No "Battle of the Bulge" Jokes

As Merlin said, the National Military Museum was really impressive and our trip there wasn't as much of a lark as we had maybe expected. That's the thing about this entire part of Europe, there are so many WWII themed museums and statues, there is so much history that you begin to take it for granted.

That being said, there were still a few things that gave me a good chuckle at the Musee National d'Histoire Militaire. Though, I only snapped pictures of two.

This is Hitler's head. Not his actual head, though that would be a pretty incredible artifact, but a bronze one that was found amongst the belongings of a German troop. What I love about it is how handsome they made him seem. Adolf Hitler did not have that jawline.
Then, there was this lovely mannequin of a female captain. All made-up, even in wartime. I'm not sure if you can see her eyeshadow, but I assure you it matched her blue turtleneck perfectly.
I told Merlin the other day that being on this side of the ocean makes World War II seem both bigger and smaller to me. Bigger because it is very clearly a defining line in their history and smaller because you hear it referred to often and casually as "the war" (as opposed to "The War.") It affected everyone here, which makes its memory both pervasive and commonplace.

I think that's why I loved the helmet turned into a flowerpot at the reception desk of the museum so much (first picture of this post). They, along with the bullet shells below, just seemed to sum up something for me. So, so perfectly.