Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: shotgunneeley on May 11, 2013, 11:14:46 AM
-
I'm a bit late in posting this; it has been a year since I got back from the trip. Anyway, last May I went on a ten day college study tour of England, France, Belgium and Germany with an emphasis on the WWII Western front. Our main stops included London and Portsmouth, England; Arromanches, Caen, Paris and Rouen, France; Bastogne, Belgium; and Cologne and Berlin, Germany. Weather for the most part was cold and clear, we only encountered rain briefly in London and a sleet storm in Paris. London was by far my favorite "big city" to tour, reminded me of a clean and pleasant version of New York City. Here are some of the pictures I took:
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/165857_3264261358414_4015649_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/165857_3264261358414_4015649_n.jpg.html)
London: The Imperial War Museum
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/179934_3264277758824_552652257_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/179934_3264277758824_552652257_n.jpg.html)
London-Greenwich: Me standing at the top of Greenwich Observatory where the prime meridian originates - I'm split between the western and eastern hemispheres!
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/538690_3264276158784_1046259669_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/538690_3264276158784_1046259669_n.jpg.html)
London-Greenwich: the London skyline from Greenwich Observatory. While in London, they were preparing for both the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and for the Summer Olympics
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/580079_3264273798725_959414348_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/580079_3264273798725_959414348_n.jpg.html)
London: Picadilly Circus looks festive. Imagine it 70 years ago filled with American bomber boys
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/560167_3264281318913_375764627_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/560167_3264281318913_375764627_n.jpg.html)
Portsmouth: A seaside town on the English channel. It was a major port for the D-Day Invasion. The atmosphere reminded me a lot of Destin, Florida.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/36495_3264298479342_1418299351_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/36495_3264298479342_1418299351_n.jpg.html)
Normandy: A german pillbox overlooking the coast line.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/581066_3264296679297_119783269_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/581066_3264296679297_119783269_n.jpg.html)
Normandy: Gold Beach
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/553606_3264310079632_666460613_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/553606_3264310079632_666460613_n.jpg.html)
Normandy: Point du Hoc - The site where American Rangers landed between Utah and Omaha Beaches
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/319784_3264301199410_642588064_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/319784_3264301199410_642588064_n.jpg.html)
Normandy: The American Cemetary near Omaha Beach. The picture does not give the scene justice. When I walked around the hedges and saw it, I was hit by the sheer vastness of the site.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/303323_3264331120158_2134937775_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/303323_3264331120158_2134937775_n.jpg.html)
Paris: Me standing with the Eiffel tower in the background. Some of our group went to the top, but I did not. While we were in Paris, Hollande was innagurated as President.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/303599_3317272003647_1881171492_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/303599_3317272003647_1881171492_n.jpg.html)
Paris: Notre Dame Cathedral. yes, the building is absolutely enormous
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/536414_3264335040256_1099609314_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/536414_3264335040256_1099609314_n.jpg.html)
Paris: Inside Notre Dame Cathedral.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/522884_3264327000055_112164235_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/522884_3264327000055_112164235_n.jpg.html)
Paris: The Bastille
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/389204_3264964255986_1087802861_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/389204_3264964255986_1087802861_n.jpg.html)
Bastogne: One of the most haunting places I've been to. This vantage point shows an American foxhole looking out towards the german lines
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/527626_3264949775624_484466953_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/527626_3264949775624_484466953_n.jpg.html)
Bastogne: This is on top of a memorial dedicated to the defenders of Bastogne. In the distance, the germans held the treeline on the horizon. Bastogne is out of the frame to the right and behind me.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/251812_3264350800650_698963542_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/251812_3264350800650_698963542_n.jpg.html)
Bastogne: The church of Bastogne (depicted in Band of Brothers as an aid station). In reality, it did not receive any serious bomb damage as was shown in Band of Brothers. Other than that, our tour guide said the mini-series was very accurate to the battle.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/545473_3264986656546_2138531768_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/545473_3264986656546_2138531768_n.jpg.html)
Cologne: The Cologne Cathedral. Like Notre Dame, it was incredibly huge. It took three generations of builders to complete. This site also had a Roman archway and ruins nearby. Cologne was very much like the picturesque german town; they drank beer like it was water. In fact, the european waitresses would look at me like I was crazy when I ordered water (was introduced to "carbonated" water on this trip - yuck!). Funny story - a local man was engaged to be married and his friends were raising money by selling home-made sausages and shots of schnapps...how could I resist?
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/398956_3265174581244_590553234_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/398956_3265174581244_590553234_n.jpg.html)
Berlin: The Luftwaffe Headquarters
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/537750_3265011337163_2108686170_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/537750_3265011337163_2108686170_n.jpg.html)
Berlin: The site where the "Operation Valkyrie" conspirators were executed.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/540546_3265184821500_842872309_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/540546_3265184821500_842872309_n.jpg.html)
Berlin: A section of the Berlin Wall still intact. The differences in building construction and design of cold-war era west/east Berlin was like daylight and dark.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/577653_3265013897227_442426568_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/577653_3265013897227_442426568_n.jpg.html)
Berlin: Site of the Fuhrer bunker where Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Now all that is left is this parkinglot.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/579983_3265037097807_686638993_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/579983_3265037097807_686638993_n.jpg.html)
Berlin: The Reichstag building
This is an assortment of some of my most favorite pictures. I took a bunch more so if anyone has any specific requests, post here and I'll upload them if I can.
-
Great stuff man :aok
-
Nice little tour through history. Thanks for sharing :aok
-
Thanks for sharing the pics and the commentary... :aok
-
Nice. I would love to do that and an eastern front tour.
-
Considering how close I live to all of it, there's no excuse for not making a similar visit. Maybe this year I'll get to Normandy. Flew over it once close to the 40th anniversary. Saw Omaha beach from about 2000 feet.
-
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! :aok
-
I was struck by how similar the picture of you with Eiffel Tower in background,
to the one Hitler had filmed. Maybe same bridge?
:cheers: Oz
-
I was struck by how similar the picture of you with Eiffel Tower in background,
to the one Hitler had filmed. Maybe same bridge?
:cheers: Oz
I know right? I tried aligning them side by side. Very similar in distance and orientation, nothing concrete. When I get home tomorrow I'll post a comparisson shot. Incidentally, we are seeing my sister off on a three week college trip to Italy, France and Englang for art history.
-
Cool :aok
:cheers: Oz
-
I was struck by how similar the picture of you with Eiffel Tower in background,
to the one Hitler had filmed. Maybe same bridge?
:cheers: Oz
After doing more research, I believe they are in fact the same location.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/251874_3264285359014_587186897_n_zpsb9c7348a.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/251874_3264285359014_587186897_n_zpsb9c7348a.jpg.html)
Here is that particular photo I took a picture of on display at the D-Day Museum in France.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/303323_3264331120158_2134937775_n.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/303323_3264331120158_2134937775_n.jpg.html)
In my picture, I'm standing at the Palais de Chaillot approximately 1,950 feet northwest of the Tower as shown by Google Earth. If you follow the link below, the blended 1940/2004 photo says the location is also at the Palais de Chaillot. Also, look how the edge of the wall is the same in both shots. I don't recall seeing a plaque or historical marker with "Hitler wuz here" but its spooky all the same.
(http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l575/shotgunneeley/hitler_zpsd95d8d5e.jpg) (http://s1124.photobucket.com/user/shotgunneeley/media/hitler_zpsd95d8d5e.jpg.html)
Here is a blend of the Hitler photo with more modern shot in 2004. http://petapixel.com/2013/04/02/photos-of-modern-day-locations-blended-with-shots-of-major-historical-events/
-
I thought it was same place. Pretty cool that you were there.
As a Soldier in Germany, I did a Cologne tour, spent a while in the Cathedral.
In 1984, there was a Plaque there that told the story that it took 653 years to
build it. I was amazed at the size.
I was also there in 88 when the Wall went down ( not at Berlin though).
I would love to go back someday and climb the Zugspitz (tallest German Mtn) again.
AFRC ( Armed Forces recreation) used to run a Mountaineering course in Garmische.
Was awesome.
Beautiful land :aok
:cheers: Oz