1066 and 1944

The bridge over the Orne, near my hotel

It’s been an absolutely gorgeous day – not the hot-and-humid we had on Saturday, but sun and high clouds and a bit of breeze.  I did an early start and caught the 8:30 train to Bayeux – 15 minutes distant. I don’t understand the train system: there’s no check-in, and only twice has there been an inspector to scan it on the train. Neither trip today...  It’s not expensive – each one cost €8.00 (c.$12.75).  I believe the fines for NOT having a valid ticket are pretty steep, though.

First thing to be seen are those spires...

Bayeux is dominated by the Cathedral, which sits on a rise and says “look at me!”. Tourism is obviously a big thing, and there’s lots of good signage, so getting to my first stop was easy.  The  Bayeux Tapestry is housed in a former seminary, and offers audio guides in about ten different languages.  The Tapestry itself is in a darkened area and behind glass – no flash photography, but I thought I could sneak a few cellphone shots.  The downside of the very efficient system is that you have to go at their pace – it doesn’t allow for you to pause or spend more time.  Once I’d gone though, I tried going back and doing it again without the narration, but by that time a really big tour group had just entered.  Being there early sure paid off.
I’d forgotten (or not noticed) all the quirky little details, and I need to go back digitally and remind myself. But here are a couple of my favourites – the charge of the Norman cavalry, with their archers shooting high above them, and the Saxon infantry standing in a square to defend themselves.

and then the battle, with horses and humans alike killing and being killed – and all the dead bodies into the border beneath the main panel

and then one that’s a photo of a for-sale replica – Harold is having a feast before he leaves for France, and the messenger comes to tell him the tide’s turning and they have to hurry – so they have to take their hose off to wade through the water to board.  And of course they have to take their hawks and hounds with them!

I could easily spend too much in the gift store on the way out – but I have to keep telling myself that anything I buy, I have to carry! - so, no shopping...
From the Bayeux Tapestry, I walked up past the cathedral and along the Rue des Cordeliers – the Cordeliers was the name given to strict Franciscans who wore a knotted cord to belt their brown habit. This was an uphill pull, and I was pretty wiped by the time I arrived at the Museum of the Battle of Normandy. For a lot of people, a visit to Normandy is about a pilgrimage to the Beaches of D-Day – especially for Canadians, to Juno Beach. But that would take more time than I had, and this museum was my compromise. 

I’m no war buff, and looking at old tanks and vehicles and weapons, is not my idea of fun. But the text and photos were extremely well put together, and evoked a real sense of how the Allied commanders worked together, the valour of those who fought, and the numbers of non-combatant support who did so much with medical care and sanitation.

Bayeux itself was pretty well untouched by the war, but having just come from Caen which was held by the Nazis for some time, I could see how vital it was to have control of that. And there were clear accounts of the devastating attack of the Allies on Caen, and the damage that was done – and even then, it was the Canadian troops who finally had to clear the enemy from the south bank.  And the people of Caen were clearly not bitter about the destruction, but grateful to be liberated.  Somehow in all that destruction, the Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames remained almost intact.
Hard to think about war on such a beautiful day – but there must have been beautiful June days in 1944. So many of those veterans gone now:  “we will remember them”...

Mum in ?1945

My father was not medically fit for service – both eyesight and recurring osteomyelitis cut him out. I don’t think Mum had finished her medical training yet in 1944, but when she did, she signed up for UNRRA (United Nations Relief & Rehabilitation Administration) and worked with displaced persons, helping them return to their homes post-war. 

Back to Bayeux central (downhill this time) and took the chance to stop and have lunch at a little crêperie near the cathedral – a galette (savoury crêpe) with ham, cheese and egg, a dessert crêpe with apricot preserve, a glass of Normandy cider, and a cafe allongé which is basically an Americano. Yum!

The ceiling of the choir - with all the early bishops looking down

Then to the Cathedral.  It’s impressive – though I actually I think I like its exterior more than the interior. It’s partly that it’s so many different styles – I really like the round arches and plainer decorations of the Norman style, but above that it becomes Gothic, and progressively more ornate. And most of the side-chapels are largely wooden with the heavy art of the 18th century. The windows in the transept are recent – they look very plain and let a lot of light in. But their designer has incorporated prisms in the glasswork, and from the outside, the windows change in colour. You can just see in this pic how the blue of the sky is picked up and intensified.

I love the carvings – the Bayeux lovers from the nave

and the gargoyles outside to keep the water off the walls, and the bad spirits away!

A little gentle wandering then, a bit of quiet time in a park before I caught my train back to Caen.