A tribute to France and the French people

[alaric99x]

I returned today from another road trip to France. I've taken at least 25 such trips to France since 2002. During those trips I've seen many monuments to the soldiers who fought on French soil. France maintains numerous cemetaries and monuments to honor these soldiers. On this trip I drove through Chateau-Thierry and Dormans on the road to Reims. In Dormans there is a magnificent church commemorating the second battle of the Marne, honoring French and British soldiers, and a few kilometers beyond Dormans is a cemetary honoring Italian soldiers. I didn't even know Italian soldiers fought in those battles. There are cemetaries and monuments all across France, all the ones I've seen were beautifully maintained.

A little over two months ago I visited Verdun and toured Fort Douaumont and the Ossuary, a large monument and cemetary. The cemetary there also includes German soldiers. If you're ever in the area, Ft. Douaumont is definitely worth a visit. I didn't have time to visit Ft. Vaux, but Douaumont is a much larger fort and it costs very little to enter it and tour the inside on your own. If you walk through the woods outside the fort you can still see parts of the trenches and those metal stakes that supported barbed wire sticking out of the ground.

So, my respect and gratitude to France for maintaining all of these monuments and resting places of soldiers of all the nations who fought on French soil, including some monuments to former enemies of France.

In addition, France is a beautiful country to visit and the French people are extremely friendly and pleasant. I'm from the US, and relations between our countries haven't always been as warm as they should be over the past years. I've never made any secret about where I'm from while I was in France, and we from the US stand out anyway, but no one I've encountered in France has ever made any negative comments toward me or shown any lack of courtesy.

[Jim von Krieg]

Abandoned U.S. World War II Plane to Move to Normandy
Tuesday , November 20, 2007

A U.S. Air Force plane instrumental in saving Normandy from the Nazis during World War II has re-emerged in Bosnia and soon will be put on display as a war hero, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday.

The Douglas C-47 was found at an air base near Sarajevo, Bosnia, after a search that began last January. It will be shipped to a museum in Merville, Normandy, as a symbol of D-Day, the Chronicle reported.

"We want to restore this plane to its original glory," Beatrice Guillaume, the administrator of a museum, told the Chronicle, "to explain the story of her crew members and how difficult it was for them to risk their lives to save a country they didn't know."

Nicknamed the “SNAFU Special,” the C-47 flew unarmed to a supposedly impenetrable German artillery battery to silence gunners for the D-Day invasion. It last was flown 13 years ago during Bosnia’s war for independence.

[Tortue Agile]

Thank you.

[alaric99x]

Thank you too. The French people deserve this recognition.

[alaric99x]

There are other places that I've always enjoyed visiting.

Canada is populated by really wonderful people. Lots of interesting cities, most located conveniently close to the US border. You'll always get into conversations with the locals in the bars who will probably want to know where you're from. I always tell them, "We're from your colony to the south."

England is another place I'll never get tired of visiting. A very friendly and polite bunch of people who have a great sense of humor. I love the pub scene there and you'll always get into conversations with the locals here too. The English are amazingly tolerant and understanding about people like me who drive around with the steering wheel on the wrong side. If they ever do get upset, which I doubt, they'll blame the Germans, because I have German plates on my car. Too bad the pubs close at 2300.

I've never been to Ireland, but it's on my list of places to go. Still, I've met a lot of Irish here in Germany and they rank among the best people on the planet, in my opinion.

And then there are the Poles. I highly recommend a trip to Poland. The country offers inexpensive hotels and food, although that will probably change now that they have the Euro. The Poles are also a very friendly and warm people, but watch out for the taxi drivers, they all have different prices and they'll cheat you if you let them.

If I haven't mentioned some nation, that doesn't mean anything negative, those are just the countries that have impressed me the most, in addition to France, of course.

[alaric99x]

....one more thing about the French. They have many beautiful women there who actually know how to act feminine and dress tastefully.

[Lazy]

Too bad the pubs close at 2300.

oh that's all changed. up to the landlord now, usually midnight but there's always somewhere that is open later.

i'm pretty sure it's paris that has the real reputation for unfriendliness and the rest of france gets tarred with the same brush

[alaric99x]

I didn't know that had changed. That's good news and another reason to hurry up and visit England again.

Here in Germany they also have laws, for example, that stores have to remain closed on Sundays. If the store (or pub) wants to open, who cares? I don't think we need goverments to regulate these things and I'm glad they don't do that in the case of English pubs anymore.

I've heard the same things about Paris, but I haven't been there for over 30 years.

[alpha]

Yes, the French and English are generally friendly and open people. That can´t be said always from Germans btw.

I´ll need to travel around soon some more, problems time and money :(

I also visited the Normandy also and can attest of much monuments etc. there for the soldiers.

[Steel God]

I haven't been to France recently, but did have occasion to visit in 1990, 1994, and 1997, and on those occasions I found most Frenchmen to be generally happy to meet Americans IF you made at least a half hearted attempt to respect their language and their culture. If you tried to blend they gave you full credit. If you acted like the "Ugly American" that is how you were treated (all of my trips were on business with traveling partners so I had opportunity to see good and bad behavior).

French history is a glorious one, and they can take refuge in knowing that people tend not to create jokes about things that do not matter. Meaning, no one would make jokes about French military victories if there was no some tacit acknowledgment of their achievements.