Normandy and Berlin

Is that a weird title? We spent last night on a train, so internet and space were not available. Sorry. You get a bonus today as I finally snagged Amanda's camera and added her pictures to the mix. Our cameras have the exact same time on them, so you'll find pictures taken at the same time shown in order.

We woke up from our swanky Bayeux Chateau and checked out a local D-day museum before heading to Normandy yesterday morning. The museum was good, but it focused on certain details in a confusing way. The navigation lady in the car wasn't too specific on the location of Omaha beach, so we found ONE OF the access roads to a part of it. Getting lost in the French countryside is fun because you see real country life. We saw ALOT of real country life...

The American memorial and cemetery was very well done. It is huge and gives almost as much information as the Bayeux museum in an easy to understand way. It also focuses on many of the individual stories of those who died.

It's getting busy in here, so I'll wrap up.

It was a long drive back to Paris and MUCH worse traffic than on the way out. But we made it on the train with five minutes to spare. It was VERY tight, but we all considered it our favorite bonding time of the trip so far. Better pictures should surface eventually.

Today, in Berlin, our schedule slowed down. We don't have nearly as much planned for this city, so we just walked until we were done walking. We made our first pass through the Unter der Linden and saw the Queen of the Netherlands escorted to the Brandenburg gate by more security than I think our president would see on the road at one time.

We've all agreed that the Germans seem nicer about tourists. And Berlin feels much more like an American city. We checked out the Lindenbrau brewery for dinner and enjoyed a great variety of German food. Now it's laundry, card games and sleep in what we think is the coolest hostel ever. This place is great. Fast, free internet. Large room. Clean environment. Fun staff and lots of little conveniences.

Auf Wiedersehen!