines.
The red Bordeaux wines are blended, the most used grapes are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot grapes.
Knut and Ulvhild are tasting wine in Bordeaux.
The white wines are made from the grapes Sèmillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle. We also got to taste orange wine! The orange color comes by maceration, i.e. the juice (including peel and seeds) is not filtered immediately. This makes a white wine with more taste and aroma, as is a common practice for red wine grapes. In our case it was perhaps mostly interesting. The orange wine we got was not particularly good. But the red wines!
When is La Linea coming?
Visits to wine castles are mandatory for Bordeaux holidays. We made it simple and took the bus to Château Pape Clément. A fantastic place!
Château Pape Clément in Bordeaux.
Surrounded by vineyards, the castle also had an absolutely magnificent garden with many different plant species. Most impressive, however, were the nearly 2,000-year-old olive trees.
Olive tree, 1872 years old.
Wine exports from Bordeaux were large throughout the Middle Ages (a great deal went to England, under the name Claret). Many of the winemakers were from the bourgeoisie and survived the French Revolution relatively unscathed. Bordeaux, however, was hit by American wine lice and mildew from the 1870’s, and production declined sharply. After the First World War, it has rised again, up in the sky. Quality wines from Bordeaux achieve extreme prices and are considered objects of speculation! However, simpler wines are overproduced, and many wineries are struggling financially.
Château Pape Clément seems to be doing very well.
Before the wine tasting, a bath is a good idea. After wine tasting – no swimming! Swimming and alcohol is not a good match – and we don’t believe that our readers spit out the wine when they are at a wine tasting – do you? We therefore recommend a morning trip with picnic and swimming to ‘Le Lac’ north of Bordeaux center, and wine tasting afterwards.
Place de la Bourse with the ‘trois grâces’. Ready for picnic.
Take the tram from Place de la Bourse (Stock Exchange Square), and after 20 minutes you are by a very nice lake which is simply called The Lake (Le Lac).
Le Lac, Boreaux.
We flinched a bit when we saw this sign – is it really not allowed to swim here after all?
Dangerous riverbank at Le Lac.
But nope, the sign warns against steep riverbanks and we were going to the beach. At Le Lac you will find the nicest, family-friendly beach you could wish for. Not very crowded either – at Easter time.
Le Lac invites to beach life.
It turned out to be a terrific bath. Fresh and nice water, with a temperature like a summer day in Norway. A little too much seagrass in the water, though. We observed a local hero wearing a full wetsuit for the occasion. In our opinion, it was completely unnecessary, with active swimming you could keep warm in April.
Active swimming: the butterfly is coming!
After the bath, a pique-nique is just the right thing to do. And yes, we took the trouble to look up the word picnic, since our groups frenchman had some not child friendly interpretations. ‘Pique’ comes from ‘snacking’, while ‘nique’ means ‘of little value’. Food sharing! Considering that this was a family tour, it usually means that Mom and Dad set up a menu and bring it with them. However, we had messed it up with the order that each individual brings what they want themselves (our family consists of various varieties of carnivores, seafood eaters and vegetarians). So then some of us brought food for themselves – as the agreement was, while others had food to share. It’s never easy! But a good and cozy event, it was.
Pique-nique by Le Lac, Bordeaux.
It’s just right to share food and have a bath at Le Lac. This time a claim that has been tested – and verified – by 4 youngsters.
Bourdeaux is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, and has over a million inhabitants, if you include the suburbs. The name comes from ‘border’ and ‘eau’ = water, ie the border of the water. And if you have a somewhat wider perspective, this is actually a port city, even though it is located as much as 100 km from the coast. La Garonne is navigable all the way up, and there are 9 km of quays along the river.
The river façade in Bordeaux, from the 18th century.
In the Middle Ages, there was a large slum in Bordeaux. To make the city presentable for the foreign wine traders, it was decided to create ‘Port de la Lune’ = Port of the Moon; large, beautiful buildings facing the harbor – with the slums neatly hidden behind. Clever! The area is inscribed at UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Bordeaux is an ancient city, from pre-roman times, originally Celtic. The region for a long time was subject to England, e.g. during the Hundred Years’ Wars, but there are not many traces of this in the center of Bordeaux today.
Beautiful streets in Bordeaux. Photo: Ulvhild Hunstad Løwø
There are many magnificent churches in Bordeaux, the city has been an archbishop’s seat since 300 AD. After spending an entire morning trying to find the St. Peter’s Church (and the rest of the company), Idun had to admit that the beautiful church she was looking for was the Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux, and not the Eglise Saint-Pierre. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. He helt a speech here to collect support for the first crusade. But even though St. Andrew’s Cathedral is great, we think that the bell tower’s 20th century statue of The Holy Mother was too much for our taste.
Slightly too much? Tour Pey Berland.
After the city walk, a bath is just the right thing to do, but we really would not recommend La Garonne. And not because of this sign!
The main problem was actualy not this sign.
Swimming can be dangerous if you can’t swim, yes, we definitely knew that already. The problem was the water in the river. In La Garonne we found the brownest water we have seen in a long time. Mud bath, it was!
La Garonne, and the bridge ‘Pont de Pierre’ in the background.
We have heard that mud baths are healthy, but think maybe not this kind. Alternatives had to be found, and that was super easy in Bordeaux. We recommend a foot bath in front of La Bourse!
By La Bourse. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
‘Bourse’ = Stock exchange. The bathtub is called “Miroir d’eau” = the Water mirror, and we were not the only adult bathers here, just almost… Since we couldn’t do a full entry, we also dropped the full undressing. Kids and dogs enjoyed the almost 4000 Sq mt of water, and a couple of youngsters actually did surfing! With a water depth of 2 cm – well done! The water depth changes in cycles. If the water disappears – just wait a few minutes, and it will return. A bath in Miroir d’eau is just right!
Foot bath in Bordeaux. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø.
After the bath, some food is just right. In Bordeaux you will find typical French cafès and restaurants, as well as many more or less Italian varieties. Idun was very excited about the cheese and ham plates, preferably mixed. Knut is very fond of seafood, and often ordered seafood platter. These have a somewhat wider selection of species than the similar Norwegian dishes, as periwinkles and common whelk are common ingredients. Our eldest daughter Ulvhild, who is otherwise very enthusiastic about mussels (e.g. Moules-frites or Spaghetti Vongole), was somewhat doubtful, but wanted to try. Then it turned out that actually pulling the animals out of their houses was too much for the youths. Maybe it’s better with a bloody steak?
Victor and Ulvhild are enjoying gourmet food in Bordeaux.
… which made a kind of puzzle for us: Isn’t seafood in Bordeaux just right?
After more than a year of preparations, Allied forces landed on the coast of Normandy on the morning of June 6, 1944. Germany expected an invasion and was well prepared. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had fortified the coast with bunkers and physical obstacles. The actual landing, however, was expected to take place at Calais, where the English Channel is at its narrowest, and the fortifications therefore were strongest there. Even long after D-Day, Hitler believed that the landing was a decoy maneuver. Consequently, no massive reinforcements were sent immediately. The landing was given the name Operation Neptune and it was part of the larger Operation Overlord, whose goal was the liberation of France.
D-Day celebration in Bayeux, June 2019.
The landing is the largest amphibious operation ever, and lasted until June 30, 1944, when Allied forces liberated Cherbourg in western Normandy. About 7,000 ships transported 156,000 infantry troops to the five D-Day beaches: Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah.
Memorial from WWI. The French soldier was removed during WWII, and reinstated after the liberation in 1944.
One village that was liberated in the morning hours of June 6th, was Saint-Marie-du-Mont, which changed hands several times during the day. The village was occupied by 60 German soldiers, who used the church tower as an observation post. On a clear day you can see all the way to the sea from the church tower.
Église Notre-Dame de Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
In the hours before the actual landing, paratroopers were released within the D-Day beaches, to prepare for the thousands of soldiers and vehicles that were to be landed. However, dense fog and heavy flak, led to only 1/3 of the paratroopers actually being released, and many ended up in the wrong place. The two German soldiers who were on duty at the bell tower fired at paratroopers before they suddenly disappeared.
Our Ladies Church in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. There were shootings here on D-Day.
When the priest came for the morning mass on D-Day, he found the two soldiers in the church, and they asked to be locked into the sacristy. “We promise not to touch anything!”, the soldiers said. ‘Not even the altar wine?’, the priest replied, before turning his back on them. The Allied paratroopers wanted to occupy the bell tower, and there were battles inside the church. Later, bullet holes and blood were found in front of the confessional. On the evening of June 6th, when everything had calmed down, the sexton went into the church and started the clean-up. Sweeping up the rubble in the church nave, dust swirled up. Suddenly he heard a sneeze, and he found two German soldiers who had been hiding inside the confessional.
In Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, as many other places in Normandy, there is a shop that exclusively sells goods from the war universe. Here you can, among other things, buy this charming little sign:
From the war shop in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
4 miles from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont lies Utah Beach, the westernmost of the D-Day beaches. Here you can find a memorial in honor of Andrew Jackson Higgins, who designed the American LCVPs (Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel) used during Operation Neptune. According to D.D. Eisenhower (who led the entire operation): ‘The man who won the war for us’.
Idun runs LCVP at Utah Beach.
Utah Beach was worth a bath. The water was fresh and clear with fun waves to jump through. And here we could not see any signs warning of strong currents.
Utah Beach to be bathed! Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø.
There are fewer people here than on Omaha Beach, but they had horses on the beach.
Normandy is named after the Vikings (Danish and Norwegian). The Norwegian Viking Gange-Rolv was according to tradition appointed Duke Rollo of Normandy in 911, to end the Norse looting. A descendant of Rollo, Wilhelm the Conqueror, started the construction of a large castle in the city of Caen in 1060. The city experienced an economic rise based on Wilhelm’s invasion of England in 1066. The castle is still large in extent, but not so high anymore, partly due to the bombings during World War II.
Wilhelm the Conqueror’s castle is still relatively large.
We spent the Easter holiday 2022 in Caen to visit our youngest daughter, Une, who is studying there. Could there be swimming opportunities in Caen? The town is about 20 km from shore, but the river Orne is navigable all the way up, so it was worth a try. Wearing French bérets, we went to the old port – La Quai – but no, that water was too unappetizing, even for bathoholics like us. But the water photo turned out to be quite nice!
Seemingly beautiful water in Caen.
Other possible activities in Caen are church visits – there are several beautiful churches here, in a mixed Romanesque-Gothic style. And if the congregation grows out of the church, just build a new church nave in parallel with the old one, in a new and different style.
Two parallel church naves in l’Église Saint-Sauveur, Caen.
Anyway – what to do in Caen is to memorise the World War II. Many of the churches in Normandy, for example, lack a few floors, if you look closely. It became too strenuous to rebuild them to their original height after the war, so they put a roof over the lower floor instead and let it be.
And if you are (by chance) looking for a food tour, you will find excursions out of Caen with World War II as the theme. Caen itself has basically very few excursions for itself. So then you just have to go into the world of war. With the war in Ukraine simultaneously unfolding in the theater of reality, this became rather gloomy. A bus ride out of the city center you can find the Mémorial de Caen, which covers most aspects of World War II.
Mémorial de Caen, Easter 2022. The flag of Ukraine has been given a central place.
The center of Caen was bombed several times during the war, but the Allied bombing during Operation Neptune (D-day) was probably the worst.
Caen after Allied bombing in the spring of 1944. From the exhibition in the Caen Mémorial.
With World War II as a backdrop, however, there are up to several bathing opportunities in Normandy, namely the D-Day beaches of Juno, Gold, Sword, Omaha and Utah, where the Allies carried out the largest landing operation in world history on June 6, 1944. In France, this is not just a memorial day of the losses, it’s about liberation from Nazism, and this is a real celebration.
The D-Day parade in Bayeux, Normandie, June 2019.
During the D-Day festivities, the atmosphere is rather tense at the beaches, with many tourists, especially Americans, who are there to remember the fallen soldiers. At the beginning of June we would not really recommend these as bathing spots, but the rest of the year it is fine.
Omaha Beach with the memorial in the background.
Omaha Beach is 8 miles long, with the finest golden sand. It was here that the landing forces experienced the greatest losses. In the course of one day, about 1,000 American soldiers died here, most of them during the morning hours, and they were on the verge of ending this landing. The first 20 minutes of the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ describe these scenes as well (horribly) as can be done.
Omaha Beach. Is it okay to swim here, you think? Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
We concluded that ‘yes’ we can have a bathe here. But be careful! We saw a sign warning of strong currents, so do not swim too far out!
Parts of the landing structures are still present on Omaha Beach. Photo: Une Hunstad Løwø
And yes, this was a great bath. Fresh and nice water, big and fun waves on the way out. A bath on Omaha Beach is just right – when there is no D-Day celebration!
