Tour of Remembrance


Rouen and Reims

The bus ride back to Rouen was quiet and somber. We leave Rouen for Reims and pass familiar places; Beauvais, Clermont and the Forest of Compiegne, the latter the site of the famed Railway Car in which at least two peace agreements have been signed. Once in 1918-19 and then again in 1940 when the Germans defeated the French. This is a restored car, the original destroyed near, in of all places, Ohrdruf by an allied bombing raid during the war. Now restored it is a beautifully appointed relic.

In Reims we visit the schoolhouse where the 1945 surrender took place. It is a very plain building and could well be lost among others in that area. Here too we indulged in a bit of champagne (more if we chose) saw the Great Cathedral where France's Kings were crowned.