Reims (pronounced,”Raams’) and the Champagne Tour

“Remember gentlemen, it’s not just France we’re fighting for, it’s Champagne!” – Sir Winston Churchill

Couldn’t have said it better. Reims, France is the capital of the champagne region of France. Just as Bordeaux hosts many wineries for the production of fine wines, so too does Reims with it’s many nearby champagne wineries and cellars. We rented a 1 bedroom flat located in the heart of town, walking distance to great food and good people watching. Best thing ever, the owner directed us to a parking lot that only charged 4EU per day!!!! And it was only a 5 minute walk!!!! Unbelievable!

High quality French store!

We’re here for only 4 days so we needed to make sure we covered the things we wanted to see. Of course, there is also a WW2 site.

The WW2 site we visited is very unique. It’s name is “Wolfsschlucht II” or  “Wolf’s Gorge II”. This was one of Hitler’s headquarters located on the Western Front. Wolfsschlucht I is located in Belgium and was occupied by Hitler in 1940 while awaiting the conclusion of the Battle of France. Wolf’s Gorge II was occupied by Hitler only once, Saturday, 17 June 1944, to discuss with Field Marshals Rommel and Von Rundstedt what those damn Allied troops were doing on his beach.

Built in 1942 as a base for Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of England, the headquarters covered some 6 square kilometers. This area was selected for two reasons; 1- during WW1 Hitler actually fought near this location; and 2- there was a train tunnel 30 meters deep through a mountain and 647 meters long that could protect the Fuhrer’s train from air raids. Not to mention this area is heavily wooded and has steep terrain which is perfect for camouflage.

Guard house

Refurbished machine gun bunker

Machine gun bunker with camouflage paint still visible

It took some 22,000 workers a little over 18 months to build this complex that included 860 reinforced protective bunkers. Today most of these bunkers are in the middle of farmers fields.

Hooks for camouflage netting

Machine gun and sighting port

Another site we needed to see was SHAEF, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces. This building not only served as headquarters, but was the location where Germany surrendered to the Allies.

SHAEF Hqrtrs