Friends of OSU History World War II Tour
London, Normandy, Paris – July 7-15, 2012
Berlin Extension – July 15-18, 2012
Day 1: Saturday, 7 July 2012. London.
Travelers arrive in London.
Transfer to hotel via:
Heathrow Express (arrives in Paddington Station; take taxi or tube to The Grosvenor Hotel)
Two nights accommodation at 4 Star hotel, The Grosvenor, London. Full breakfast included. Single use Tube passes available for both days.
The Grosvenor (London)
Buckingham Palace Road
London
England SW1W 0SJ
Tel: 0871 3769038
Meet in the hotel lobby at 1700. Introductions of Tour Manager and Professors Hahn, Mansoor, and Steigerwald). Walk/taxi to Churchill War Rooms.
Group Dinner at the Churchill War Rooms: One-hour guided tour of the museum and some free time in the museum before cocktail hour and dinner in the Switch Room Café in the heart of the Cabinet War Rooms. Brief introductions of tour group by Prof. Hahn.
Day 2: Sunday, 8 July 2012. London.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0900. Walk/taxi to museum and return.
Imperial War Museum. Self guided tour at own pace.
Free time in afternoon.
Happy hour (optional) – 1730 to 1830 at Primo Bar at the hotel. First round of drinks complimentary.
Day 3: Monday, 9 July 2012. London to Portsmouth to Cherbourg to Bayeux.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0745. Air-conditioned motor coach transfer from London to Portsmouth. Lecture on bus by Prof. Hahn on the diplomatic history of the U.S.-British alliance in WWII. Optional visit to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, D-Day Museum, or Harbor Cruise (cost not included in tour). Group lunch 1200 to 1315.
Ferry crossing Portsmouth-Cherbourg. 1330 – Coach to ferry terminal for group check-in. Ferry departs Portsmouth at 1500; arrives in Cherbourg at 1900 (France is one hour behind England; thus, 3-hour ferry trip). Onboard lecture by Prof. Mansoor on Operation Overlord.
Cherbourg Harbor. Go through passport control to meet air-conditioned motor coach. Travel to Bayeux (about 1 hour).
Bayeux. Check-in for 4 nights accommodation at 3-Star Churchill Hotel. Continental breakfast included. Porterage: one bag in and out.
Group Dinner after check-in; 3-courses (restaurant is 5-minute walk from the Churchill Hotel). Time approximately 2045.
Day 4: Tuesday, 10 July 2012. Normandy.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0900 for visits in Normandy. Our guide will be Nigel Stewart.
Utah Beach. Talk en route about seaborne invasion (Operation Neptune).
Musée du Débarquement de Utah Beach.
St Mere Eglise. Talk en route about airborne operations and the hedgerow country. Lunch in nearby cafes.
Musee Airborne in St Mere Eglise.
Angoville au Plain. We will tour the church where medics Robert E. Wright and Kenneth J. Moore of 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division saved numerous lives on and after D-Day. Robert Wright was from Columbus, Ohio.
German Cemetery at La Cambe. The largest German war cemetery in Normandy.
Return to Bayeux.
Optional tour of Bayeux Tapestry (cost not included).
Happy hour (optional) – 1800-1930 hours.
Day 5: Wednesday, 11 July 2012. Normandy.
Meet in lobby at 0900. Full day with local guide Nigel Stewart.
Pointe du Hoc. Visit of the cliffs scaled by the U.S. Rangers on D-Day.
Omaha Beach. Walking visit of Vierville and the National Guard Memorial on Dog Green Beach. Discuss 29th Infantry Division operations on D-Day and the accuracy of the movie "Saving Private Ryan."
Lunch in café vic. Les Moulins at the center of Omaha Beach.
Normandy American Cemetery. Tour Visitors Center and the grounds. Discuss 1st Infantry Division operations on D-Day; lay flowers on graves of Ohio State studnets and alumni buried in the cemetery.
British Commonwealth Cemetery in Bayeux.
Happy hour (optional) – 1800-1930 hours.
Day 6: Thursday, 12 July 2012. Normandy.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0900. Full day with local guide Nigel Stewart.
Le Mont St-Michel. Visit to historic and picturesque island monastery.
Lunch in nearby cafes.
Mortain. Visit Hill 317 and discuss the German counterattack of 7-12 August, which was defeated in large measure due to the defense of this hill by the 2nd Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division.
Return to Bayeux.
Happy hour (optional) – 1800-1930 hours.
Day 7: Friday, 13 July 2012. Normandy. Travel to Paris.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0900. Prof. Mansoor will serve as guide for visits in Normandy today.
Arromanches 360 degrees cinema; discussion of allied logistics on the hill overlooking the remains of the Mulberry Harbor in Arromanches.
Travel to Caen to visit Memorial Pegasus Bridge Museum. Lunch in nearby cafes.
Travel to Paris. Arrival approximately 1600.
Check-in for 2 nights accommodation at 4-star hotel. Continental breakfast included.
Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel & Conference Center
17, boulevard Saint Jacques
Paris
France 75014
Tel: 0033 1 4078 7980
Free time after check-in.
Day 8: Saturday, 14 July 2012. Paris. Bastille Day!
Single use Metro passes available.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0900. Visit to Les Invalides (French Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb) – self guided tour; or Resistance Museum; or Shoah Museum.
Free time in afternoon.
Final Group Dinner.
Enjoy the fireworks over the Eiffel Tower!
Day 9: Sunday, 15 July 2012. End of regular tour (departure from Paris in morning). START of BERLIN EXTENSION TOUR
Meet in hotel lobby to load bus for trip to Airport.
Flight to Berlin.
Check-in for 2 nights accommodation at 4-star hotel. Continental breakfast included. Porterage—one piece of luggage per person in and out.
Maritim Hotel Berlin
Stauffenbergstraße 26
10785 Berlin
Free time in Berlin.
Day 10: Monday, 16 July 2012. Berlin.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0900 for walking tour of central Berlin. Lunch in nearby cafes.
Checkpoint Charlie Museum. Examine the history of the Cold War. Exhibit includes some interesting sections of the Berlin Wall on outdoor display.
Free time in evening.
Day 11: Tuesday, 17 July 2012. Berlin.
Meet in hotel lobby at 0900.
Bus to Wannsee; visit the Villa Marlier, site of the Wannsee Conference in January 1942, where Hitler's subordinates planned the Final Solution.
Bus to Potsdam; visit the Cecilia Court Palace, site of the Allied Potsdam Conference in July 1945. Lunch on site at the Meierei, a former dairy farm and now a restaurant and brewery.
Bus tour of 1936 Olympic stadium, to include Jesse Owens Allee, a street named in honor of the Buckeye Olympic champion. Possible visit to German History Museum.
Return to hotel.
Final Group Dinner.
Day 12: Wednesday, 18 July 2012. Berlin. End of extended tour.
Working draft 01/17/12 (subject to minor revisions)
