The Battlefield of Pointe du Hoc, France
The seaside cliff called Pointe du Hoc, overlooking Omaha and Utah beaches in Normandy, was the site of some of the fiercest D-Day fighting.
World War II
American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, Normandy, France
This is the second time we’ve visited the Omaha Beach Cemetery. The first time was in 2007.
The Jewish Cemetery, Warsaw, Poland
The Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw is a bit of a surprise. In the middle of the city that once had 300,000 Jews who had been there for centuries, it’s now … Read more
Visiting the Auschwitz and Birkenau Nazi Death Camps
The gate where we entered the Auschwitz concentration camp bears the overarching black iron legend, “Arbeit Macht Frei” – Work Will Set You Free.
Rumbula Massacre Holocaust Memorial, Latvia
We had never heard of the Rumbula Massacre until we visited the Latvian Museum of the Occupation in Riga. (Great museum, terrible website, btw.) The museum itself is an eye … Read more
German Coastal Bunker, Saaremaa, Estonia
As we travel around northern Europe, we tend to head for remote coastlines. On so many of them, we’ve found the remains of German coastal batteries from World War II. … Read more
The Battling Bastards of Bastogne
I figured the best way to avoid getting killed was to be the best soldier I could be, and have the other best soldiers around me.
Brave Little Belgium
Our itineraries often seem to diverge into two distinct categories: culture (particularly art and religion) and history (usually war.) This trip to Belgium has been much more the latter. I don’t mean to suggest Belgium lacks the former, although it does have large Protestant parts and the Protestants, except for the Anglicans, just don’t do over the top iconography like the Catholics.
Soviet World War II Memorial, Treptower Park, Berlin
We had lunch with a real Berliner today and we solicited her opinions on what were the best things to see in Berlin. The first out of her mouth was … Read more
Visiting the A-Bomb Memorials in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
My father was a World War II veteran. He saw some terrible things that he would never talk about. He was at Omaha Beach, Bastogne, the Huertgen Forest and participated … Read more