WW2 stuff in mainland Europe

[Lefty Two Drams]

Last june two mates and I did a road trip to normandy and it was ace. Would love to go back but that can wait a few years.

Our next trip we want to go somewhere a bit different.

Options I've thought of so far are:

Arnhem and the bridges
Auschwitz
Bastogne

Any more suggestions or recommendations? Any experiences of the places I mentioned above?

Cheers
Lefty

[Halb]

Monte Cassino?

[Justayellowbadge]

Not sure I'd describe visiting the camps as 'ace' but it is very affecting.

[M3CHA-MONK3Y]

Guy I used to work with took these kind of trips.
He said Auschwitz was very interesting, if not a very sobering experience.

[Cara Van Man]

Auschwitz. Without a doubt.

A differing kind of experience.

[Halb]

Just thought of St Nazaire

[Ross1988]

Various submarine pens,theres quote a few still around in france and germany.

A quick google search brought up Valentin in Bremen, Germany, also another that spring to mind is the maginot line, in northern france.

The eagles nest in Bavaria? Dunkirk?

[williamp]

the V3 site near Boulogne?

the Sorpe and the other Damnbusters Damns

Whe train carriage where WW1 ended

The Zeppelin hangers, and then onto Dachau.

[duncancallum]

Ive done the Nijemagen 4Daagse and part of that is over the bridges, the war graves at Arnheim are a must as well its a moving place.

The Netherlands rule, brilliant people and a great country

[SGirl]

Quite a few of the old camps are still open to visitors. Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen (I think) - have a search.

Germany is quite good at putting up plaques commemorating wartime events. Pick a place and do some research. Berlin is quite interesting in that regard.

[160steve]

I went to Auschwitz on a school trip when i was 13. I NEVER want to go back and the experience and images i saw when i was there are still with me to this day. It was truly horrific including huge piles of spectacles, human hair, false limbs, gold teeth etc on display in old huts. Also saw the "showers" and incinerators they used to dispose of the bodies. I wouldnt really recommend it for a holiday.

I would go for some battle grounds ie sword beach

[mrmaggit]

Go and see the Mohne Dam before the moss hides the repair.

[RosscoPCole]

The Normandy American War Cemetery, Laurent-sur-Me(Opening scene in Saving Private Ryan). Mind numbingly large.
The 360° Cinema just outside Arromanche. Touristy but very interesting.
Bayeux War Cemetery. Like a piece of Britain in France.
Pointe du Hoc. Amazing how many bomb craters there are in such a small area.
Le Memorial de Caen. Fantastic war museum.
Eagle's Nest, Berchtesgaden. Amazing engineering, slightly unsavory considering how the road was built.
Schloss Cecilienhof, Outside Berlin where the Potsdam Conference was held.

Also, though not on mainland Europe.

American War Cemetery outside Cambridge. Didn't know it was there!
Channel Islands. Lots of fortifications open to the public. War Tunnels in Jersey are fascinating. Alderney's story is not very well known, and very moving.

Edited by RosscoPCole on Monday 23 November 19:59

[Lefty Two Drams]

Thanksfor the suggestions. I've done a lot of the Normandy stuff already (as I said in my first post). I'm keen to go back again some time but we want to do something new for the next trip.

The German dams was a good idea.

[PH5121]

The Ardennes region was a place I went with a friend and his parents a couple of times as a kid. Lots of military stuff to see in Battle of the Bulge territory.

It was 25 years ago so I cannot remember many details but Bastogne had a good museum, lots of villages had Sherman tanks / Panzers as monuments.
From a PistonHead perspective you aren't far from the Spa Francochamps circuit either.

[raf_gti]

williamp said:

the Sorpe and the other Damnbusters Damns

Now that has given me an idea...

Myself and a friend are looking at ideas for a Euro road trip and it strikes me that a Dambusters tour could be quite a good idea.

In terms of a driving holiday could it be a decent trip to link them all together?

I've already got the Dambusters theme on my iPod and I'm quite prepared to have it on repeat for the duration

[maser_spyder]

Alderney / Guernsey worth a look, but not for a long holiday.

I love Alderney, it's almost completely unspoilt by development, and most of the WWII stuff has just been left to decay rather than being knocked down or filled in.

You have to be a bit careful, it's all out in the open, no fences, no restrictions, and holes in the ground where the machine guns were removed from.

A rather peculiar experience for a couple of days, but an amazing place.

Visit by yacht if you can....