BUNKERS!!!

Having decided to put our collective feet down we charged off for about an hour to the Tirpitz bunker museum near Blavand, west of Esbjerg. Even then it was punctuated by a visit to a tank and fire engine museum at Oksbuel. The village is a garrison town for an armoured unit and on the edge of a massive tank training ground. I didn't get to see any in action (too well camouflaged?) but there were some nice exhibits in the museum.

Leopard 2 gate guardian. I think it may still be a runner.

Lovely old pump wagons

1920's (?) support vehicle

A variety of APCs and support vehicles on M113 chassis.

We drove past a car-boot sale in Ho so had to stop. J got this fetching little number.

Keeps her ears warm, and she needed it this day as a bitter wind was blowing

On to the Tirpitz museum. There was a gun battery planned for protecting Esbjerg. It was to mount 38.5 cm guns originally intended for Gneisenau, but it and its sister were never finished. The battery had nothing to do with the ship, btw, - my first question, and answered in the commentary within the museum. The museum had a section on the coast, another on amber, a third on the construction of German coastal defences, a fourth on demining after the war, but the gun emplacement was the highlight of course. The whole thing was very well done with audio guides in Danish/German/English that you pointed at markers on the wall  to trigger the appropriate commentary. I wish the Historeale in Cassino had done the something similar!

The museum is buried under the dunes

Sydney Opera House in amber

Some lovely intricate art

Looking up in the emplacement. A naval turret would have been dropped in the 'ole

A surviving segment of one of the barrels. Partisans derailed the train carrying them and after the war they were cut up for scrap.

The Danish Army tried to blow the emplacement up but realised that it would not be an easy task so gave up after half the middle floor had been demolished.

A schematic of the finished bunker, with the audio guides evident

And here it is in all its glory! Two of these gun emplacements were planned for the battery 

Some more bits of barrel.

A lesser bunker. 

Phew! All very impressive and recommended to visitors to Denmark. 

Our day wasn't over though and we had a picturesque drive up the coast to our stop. We pulled into a village (Sondervig) to have a stroll on the beach and waddya know?

Not as happy as I was, but J enjoyed her walk on the beach

Two 'Tobruks' well buried

Most of the bunkers are accessible

Like beached whales

Finally we got to Ringkobing at about 7pm. It was a lovely stop too, after a full day.