My visit to Normandy this past weekend showed me a completely different side of what I'm used to in France. The people were friendly and complimented me on my French (!) and even said "God Bless You" when I told them I was from the US. It was seriously like an alternate universe.
Going to see the actual WWII sights was truly an awesome experience. And I'm not a war person; I couldn't sit through the first half-hour of Saving Private Ryan and I generally try to avoid thinking about the devastation of such things. But to see what those guys went through made the whole thing seem much more real, and when people actually thank you for what your country did in this day and age, it just shows you the magnitude of what happened in 1944 France.
We visited both the German cemetery and the famous American one. The German cemetery was very awkward in general; black crosses here and there, austere stones for graves. Needless to say, it was very German. There was a designated area where the unidentified bodies were buried, most of which were Hitler Youth under the age of 18. And while you do feel sad that people so young could be so misled, it was hard to have sympathy.
The American Cemetery had a completely different ambience. The fields of white crosses above Omaha Beach and the ocean below were just amazing. I've been to a lot of inspiring places- the Grand Canyon, the Parthenon, etc.- but this was absolutely the most moving place I've ever experienced by far.
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