I know we say it every year- but these men that charged on Normandy are just on another level of excellence. The video of the 97 year old paratrooper recreating his jump yesterday was incredible.
Long Euro-centric post, feel free to skip…
Spent 4 days last week in Normandy, including attending the US ceremony on the 6th at the American cemetery. Absolutely incredible. There were actually around 160 WWII veterans in attendance, including about 30 that participated in D-Day. They were treated like rock stars, rightfully so. Given the significance of the 75th anniversary and the reality that even the youngest WWII vets are in their 90s, guessing this is essentially the last “major” D-Day ceremony, though I think the 80th will happen on a smaller scale.
The logistics involved in such an event were fascinating, at least to me. Other than the N13, which is a four-lane highway that runs from Caen through Bayeux to Cherbourg, everything else is basically Old Frankfort Pike and Pisgah Pike, in the best of cases. On the 6th, there is a restricted zone of travel covering basically everything. Even within the zone, every major road is blocked for official travel only. Therefore, spent all day Wednesday and Friday morning visiting the actual D-Day sites (Omaha, Pointe Du Hoc, Utah, the American cemetery, Arromanches, Longues-sur-mer, etc.)
Also was surprised by the number of people that come as WWII reenactors. Had to be thousands of them, along with hundreds of WWII era vehicles (jeep, personnel carriers, motorcycles, etc.)
Spent a couple of days in Paris before driving to Normandy. I’ve been twice before, each time for around a week, though the last time was 9 years ago. Still one of my favorite cities, but def suffering from the strain of being such a popular destination.
Prior to France, I was in Ukraine for a week.
*Former* spouse and I hosted two exchange students in 2015/2016, so I was visiting one of them for the first time since she left three years ago. Kiev is a pretty cool city, will def return. Took an overnight train to SE Ukraine for a few days as well to meet & spend time with her family. Was 30 miles from the front lines of the Russian/Ukraine war zone at one point, though other than the terrible road conditions (military convoys aren’t great for asphalt), you wouldn’t have known it.
Chernobyl has been on my radar for a few years, and I’m glad I took a daytrip from Kiev to experience it before it gets overran thanks to the HBO series. Walking through the streets and buildings at Pripyat (abandoned city) was surreal. I’ve always enjoyed learning about the Soviet/Cold War history, so this was worth the experience. That being said, it’s infuriating though not surprising that IG influencers that are now showing up to post pics from here.
Ukraine was the 51st unique country I've visited. Everyone's version of ideal travel is different, but the biggest challenge for me is finding the right balance of new experiences/destinations vs returning to places I love or have really enjoyed previously.