45 km’s from the Normandy Coast we toured the most amazing relic of WWII, a massive top secret German V2 rocket bunker facility. This “movie-like” complex was intended to be a main rocket assembly and launching base that would ultimately be capable of launching 36 devastating missiles a day to virtually any part of England. The German V2 rockets were so advanced that years later it was this captured technology that lead to the successful American space program. Thankfully Hitler never got the chance to get this place completely operational. From arial photographs in 1944 Allies knew that something big was under way here so they decided to bomb it and set the program back long enough for the Operation Overlord to render it ineffective. Exploring this massive structure with it’s 13 foot thick steel reinforced ceiling and huge rocket assembly chambers was a surreal experience. We had to keep reminding ourselves that all this was painfully real and not some movie set from Hollywood. The entire coastline is dominated by items related to the biggest military operation ever undertaken and we saw so many Canadian, US and British flags flying as a message of appreciation. I’m sure that much of the flag waving had something to do with the 70th anniversary of D-Day on June 6 and the expected visit of many dignitaries. The shear size and scope of the D-Day operation has truly left us in awe and no pictures, movies or stories can ever come close to providing an accurate perspective of this landing. We’ve spent the last four days moving from the beaches of Sword, Juno (Canadian), Gold, Omaha and Utah and with the help of excellent interpretation centres we have gained a much better appreciation of the logistics and human sacrifice required of the Allied forces to challenge the Nazi defences and get a foothold in Europe. In contrast to all the imposing military structures we were struck by how beautiful Normandy is with its lush green countryside and dramatic coastline. Moving along, we now have the Loire Valley in our sights.